Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness, Countess of Iveagh (née Onslow; 22 July 1881 – 16 February 1966) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and Conservative politician. She was, by marriage, a member of the Guinness brewing dynasty.
The Countess of Iveagh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Southend | |
| In office 19 November 1927 – 13 November 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Viscount Elveden |
| Succeeded by | Henry Channon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gwendolen Florence Mary Onslow 22 July 1881 |
| Died | 16 February 1966 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh |
| Children | Hon. Richard Guinness Lady Honor Channon Arthur Guinness, Viscount Elveden Patricia Lennox-Boyd, Viscountess Boyd of Merton Brigid, Princess Frederick of Prussia |
| Parent(s) | William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow Florence Gardner |
Early life
editShe was the daughter of William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow (1853–1911), and Florence Coulston Onslow, née Gardner (1853–1934).
Marriage and career
editShe was married to the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend, Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh. In 1927, he ceased to be an MP when he succeeded to his father's earldom. The Countess of Iveagh, as Gwendolen Guinness was now known, won the Southend by-election on 19 November 1927 to replace her husband as MP.[1] She received 54.6% of the vote at that election[2] and increased it at the 1931 general election. She served until her retirement at the 1935 general election.
When she retired in 1935, she was succeeded as MP by Henry "Chips" Channon, the husband of her eldest daughter, Honor Guinness. Another son-in-law, Alan Lennox-Boyd, was an MP (for Mid Bedfordshire 1931–60, and thus became, with Gwendolen, the first mother- and son-in-law pair of MPs.[2]
Clandon Park House
editIn 1956 she presented her Surrey childhood home, Clandon Park House, to the National Trust.
Titles
edit- 1881 – 1903: The Lady Gwendolen Florence Mary Onslow
- 1903 – 1919: The Lady Gwendolyn Guinness
- 1919 – 1927: Viscountess Elveden
- 1927 – 1966: The Right Honourable The Countess of Iveagh
References
edit- ^ Martin Pugh (13 January 1992). Women and Women's Movement in Britain, 1914-1959. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-349-21850-9.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Iain Dale; Jacqui Smith (4 September 2018). The Honourable Ladies: Volume I: Profiles of Women MPs 1918–1996. Biteback Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-78590-449-3.
- Martin Pugh, "Guinness, Gwendolen Florence Mary, countess of Iveagh (1881–1966)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 27 May 2007
External links
editMedia related to Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh at Wikimedia Commons
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Countess of Iveagh