Lord Lonsdale's ninepins facts for kids

Lord Lonsdale's ninepins, also known as Sir James's ninepins or Lowther's ninepins, was a nickname given to certain Members of Parliament (MPs) during the Georgian era in Britain. These MPs were chosen and supported by a very powerful man named James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1736–1802). They basically owed their jobs in Parliament to him.

Who Was James Lowther?

James Lowther was a very rich and influential person from an old family in Cumberland, England. He became a baronet (a type of noble title) and inherited a lot of land and money when his father died in 1745. Later, in 1756, he inherited even more wealth from other family members. This made him the richest commoner (someone without a noble title) in England while he was still quite young.

He had huge power in the northwest parts of England. Lowther started getting involved in politics in 1753. He fought with another powerful person, Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of Thanet, over who would control the election in the town of Appleby.

This fight grew into a huge effort by Lowther to control who got elected to Parliament. He also wanted to decide who got important jobs in the government and military in Westmorland and Cumberland. He spent a lot of his money on these efforts and made many enemies along the way.

How Lowther Controlled Elections

Lowther's power in elections was at its peak during the general elections of 1780 and 1784. He managed to get many of his chosen candidates elected. For example, he helped two people get elected for Westmorland, one for Cumberland, two for Cockermouth, one for Appleby, and one for Carlisle. He even bought control of a town called Haslemere in Surrey in 1780, which allowed him to elect two more MPs there.

At first, some famous politicians like Charles Jenkinson and William Pitt the Younger were elected with Lowther's help. However, Lowther demanded that the MPs he supported obey him completely. This led many of them to find other ways to get elected or to break ties with him. William Pitt the Younger was one of the last to leave, after being elected for Appleby in 1781.

After 1784, the MPs Lowther supported were usually his relatives, close friends, or people who depended on him. These "ninepins" were not very well-known politicians and didn't achieve much in the House of Commons. They were mostly there to follow Lowther's instructions.

The "Ninepins" List

The following people were some of the "ninepins" who served in Parliament under Lowther's direction from 1780 to 1790. Lowther himself was also an MP during this time.

• John Baynes Garforth: He was Lowther's manager and agent.
• Sir Michael le Fleming: A friend of Lowther.
• Edward Knubley: He was given a job by Lowther.
• James Lowther: A distant cousin of Lowther.
• John Lowther: Another distant cousin of Lowther.
• William Lowther: Also a distant cousin of Lowther.
• Edward Norton: Lowther's friend and election helper in Lancaster.
• Richard Penn: Grandson of William Penn (who founded Pennsylvania in America) and a friend of Lowther.
• William Pitt the Younger: A future Prime Minister, he was elected with Lowther's help for a short time.
• Thomas Postlethwaite: His identity isn't fully known, but he was clearly dependent on Lowther.
• James Clarke Satterthwaite: Another helper and agent for Lowther's elections.
• Humphrey Senhouse: A friend of Lowther.
• Walter Spencer-Stanhope: A distant cousin of Lowther.

The End of an Era

Before the general election of 1790, some of Lowther's MPs lost their seats due to official complaints about the election results. He also stopped supporting some of his cousins, possibly because one of them, William, disagreed with him on an important law called the Regency Bill.

Even though he couldn't control all nine seats after this, Lowther continued to spend a lot of money and use clever, sometimes unfair, methods to win elections until he died in 1802. His cousin, William, who he had made up with in 1801, inherited his vast fortune and his political influence.

The Famous Nickname

The name "Lord Lonsdale's ninepins" became popular because of a clever remark made by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, a famous playwright and politician. The story goes that Edmund Burke, another well-known politician, gave a very sharp and sarcastic speech criticizing one of Lowther's MPs. The House of Commons cheered loudly.

When Charles James Fox, another important politician, arrived and asked Sheridan why everyone was cheering, Sheridan supposedly replied, "Burke has knocked down one of Lord Lonsdale's ninepins." This witty comment compared Lowther's MPs to bowling pins that could be easily knocked down.

However, most of the MPs Lowther supported in 1784 didn't speak much in Parliament. Only William Lowther spoke twice, and Sir Michael le Fleming spoke once. So, the story might be more about the idea of Lowther's control than a specific event.