Humphrey Howorth

Sir Humphrey Howorth (c.1684–1755), of Maesllwch Castle, Radnorshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for 33 years from 1722 to 1755.

However the Duke of Chandos, Lord Lieutenant of the county, who also had a strong interest through stewardship of the King’s manors, decided to lead a sustained campaign against him.

In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the Royal Academy of Music, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from Handel, Bononcini and others.

His financial difficulties were compounded when he was ordered to pay into the Treasury £3,000 arrears from the crown rents which he had collected in Cheshire before he lost the receivership in 1730.

The Duke of Chandos died in 1744 and in 1746 the stewardship of the Kings Manors was passed to the brother of Howorth’s friend and ally, Thomas Lewis, and thus the interests were brought together.