Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet (1776 – 6 February 1861), born John Lord, was a British Tory, later Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

, politician from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 who was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for over fifty years.

He changed his name to John Owen in about 1809 on inheriting the estate of Sir Hugh Owen, 6th Baronet, who he also succeeded as MP for Pembroke Boroughs
Pembroke (UK Parliament constituency)
Pembroke was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pembroke in West Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:For the creation and early history of the seat, see...

 in 1809. He held that seat until the 1812 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1812
The election to the 5th Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1812 was the fourth general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....

, when he was also elected for Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Pembrokeshire was a parliamentary constituency based on the county of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...

. He chose to sit for the county, and held that seat until 1841, when he was returned to the House of Commons for Pembroke Boroughs
Pembroke (UK Parliament constituency)
Pembroke was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pembroke in West Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:For the creation and early history of the seat, see...

 from 1841 until his death in 1861, aged 84.

He was Lord-Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire from 1824 until his death, and was made a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 on 12 Jan 1813, of Orielton, Pembrokeshire. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Hugh Owen Owen. In 1836 Sir John Owen fought a duel at Gumfreston Hall near Tenby with William Richards, a former mayor of the town who was badly wounded in the event. Fought with pistols, it is the last known duel to have taken place in Wales.

Restoration Home

Restoration Home, a BBC programme shown in August 2011, investigated the history of "Big House", the ruins of a mansion that had once been owned by Sir Owen. According to the programme, Owen had built the house using proceeds from his successful coal business. However, debts incurred from running for Parliament and losses caused by an explosion in one of his coalmines meant that he had to sell the house to avoid bankruptcy. The explosion killed 40 miners, some of whom were female - despite it being against the law to employ women in mines at the time.

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