Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet of Ashford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Guinness

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1 November 1798–19 May 1868) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist.

Brewer

Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness, and grandson of the latter's namesake (1725–1803) who founded the Guinness brewery. He joined his father in the business at an early age, and in 1839 took sole control. By 1855, when his father died, Guinness had become the richest man in Ireland, having built up a huge export trade and by continually enlarging his brewery.

Dublin politician

In 1851 he was elected the first Lord Mayor of Dublin under the reformed corporation.

In 1863 he was made an honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) by the Trinity College Dublin, and on 15 April 1867 was created a baronet by patent, in addition to which, on 18 May 1867, by royal license, he had a grant of supporters to his family arms.

Guinness was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 as a Conservative representative for Dublin City, serving until his death. His party's leader was Lord Derby.

Philanthropist

From 1860 to 1865, he undertook, at his own expense, the restoration of the city's St Patrick's Cathedral, an enterprise that cost over £150,000. In 1865 the building was restored to the dean and chapter, and reopened for services on 24 February. The citizens of Dublin and the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's presented him with addresses on 31 December 1865, expressive of their gratitude for what he had done for the city. The addresses were in two volumes, which were afterwards exhibited at the Paris Exhibition.

In recognition of his generosity, he was made a baronet in 1867. He was one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Ireland, a governor of Simpson's Hospital, and vice-chairman of the Dublin Exhibition Palace. He died the following year at his Park Lane London home. At the time of his death he was engaged in the restoration of Archbishop Marsh's public library, a building which adjoins St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was finished by his son Arthur. He showed his practical interest in Irish archæology by carefully preserving the antiquarian remains existing on his large estates around Ashford Castle in County Galway, which he bought in 1855.

Family

On 24 February 1837 he married his first cousin Elizabeth Guinness, third daughter of Edward Guinness of Dublin, and they had three sons and a daughter, living at Beaumont House in north County Dublin. In 1852 be bought Ashford Castle in County Galway and what is now Iveagh House at 80 St Stephen's Green in 1856, both of which he rebuilt.

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Arthur, who took over the brewery with his brother, Edward. A third son Benjamin (1842–1900) moved to England and had a career in the Royal Horse Guards. His daughter Anne (1839–1889) married William, Lord Plunket in 1863.

He was buried in Mount Jerome cemetery, Dublin, in the family vault, on 27 May. His personalty was sworn under £1,100,000 on 8 August 1868. A bronze statue of him by Foley was erected in St. Patrick's churchyard, south of the cathedral, in September 1875, which was restored in 2006.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lee_Guinness

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Guinness

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1 November 1798–19 May 1868) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist.

Brewer

Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness (1768-1855), and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of the latter's namesake (1725–1803) who founded the Guinness brewery in 1759. He joined his father in the business at an early age, and in 1839 took sole control. By 1855, when his father died, Guinness had become the richest man in Ireland, having built up a huge export trade and by continually enlarging his brewery.[1]

[edit] Dublin politician

In 1851 he was elected the first Lord Mayor of Dublin under the reformed corporation.

In 1863 he was made an honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) by Trinity College Dublin, and on 15 April 1867 was created a baronet by patent, in addition to which, on 18 May 1867, by royal license, he had a grant of supporters to his family arms.

Guinness was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 as a Conservative representative for Dublin City, serving until his death. His party's leader was Lord Derby. Previously he had supported the Liberal Lord Palmerston, but in the 1860s the Liberals proposed higher taxation on drinks such as beer.

[edit] Philanthropist

From 1860 to 1865, he undertook, at his own expense, the restoration of the city's St Patrick's Cathedral, an enterprise that cost over £150,000. In 1865 the building was restored to the dean and chapter, and reopened for services on 24 February. The citizens of Dublin and the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's presented him with addresses on 31 December 1865, expressive of their gratitude for what he had done for the city. The addresses were in two volumes, which were afterwards exhibited at the Paris Exhibition.

In recognition of his generosity, he was made a baronet in 1867. He was one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Ireland, a governor of Simpson's Hospital, and vice-chairman of the Dublin Exhibition Palace. He died the following year at his Park Lane London home. At the time of his death he was engaged in the restoration of Archbishop Marsh's public library, a building which adjoins St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was finished by his son Arthur.

He showed his practical interest in Irish archæology by carefully preserving the antiquarian remains existing on his large estates around Ashford Castle in County Galway, which he bought in 1855. Nearby Cong Abbey was well-known, and the famous Cross of Cong had been moved to a Dublin museum in 1839.

[edit] Family

On 24 February 1837 he married his first cousin Elizabeth Guinness, third daughter of Edward Guinness of Dublin, and they had three sons and a daughter, living at Beaumont House in north County Dublin. In 1856 he bought what is now Iveagh House at 80 St Stephen's Green. Ashford Castle was described in William Wilde's book on Lough Corrib in the 1860s.[2]

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Arthur, who took over the brewery with his brother, the third son, Edward. His second son Benjamin (1842–1900) moved to England and had a career in the Royal Horse Guards. His daughter Anne (1839–1889) married William, Lord Plunket in 1863. The present-day Guinness Baronets descend from his second son Benjamin.

He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, in the family vault, on 27 May. His personalty was sworn under £1,100,000 on 8 August 1868. A bronze statue of him by John Foley was erected in St. Patrick's churchyard, on the south side of the cathedral, in September 1875, which was restored in 2006.

[edit] See also

   * Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page

* This article incorporates text from the Wikisource Wikisource-logo.svg entry Guinness, Benjamin Lee in the Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900), a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] References

  1. ^ Lynch and Vaizey, Guinness's Brewery in the Irish Economy 1759-1876 Cambridge 1960

2. ^ Wilde on Ashford
http://www.thepeerage.com/p3017.htm#i30163

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt.

M, #30163, b. 1 November 1798, d. 19 March 1868

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt.|b. 1 Nov 1798\nd. 19 Mar 1868|p3017.htm#i30163|Arthur Guinness|b. 12 Mar 1768\nd. 9 Jun 1855|p30205.htm#i302050|Anne Lee|b. 1774\nd. 21 Feb 1817|p30212.htm#i302111|Arthur Guinness|b. 12 Mar 1725\nd. 23 Jan 1803|p30140.htm#i301395|Olivia Whitmore|b. c 1742\nd. Mar 1814|p30198.htm#i301974|Benjamin Lee||p30158.htm#i301573|Susanna Smyth||p30158.htm#i301576|

Last Edited=7 Mar 2009

    Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt. was born on 1 November 1798.2 He was the son of Arthur Guinness and Anne Lee.1 He married Elizabeth Guinness, daughter of Edward Guinness and Margaret Blair, on 24 February 1837.2 He died on 19 March 1868 at age 69.3

In 1814 he started work at Arthur Guinness.2 He was a partner of Arthur Guinness in 1820.2 He held the office of Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1851.2 In 1855 he purchased Ashford Castle, which was originally a Georgian shooting lodge belonging to Lord Oranmore and Browne, one of whose successors in the title was to marry a Guinness heiress, and was sold by the Encumbered Estates Court to Benjamin Guinness, who then added to it.2 He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.).2 He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.).2 He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for the City of Dublin between 1865 and 1868.2 He was created 1st Baronet Guinness, of Ashford Castle, co. Galway [U.K.] on 15 April 1867, for his restoration of the Cathedral of St. Patrick, Dublin, at his own expense.2
Children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt. and Elizabeth Guinness

   * Anne Lee Guinness1 b. 1839, d. 8 Nov 1889

* Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st and last Baron Ardilaun of Ashford3 b. 1 Nov 1840, d. 20 Jan 1915
* Captain Benjamin Lee Guinness+4 b. 4 Aug 1842, d. 2 Feb 1900
* Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh+5 b. 10 Nov 1847, d. 7 Oct 1927
Citations

  1. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003). Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

2. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 1700.
3. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 194. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
4. [S21] L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 152. Hereinafter cited as The New Extinct Peerage.
5. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2066.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Guinness

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1 November 1798–19 May 1868) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist.

Brewer

Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness (1768-1855), and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of the latter's namesake (1725–1803) who founded the Guinness brewery in 1759. He joined his father in the business at an early age, and in 1839 took sole control. By 1855, when his father died, Guinness had become the richest man in Ireland, having built up a huge export trade and by continually enlarging his brewery.[1]

[edit] Dublin politician

In 1851 he was elected the first Lord Mayor of Dublin under the reformed corporation.

In 1863 he was made an honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) by Trinity College Dublin, and on 15 April 1867 was created a baronet by patent, in addition to which, on 18 May 1867, by royal license, he had a grant of supporters to his family arms.

Guinness was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 as a Conservative representative for Dublin City, serving until his death. His party's leader was Lord Derby. Previously he had supported the Liberal Lord Palmerston, but in the 1860s the Liberals proposed higher taxation on drinks such as beer.

[edit] Philanthropist

From 1860 to 1865, he undertook, at his own expense, the restoration of the city's St Patrick's Cathedral, an enterprise that cost over £150,000. In 1865 the building was restored to the dean and chapter, and reopened for services on 24 February. The citizens of Dublin and the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's presented him with addresses on 31 December 1865, expressive of their gratitude for what he had done for the city. The addresses were in two volumes, which were afterwards exhibited at the Paris Exhibition.

In recognition of his generosity, he was made a baronet in 1867. He was one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Ireland, a governor of Simpson's Hospital, and vice-chairman of the Dublin Exhibition Palace. He died the following year at his Park Lane London home. At the time of his death he was engaged in the restoration of Archbishop Marsh's public library, a building which adjoins St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was finished by his son Arthur.

He showed his practical interest in Irish archæology by carefully preserving the antiquarian remains existing on his large estates around Ashford Castle in County Galway, which he bought in 1855. Nearby Cong Abbey was well-known, and the famous Cross of Cong had been moved to a Dublin museum in 1839.

[edit] Family

On 24 February 1837 he married his first cousin Elizabeth Guinness, third daughter of Edward Guinness of Dublin, and they had three sons and a daughter, living at Beaumont House in north County Dublin. In 1856 he bought what is now Iveagh House at 80 St Stephen's Green. Ashford Castle was described in William Wilde's book on Lough Corrib in the 1860s.[2]

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Arthur, who took over the brewery with his brother, the third son, Edward. His second son Benjamin (1842–1900) moved to England and had a career in the Royal Horse Guards. His daughter Anne (1839–1889) married William, Lord Plunket in 1863. The present-day Guinness Baronets descend from his second son Benjamin.

He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, in the family vault, on 27 May. His personalty was sworn under £1,100,000 on 8 August 1868. A bronze statue of him by John Foley was erected in St. Patrick's churchyard, on the south side of the cathedral, in September 1875, which was restored in 2006.

[edit] See also

   * Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page

* This article incorporates text from the Wikisource Wikisource-logo.svg entry Guinness, Benjamin Lee in the Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900), a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] References

  1. ^ Lynch and Vaizey, Guinness's Brewery in the Irish Economy 1759-1876 Cambridge 1960

2. ^ Wilde on Ashford
http://www.thepeerage.com/p3017.htm#i30163

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt.

M, #30163, b. 1 November 1798, d. 19 March 1868

Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt.|b. 1 Nov 1798\nd. 19 Mar 1868|p3017.htm#i30163|Arthur Guinness|b. 12 Mar 1768\nd. 9 Jun 1855|p30205.htm#i302050|Anne Lee|b. 1774\nd. 21 Feb 1817|p30212.htm#i302111|Arthur Guinness|b. 12 Mar 1725\nd. 23 Jan 1803|p30140.htm#i301395|Olivia Whitmore|b. c 1742\nd. Mar 1814|p30198.htm#i301974|Benjamin Lee||p30158.htm#i301573|Susanna Smyth||p30158.htm#i301576|

Last Edited=7 Mar 2009

    Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt. was born on 1 November 1798.2 He was the son of Arthur Guinness and Anne Lee.1 He married Elizabeth Guinness, daughter of Edward Guinness and Margaret Blair, on 24 February 1837.2 He died on 19 March 1868 at age 69.3

In 1814 he started work at Arthur Guinness.2 He was a partner of Arthur Guinness in 1820.2 He held the office of Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1851.2 In 1855 he purchased Ashford Castle, which was originally a Georgian shooting lodge belonging to Lord Oranmore and Browne, one of whose successors in the title was to marry a Guinness heiress, and was sold by the Encumbered Estates Court to Benjamin Guinness, who then added to it.2 He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.).2 He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.).2 He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for the City of Dublin between 1865 and 1868.2 He was created 1st Baronet Guinness, of Ashford Castle, co. Galway [U.K.] on 15 April 1867, for his restoration of the Cathedral of St. Patrick, Dublin, at his own expense.2
Children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Bt. and Elizabeth Guinness

   * Anne Lee Guinness1 b. 1839, d. 8 Nov 1889

* Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st and last Baron Ardilaun of Ashford3 b. 1 Nov 1840, d. 20 Jan 1915
* Captain Benjamin Lee Guinness+4 b. 4 Aug 1842, d. 2 Feb 1900
* Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh+5 b. 10 Nov 1847, d. 7 Oct 1927
Citations

  1. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003). Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

2. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 1700.
3. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 194. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
4. [S21] L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 152. Hereinafter cited as The New Extinct Peerage.
5. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2066.

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1851 1st Lord Mayor of Dublin.

15 April 1867 was created a baronet by patent, in addition to which, on 18 May 1867, by royal license, he had a grant of supporters to his family arms. 1st baronet of Ashford.

Guinness was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 as a Conservative representative for Dublin City, serving until his death.

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Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness (1768–1855), and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of the first Arthur (1725–1803), who had bought the St. James's Gate Brewery in 1759. He joined his father in the business in his late teens, without attending university, and from 1839 he took sole control within the family. From 1855, when his father died, Guinness had become the richest man in Ireland, having built up a huge export trade and by continually enlarging his brewery.

In numbers, sales of his single and double stouts had been 78,000 hogsheads in 1855, which he nearly trebled to 206,000 hogsheads in 1865. Of these, some 112,000 were sold in Ireland, as the rural economy recovered from the 1840s potato famine, and 94,000 were exported to Britain.

By 1870, soon after his death, sales had risen further to 256,000 hogsheads, of which 120,000 were exported to Britain. Benjamin had also created the capacity for his sons to expand sales much further, and by 1879 these reached 565,000 hogsheads.

As a part of the brewery expansion, and to ensure deliveries, he invested in the new Irish railway companies from the 1840s. By 1867 the firm owned £86,000-worth of Irish railway stock.

Dublin politician In 1851 he was elected the first Lord Mayor of Dublin under the reformed corporation.

In 1863 he was made an honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) by Trinity College Dublin, and on 15 April 1867 was created a baronet by patent, in addition to which, on 18 May 1867, by royal licence, he had a grant of supporters to his family arms.

Guinness was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 as a Conservative representative for Dublin City, serving until his death. His party's leader was Lord Derby. Previously he had supported the Liberal Lord Palmerston, but in the 1860s the Liberals proposed higher taxation on drinks such as beer. Before 1865 the Irish Conservative Party did not entirely support British conservative policy, but did so after the Irish Church Act 1869. The government's most notable reform was the Reform Act 1867 that expanded the franchise.

Philanthropist

The Guinness Tower on the grounds of Ashford castle, built by Benjamin Guinness in 1864. From 1860 to 1865, he undertook at his own expense, and without hiring an architect, the restoration of the city's St Patrick's Cathedral, an enterprise that cost him over £150,000. In 1865 the building was restored to the dean and chapter, and reopened for services on 24 February. The citizens of Dublin and the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's presented him with addresses on 31 December 1865, expressive of their gratitude for what he had done for the city. The addresses were in two volumes, which were afterwards exhibited at the Paris Exhibition.

In recognition of his generosity, he was made a baronet in 1867. He was one of the ecclesiastical commissioners for Ireland, a governor of Simpson's Hospital, and vice-chairman of the Dublin Exhibition Palace. He died the following year at his Park Lane London home. At the time of his death he was engaged in the restoration of Archbishop Marsh's public library, a building which adjoins St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was finished by his son Arthur.

He showed his practical interest in Irish archæology by carefully preserving the antiquarian remains existing on his large estates around Ashford Castle in County Galway, which he bought in 1855. Nearby Cong Abbey was well-known, and the famous Cross of Cong had been moved to a Dublin museum in 1839.

Family On 24 February 1837 he married his first cousin Elizabeth Guinness, third daughter of Edward Guinness of Dublin, and they had three sons and a daughter, living at Beaumont House, Beaumont, in north County Dublin. In 1856 he bought what is now Iveagh House at 80 St Stephen's Green. Ashford Castle was described in William Wilde's book on Lough Corrib in the 1860s.

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Arthur, who took over the brewery with his brother, the third son, Edward. His second son Benjamin (1842–1900) married Henrietta, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Howth; they moved to England where he was a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards.[5] His daughter Anne (1839–1889) married William, Lord Plunket in 1863. The present-day Guinness Baronets descend from his second son Benjamin.

He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, in the family vault, on 27 May. His personalty was sworn under £1,100,000 on 8 August 1868. A bronze statue of him by John Foley was erected by the Cathedral Chapter in St. Patrick's churchyard, on the south side of the cathedral, in September 1875, which was restored in 2006.