Sir William Fownes, 2nd Baronet (1709 – 5 June 1778) was an Anglo-Irish politician, and abusive guardian to Sarah Ponsonby, one of the Ladies of Llangollen.
Fownes was the Member of Parliament for Dingle in the Irish House of Commons between 1749 and 1760, before representing Knocktopher from 1761 to 1776.
[2] His granddaughter was the artist Marianne-Caroline Hamilton via his daughter and only child Sarah Tighe (née Fownes).
[3] Although the women were apprehended by their families, Eleanor escaped her family and secretly stayed in Sarah's room in Fownes' house, with food smuggled in by Mary Carryl, one of the household servants.
[4] The women were eventually able to leave their difficult domestic situation and moved to North Wales where they became known as the Ladies of Llangollen.