Sir_Henry_Meux,_2nd_Baronet

Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet

Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet

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Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (28 December 1817 – 1 January 1883), was head of Meux and Co., a London brewery,[1] and a Member of Parliament (MP).

Quick Facts Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire, Preceded by ...

Early life

He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.[2] On the death of his father on 7 April 1841, he succeeded to the baronetcy[3][self-published source] and took over the running of Meux's brewery off the Tottenham Court Road (later the Horse Shoe Brewery),[4] which was at the time one of the largest producers of porter in London.[5]

Career

He served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1845.[6] He was then Conservative MP for Hertfordshire from 1847 to 1859.[7]

By 1855 Meux began showing signs of mental decline and from 1858 he was bedbound with general paresis of the insane, now known to have been caused by tertiary syphilis.[8] He refused to stand down at the March 1857 election and, despite his condition, the Conservatives decided to nominate him rather than risk a contest.[8] He was returned unopposed and the party secured a pair for him for the entire session.[8] On 3 July 1857 he amended his will to leave his entire estate to his wife.[8] His disinherited sisters contested this change and in June 1858 the Commissioners in Lunacy considered whether he had been of sound mind at the time. Evidence of his occasional work and social activity later in 1857 caused the will to be upheld.[8]

After his insanity, his business affairs were handled by trustees. In 1870 they bought an estate at East Overton, Wiltshire (now part of West Overton parish),[9] and they later paid for the rebuilding of the parish church.[10] From 1877 he was the owner of Dauntsey Park House, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire.[11] His son Henry Bruce Meux took over the running of the brewery in 1878.[4]

Personal life

His son, Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet and his wife Lady Valerie

He married Lady Louisa Caroline Brudenell-Bruce on 19 January 1856, the eldest daughter of Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury and his wife, the former Hon. Louisa Elizabeth Horsley-Beresford (daughter of John Horsley-Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies). Together, they were the parents of:

Sir Henry died on 1 January 1883. His widow, Lady Louisa, died in December 1894.

References

  1. [1]
    Burd, Van Akin (1973). The Ruskin Family Letters. Cornell University Press.
  2. [2]
    "Meux". oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  3. [3]
    "Baronetage : MALET of Wilbury". Leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. [4]
    "Meux's Brewery Co Ltd, 1888-1961". National Archives. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. [5]
    Cornell, Martyn. "Half and half to mother-in-law: a history of beer 1837–1914" (PDF). Brewery History Society. p. 44. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  6. [6]
    "No. 20439". The London Gazette. 4 February 1845. p. 315.
  7. [7]
    F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  8. [8]
    Spychal, Martin (20 January 2023). "Mental illness on trial: Henry Meux's commission of lunacy and the 1857 general election". The Victorian Commons. The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via WordPress.com.
  9. [9]
    Baggs, A.P.; Crittall, Elizabeth; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H (1980). Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 11 pp181-203 – Parishes: Overton". University of London. Retrieved 4 December 2020 – via British History Online.
  10. [10]
    "Church of St. Michael and All Angels, West Overton". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  11. [11]
    "History". Dauntsey Park House. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. [12]
    "LADY MEUX DEAD, RICH PATRON OF ART; A Former Actress and Notable Woman Who Was Never "Received" in English Society". The New York Times. 22 December 1910. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  13. [13]
    "Meux Sale To-Day. Treasures of Brewer's Widow Include Stuart Silver and Tudor Staircase". The New York Times. 15 May 1911. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
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