Author: Davenport, Edward Davies
Biography:
DAVENPORT, Edward Davies (1778-1847: historyofparliamentonline.org)
He was the eldest of four children born to Davies Davenport (1757-1837) and his wife Charlotte Sneyd. He was born in Croxall, Derbyshire, on 27 Apr. 1778 and baptised on 24 May. His father was high sheriff of Cheshire and MP from 1806 to 1830; the family owned the estates of Calveley Woodford and of Capesthorne in Cheshire. He was educated at Rugby school (1794-97) and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 20 Feb. 1797. Davenport did not proceed to a degree but, probably because of his gambling debts, his father arranged for him to become a dragoon in 1799. In 1800 he joined the foot guards and was a captain when he resigned his commission in 1807. He travelled widely in Europe and later became an Italian scholar of distinction. In 1816 his father resigned to him the Calveley estate which eased the financial worries caused by his debts. Davenport adopted increasingly liberal political views and moved in Whig circles. His Observations on the Causes and Cure of the Present Distressed State of Agriculture was issued in 1822 and was followed by The Golden Age (1823, 1827), his translation The Episode of Olimpia from Ariosto (1824), and The Corn Question (1825). In 1826 he was elected MP for Shaftesbury and held his seat until 1830; his time in parliament was marked by his continued support for the Whigs and for liberal causes. On 8 Nov. 1830 he married Caroline Anne Hurt (1809-97); they had one son, Arthur Henry, who was born in 1832. In his later years Davenport suffered from poor health and depression but in 1845 he published two works, The Borgias…An Historical Drama and How to Improve the Condition of the Labouring Classes. He died on 9 Sept. 1847 and was buried at Holy Trinity Chapel, Capesthorne. His will, prepared in Aug. 1847, states that he inherited from his father both significant debts and dilapidated estates which Davenport had repaired. Davenport left instructions for his body to be opened for science before being carried to the chapel by labourers who were each to be given £3 and a black coat. He also left £100 in support of the Macclesfield Chronicle. (historyofparliamentonline.org 15 Aug. 2024; ancestry.co.uk 15 Aug. 2024; Burke)
Other Names:
- E. D. Davenport