John Christian Curwen

[1] He succeeded his father in 1767 and served as High Sheriff of Cumberland from 1784 to 1785,[3] although he twice refused a peerage.

He was a member of the Whig party and an active campaigner in Parliament,[1] and known as something of a radical, having approved of the French Revolution.

His first marriage was on 10 September 1775 to Margaret Taubman (d. 1778), the daughter of John Taubman, Speaker of the House of Keys, of Castletown, Isle of Man, with whom he had a son:[1] His second marriage was on 5 October 1782 to his cousin Isabella Curwen, the daughter and heiress of Henry Curwen of Workington.

[6] Workington Hall, now ruined after a wartime fire, is a Grade I listed building.

[7] Together, John and Isabella were the parents of five sons and three daughters, including:[1] He died on 11 December 1828 in financial difficulties because of increased costs and reduced profits from his coal mines and was buried in an unmarked grave in Workington.