Henry Fownes Luttrell (died 1780)

Henry Luttrell
Portrait of Henry Fownes Luttrell, National Trust, Dunster Castle
Member of the British House of Commons
for Minehead
In office
1768 – December 1774
Preceded byHenry Shiffner
Succeeded byThomas Pownall
Personal details
Born
Henry Fownes

1722 or 1723
Died30 October 1780 (aged c. 58)
Spouse
(m. 1747; died 1766)
ChildrenJohn, Francis, Thomas, 2 other sons and 1 daughter
ParentJohn Fownes
Arms of Fownes of Plymouth, Kittery Court & Nethway, in Devon & Dunster Castle in Somerset: Azure, two eagles displayed in chief and a mullet in base argent.[1] Following his marriage and inheritance of Dunster Castle he adopted the arms of Luttrell and quartered his paternal arms
Arms of Luttrell: Or, a bend between six martlets sable, as adopted by Henry Fownes following his marriage

Henry Fownes Luttrell (born Henry Fownes; 1722 or 1723 – 30 October 1780), of Dunster Castle, Somerset, was High Sheriff of Somerset from 1754 to 1755 and a Member of Parliament for the borough of Minehead from 1768 to 1774.

Fownes was the son of John Fownes of Nethway and Kittery Court, near Dartmouth, and led the life of a country squire. In 1747, he married Margaret Luttrell, the heiress of Dunster Castle and added his wife's name to his own to comply with her late father's will. In accordance with the era's laws concerning the property rights of married women, on his marriage he became the legal owner of his wife's property, including not only Dunster Castle, but also the lordships of the manors of Dunster, Heathfield, and Kilton amongst others. The newly named Fownes Luttrell altered the castle considerably, remodelling its interior and park and building the Conygar Tower, a folly in the grounds. Following the death of his wife in 1766 he remarried in 1771.

When Fownes Luttrell's candidate for the 1754 election was defeated, he realised that his estate bought him relatively little political power. Frustrated, he set about nursing his interest in the borough. Later, a compromise with a rival landowner placed one of the borough's two parliamentary seats in his pocket. He stood for election in 1768 and was returned with the support of the Government. He was returned again in 1774 alongside his eldest son, John; the Prime Minister was disgruntled that he had not returned his own favoured candidate and Fownes Luttrell resigned on the condition that the Government's candidate would not interfere in the future without his permission. Thenceforth until abolition by the Reform Act of 1832 the borough's parliamentary seats were effectively controlled by his family.

Fownes Luttrell was an inactive politician and is not known to have spoken or voted in Parliament during the six years he was a member. Instead, he led the life of a country squire, hunting and managing his estates. Fownes Luttrell died in 1780, and his eldest son succeeded to his estates.

  1. ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.372