William Somerville, 1st Baron Athlumney

The Right Honourable The Lord Athlumney PC
Chief Secretary for Ireland
In office 22 July 1847 – 21 February 1852
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Lord John Russell
Preceded by	Henry Labouchere
Succeeded by	Lord Naas
Personal details
Born	1802 (1802)
Died	7 December 1863 (1863-12-08) Dover, Kent
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	(1) Lady Maria Conyngham (d. 1843) (2) Maria Jones (1831-1899)
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

William Meredyth Somerville, 1st Baron Athlumney, 1st Baron Meredyth PC (1802 – 7 December 1873), known as Sir William Somerville, Bt, between 1831 and 1863, was an Anglo-Irish Liberal politician. He was born in 1802.

Background and education

Athlumney was the son of Sir Marcus Somerville, 4th Baronet of Somerville, in the County of Meath, and Mary Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Gorges-Meredyth, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.

Political career

Athlumney was returned to Parliament for Drogheda in 1837, a seat he held until 1852, and served under Lord John Russell as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1846 to 1847 and as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1847 to 1852 during the worst of the Great Famine. In 1847 he was sworn of the Privy Council. He lost his seat in the 1852 general election, but was successfully returned for Canterbury in 1854, and continued to represent this constituency until 1865. In 1863 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Athlumney, of Somerville and Dollarstown in the County of Meath, and in 1866 he was further honoured when he was created Baron Meredyth, of Dollarstown in the County of Meath, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Family

Lord Athlumney married firstly Lady Maria Harriet, daughter of Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham, in 1832. They had one son (who died as an infant) and one daughter. After her death in December 1843 he married secondly Maria Georgiana Elizabeth, daughter of Herbert George Jones, in 1860. They had two sons (of whom the youngest died as a child). Lord Athlumney died in Dover, Kent, in December 1873 and was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son from his second marriage, James. Lady Athlumney died in January 1899, aged 67.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Somerville

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Hon. Randal Plunkett	Member of Parliament for Drogheda 1837–1852	Succeeded by James McCann
Preceded by Henry Plumptre Gipps Henry Butler-Johnstone	Member of Parliament for Canterbury 1854–1865 With: Charles Manners Lushington 1854–1857 Henry Butler-Johnstone 1857–1862 Henry Munro-Butler-Johnstone 1862–1865	Succeeded by Henry Munro-Butler-Johnstone John Walter Huddlestone
Political offices
Preceded by Hon. John Manners-Sutton	Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department 1846–1847	Succeeded by Sir Denis La Marchant, Bt
Preceded by Henry Labouchere	Chief Secretary for Ireland 1847–1852	Succeeded by Lord Naas
Peerage of Ireland
New creation	Baron Athlumney 1863–1873	Succeeded by James Somerville
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Meredyth 1866–1873	Succeeded by James Somerville
Baronetage of Ireland
Preceded by Marcus Somerville	Baronet (of Somerville) 1831–1873	Succeeded by James Somerville