William Handcock, 1st Viscount Castlemaine
William Handcock, 1st Viscount Castlemaine, PC (Ire) (28 August 1761 – 7 January 1839) was an Irish MP and supporter of Union with Great Britain.
He was born in Dublin, Ireland to Reverend Richard Handcock and Sarah Toler. In 1783, Handcock stood for Athlone in the Irish House of Commons and represented the constituency until the Act of Union in 1801. He was Constable and Governor of Athlone 1813–1839 and Governor of County Westmeath 1814–1831.
On 20 March 1782 he married Lady Florinda Trench (3 August 1766 – 9 February 1851), born in Twyford, Westmeath to William Power Keating Trench, 1st Earl of Clancarty and Anne Gardiner, Countess of Clancarty. William and Florinda had no children,[1] and when Handcock was created Baron Castlemaine, of Moydrum (in the Peerage of Ireland) on 21 December 1812 the title had a special remainder "failing heirs of his body to his brother". He was further created Viscount Castlemaine on 12 January 1822[2] but without a special remainder.
He was killed on the Night of the Big Wind in 1839 when the wind blew his bedroom shutters open at Moydrum Castle and hurled him “so violently upon his back that he instantly expired”.[3] On his death his viscountcy became extinct and his barony passed to his brother, whose descendants still hold the title.
The Australian city of Castlemaine in the state of Victoria was named in his honour by his nephew Captain W. Wright.
References
- Lodge, Edmund. The Peerage of the British Empire As at Present Existing: Arranged and Printed from the Personal Communications of the Nobility. (p. 106) London: Saunders and Otley, 1839. googlebooks Retrieved 5 September 2009
- "No. 17781". The London Gazette. 12 January 1822. p. 60.
- Turtle Bunbury, Night of the Big Wind, The Irish Times, 16 October 2017 https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-calm-before-the-big-wind-of-1839-was-particularly-eerie-1.3257684
Further reading
- thepeerage.com Accessed 12 March 2008
- Lodge, Edmund. The Peerage of the British Empire As at Present Existing: Arranged and Printed from the Personal Communications Of the Nobility, by Edmund Lodge, to Which Is Added a View of the Baronetage of the Three Kingdoms. (p. 85) London: Saunders and Otley, 1834. googlebooks Accessed 12 March 2008
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Handcock Sir Richard St George, 1st Bt |
Member of Parliament for Athlone 1783–1801 With: Sir Richard St George, 1st Bt 1783–1789 Sir Richard St George, 2nd Bt 1789–1800 Richard Handcock 1800–1801 |
Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Athlone 1801–1803 |
Succeeded by Thomas Tyrwhitt Jones |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Viscount Castlemaine 1822–1839 |
Extinct |
| Baron Castlemaine 1812–1839 |
Succeeded by Richard Handcock | |