Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh

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 (1881-07-22)22 July 1881
Died	16 February 1966(1966-02-16) (aged 84)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh
Children	Honor Guinness (eldest daughter, wife of Henry Channon)

Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness, Countess of Iveagh (22 July 1881 – 16 February 1966), née Lady Gwendolen Florence Mary Onslow, known as Lady Gwendolen Guinness from 1903 to 1919 and Viscountess Elveden from 1919 to 1927, was a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, and, by marriage, a member of the Anglo-Irish Guinness brewing dynasty.

Early life

She was the daughter of William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow (1853–1911), and Florence Coulston Onslow, née Gardner (1853–1934).

Marriage and career

She 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. She served until her retirement at the 1935 general election.

When she retired in 1935 she was succeeded as MP by her eldest daughter Honor Guinness's husband, Henry "Chips" Channon. Another son-in-law, Alan Lennox-Boyd, was an MP (for Mid Bedfordshire 1931-60), making the first mother- and son-in-law set of MPs.

Clandon Park

In 1956 she presented her Surrey childhood home, Clandon Park, to the National Trust.

References

Martin Pugh, "Guinness , Gwendolen Florence Mary, countess of Iveagh (1881–1966)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 27 May 2007
Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Countess of Iveagh

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Viscount Elveden	Member of Parliament for Southend 1927–1935	Succeeded by Henry Channon

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