Nov. 22. At his house in Arlingtonstreet, the Rt. Hon. William-Philip Molyneux. Earl of Sefton (1771), and Viscount Molyneux (1628), in the Peerage of Ireland, Baron Sefton of Croxteth (1831) in that of the United Kingdom, and a Baronet of England (1611).
Lord Sefton was the representative of an ancient and historical race, founded in England by Sir William de Moulines, upon whom the Conqueror conferred the manor of Sefton, with other large possessions in Lancashire, a considerable portion of which remain with the family to the present day. His Lordship was born 18 Sept. 1772, the only child of Charles William the first Earl and 9th Viscount Molyneux, by Lady Isabella Stanhope, daughter of Charles the second Earl of Harrington, and granddaughter of Charles second Duke of Grafton, by Lady Henrietta Somerset, sister to the fourth Duke of Beaufort. In 1795 he succeeded his father; but the honours, being Irish, did not confer upon him a seat in the House of Lords. His Lordship was, however, almost constantly a member of the Lower House until his elevation to the British Peerage.
In politics his Lordship was a decided liberal; and though from nervousness, which he was never able to overcome, he rarely opened his lips in parliament, it is well known that he has occasionally verbally supplied some of our most eminent orators with their speeches. Whilst he was a member of the House of Commons, his Lordship had the credit of being able to carry with him by his personal influence more votes than any (unofficial) man of his day. At all times his opinions received the highest consideration from the leading members of his party. Nor was this without justice. Highly informed and sagacious beyond most men, his Lordship was especially remarkable for the uprightness and noble independence of his character. The courage which he displayed when, on the occasion of White’s Club (with that abject servility to mere royalty, which it is deplorable to meet with so frequently amongst the highest classes,) excluding from a ball given there the name of the Princess of Wales, he alone, in defiance of the frowns of the Regent, protested against so unmanly a proceeding, will not soon be forgotten. Nor at a subsequent period after Mr. Hone’s trial, when Lord Sefton, who then believed himself to be on his deathbed, wrote his celebrated letter, congratulating Mr. Hone upon his escape from the Crown prosecutions which had been instituted against him, and inclosing a check for 100L, did his Lordship less deserve the respect of every honourable mind.
His Lordship’s manly conduct upon these occasions, however, gave so much offence at court, as to cause him to be almost entirely a stranger there during the reign of George the Fourth ; but upon the accession of the late King he was among the first of those upon whom the Peerage was conferred. From this period, as indeed during the whole of his parliamentary career, his Lordship’s vote will invariably be found recorded in favour of those measures which were brought forward for effecting salutary reforms in our institutions, or for the extension of civil and religious liberty.
In private life Lord Sefton was conspicuous for the magnificence of his mode of living. From youth he was esteemed the best ” whip” in England : and the excellence of his taste was invariably displayed in the correctness of his equipages, which were universally allowed to be unrivalled. His table was perhaps the most recherché in London, and the splendid hospitality which he practised made him indeed proverbial. His death will be severely felt in the leading Whig circles; und the affliction into which his family and a large body of strongly attached friends have been plunged by the event, is the best proof of the respect and estimation in which his character was held.
His Lordship married in 1792, Maria Margaretta, second daughter of William sixth Lord Craven, by Elizabeth (afterwards Margravine of Brandenburgh Anspach), daughter of Augustus fourth Earl of Berkeley, who was maternal grandson of Charles first Duke of Richmond, natural son of King Charles II. By this lady, who survives him, he has had issue:—1. Lady Georgiana, who was married, in 1819, to Charles Pascoe Grenfell, Esq. and died in 1826.—2. Lady Maria.—3. The Right Hon. Chas. William, now Earl of Sefton.—4. Lady Louisa.—5. Lieut.-Col. the Hon. George Berkeley Molyneux.of the 8th Hussars.— 6. Lieut. Col. the Hon. Henry Richard Molyneux, of the 60th Foot.—7. Lady Frances.—8. Lady Caroline, married in to 1836, Charles Towneley, jun. esq. of Towneley.—9. Hon. Francis George Molyneux, Secretary of Legation at Frankfort.—10. Lady Katharine.
The present Earl was born 10th July, 1796, and married, June 1834, Mary. Augusta, only dau. of R. G. Hopwood, of Hopwood, esq. and has with other issue a son and heir, William Philip now Viscount Molyneux, born 14th Oct. 1835.
From: The Gentleman’s Magazine, Dec 1838, Vol. X.