Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn
George Douglas-Pennant | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 June 1800 |
| Died | 31 March 1886 (age 85) |
Edward Gordon Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn (20 June 1800 – 31 March 1886), was a Scottish landowner in Wales and Jamaica, and a Conservative Party politician. He played a major part in the development of the Welsh slate industry.
Life
Born Edward Gordon Douglas, he was the younger son of the Hon. John Douglas and his wife Lady Frances (née Lascelles). The 14th Earl of Morton was his paternal grandfather and The 17th Earl of Morton was his elder brother. He served as an officer in the Grenadier Guards.[1]
He inherited the
In 1866 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Penrhyn, of
In 1868 he sacked 80 workers from Penrhyn Quarry for failing to vote for his son, George Douglas-Pennant, in the general election.[3]
The village of Llandygai was developed by Lord Penrhyn as a ‘model village’ for his estate workers, in which ‘no corrupting alehouse’ was permitted.[4] The village lies immediately outside of the walls of the Penrhyn Castle demesne walls, with the entrance to the village being some 100m from the castle's Grand Lodge. Pennant loaned the land the village was to be built on as a 30 year lease to the quarrymen who were to live there. The quarrymen built the entire village infrastructure and buildings with no help from Pennant, but 30 years later he took full ownership of the land and village.
Lord Penrhyn also earned a fortune from slave labour plantations in Jamaica.
Lord Penrhyn died in 1886, aged 85.[1]
Family
Lord Penrhyn married, firstly, Juliana Isabella Mary, daughter of George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, in 1833. They had two sons and three daughters. After her death in 1842 he married, secondly, Maria Louisa, daughter of Henry FitzRoy, 5th Duke of Grafton, in 1846. They had eight daughters. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, George.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Burke's: 'Penrhyn'.
- ^ Owen, pp. 47, 54, 72–5.
- ISBN 0-8262-0203-9.
- ISBN 1 872424 07 4.
References
- Dictionary of Welsh Biography
- Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 100th Edn, London, 1953.
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Bryn Owen, History of the Welsh Militia and Volunteer Corps 1757–1908: 1: Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, Caernarfon: Palace Books, 1989, ISBN 1-871904-00-5.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [better source needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". www.thepeerage.com.[unreliable source]