William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton

William Philip Molyneux, 2nd

Personal life

Born in 1772, Lord Sefton was the only son of

Charles Greville wrote of him:

"He was absolutely devoid of religious belief or opinions, but he left to all others the unquestioned liberty of rendering that homage to religion from which he gave himself a plenary dispensation. His general conduct was stained with no gross immorality, and as he was placed far above the necessity of committing dishonourable actions, his mind was habitually imbued with principles of integrity. They sat, however, lightly and easily upon him as regarded the conduct of others, not so much from indifference as from indulgence in those particular cases where a rigid and severe application of high principle would have interfered with his own convenience or enjoyment."^[1]

Political career

Educated at Eton College and at the University of Oxford, despite an unsuccessful attempt to be MP for Liverpool in 1818, he sat as MP for Droitwich, Worcs between 1816 and 1831. Sefton opposed the surveyance of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway line, in 1824 and did his utmost to prevent it.^[2] Ultimately, he was not successful in preventing the railway's construction in 1830.

On 20 June 1831, he was created Baron Sefton of Croxteth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which allowed him to sit in the House of Lords. He also accepted the Stewardship of the manor of East Hundred, in the county of Berkshire.

Sporting life

Sefton was an enthusiastic gambler and sportsman whose main sporting success was in the founding and governance of sports events.

He was the third man to be appointed Master of

He was a member of White's club in London. His wife, Lady Molyneux, was a Patroness of Almack's club, of which his mother had been a Foundress; she is a minor character in several novels of Georgette Heyer.

His ancestral seat was Croxteth Hall in Liverpool. He also resided at Stoke Farm, Berkshire and at 21 Arlington Street, London.

References