Family and Education

b. ?1664, 1st s. of Capel Hanbury of Pontypool by Elizabeth, da. of William Capel. educ. Pembroke, Oxf. 26 Mar. 1681, aged 16; M. Temple 1683. m. (1) 1701, Albinia (d.1702), da. and h. of General William Selwyn, M.P., of Matson, Glos., s.p.; (2) July 1703, Bridget, da. and coh. of Sir Edward Ayscough of South Kelsey, Lincs., 9s. 1da. suc. fa. 1704.

Offices Held

Director, South Sea Co. 1724-30.

Biography

The son of a Worcestershire country gentleman, who bought an estate and ironworks at Pontypool, Hanbury at first had thoughts of a legal career. In his own words:

I read Coke upon Littleton, as far as tenant in dower; but on the suggestion of a friend, that I should gain more advantage from the iron works at Pontypool than from the profits of the bar, I laid aside tenant in dower, and turned my attention to mines and forges.

He built a house at Pontypool, spending considerable sums on developing the works, where he introduced the method of making iron by furnaces, as well as the art of tinning.1

In 1715 Hanbury unsuccessfully contested Gloucester, which he had represented as a Whig under Anne. Returned for Monmouthshire in 1720 ‘on the independent interest’,2 he voted against the Administration in all recorded divisions. He was one of Marlborough’s executors in 1722, after which he became the constant companion of Duchess Sarah.3

He died 14 June 1734.

Ref Volumes: 1715-1754

Author: Peter D.G. Thomas

Notes

• 1. A. A. Locke, Hanbury Fam. 152-61.
• 2. Coxe, Hist. Tour Mon. (1801), p. 237.
• 3. Ilchester & Langford-Brooke, Sir Charles Hanbury-Williams, 24-28.