Velters Cornewall

In 1721 he made his first move into politics, writing to his cousin the Earl of Oxford, seeking to be appointed parliamentary candidate at Leominster.

Oxford replied that he had already promised the seat to Sir Archer Croft, but "I have the greatest regard for your family, and should be glad of any opportunity to show the esteem for your person."

[3] On 26 February 1745 he seconded a motion calling for a parliamentary enquiry into the Battle of Toulon the previous year, in which his younger brother James Cornewall had been killed.

Ballads were written in his honour,[6] and on 6 June 1763 "the High Sheriff, Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders [of Herefordshire] presented an address [...] expressing warmest thanks for [his] diligence and steadiness in opposing the late tax.

Finally, on 2 April 1737, he married Catherine (d. 1777) the youngest daughter and co-heir of William Hanbury of Byfleet, Surrey.