Family and Education

b. 8 Apr. 1743, 1st s. of Abraham Rawlinson of Lancaster by Ellen, da. of William Godsalve; 1st cos. of Abraham Rawlinson and a distant relative of Sir Walter Rawlinson.  m. 14 Aug. 1765, Martha, da. of Peregrine Tyzack of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2s. 7da.  suc. fa. 29 Oct. 1780.

Offices Held

Biography

Rawlinson was a merchant and owned property in the West Indies. He was returned for Liverpool in 1780 on a joint interest with Bamber Gascoyne junior and was expected to support North’s Administration.1 On 14 May 1781 he was accused in the House of being ‘at the minister’s nod’, and rose to defend himself.2 He voted with Opposition on the motion censuring Sandwich’s conduct of naval affairs, 20 Feb. 1782, but continued to support the Government thereafter. On 18 Feb. 1783 he voted in favour of Shelburne’s peace preliminaries, but subsequently went with the Coalition. He did not stand in 1784.

Three speeches, attributed by the Parliamentary History to his cousin, Abraham, were probably made by Henry Rawlinson. On 8 May 1781 he opposed the presentation of a petition advocating economical reform; in the debate of 14 May 1781 he explained why he had not presented a petition from his Liverpool constituents; on 8 Mar. 1782, in the debate on Cavendish’s motion of censure, he defended the ministry’s conduct of affairs in the West Indies.3

He died 28 Jan. 1786.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: J. A. Cannon

Notes

• 1. Add. 38567, ff. 77-78.
• 2. Debrett, iii. 317.
• 3. Ibid. 218, 317-18; vi. 397.