Family and Education

b. 1 July 1786, 1st s. of Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Bt.*. m. (1) 1 Oct. 1808, at Madras, Eliza Harriet (div. July 1820), da. of Sir George Hilaro Barlow, 1st Bt., gov. Madras, 2s. 1da.; (2) 15 Apr. 1822, Georgiana Janet, da. of Mungo Dick of Pitcarrow House, Angus, 3s. 1da. suc. fa. as 2nd Visct. Exmouth 23 Jan. 1833.

Offices Held

Lt. RN 1802, cdr. 1804, capt. 1806; naval a.d.c. to William IV 1830-32.

Capt. S. Hams yeomanry 1820.

Biography

Pellew, godson of Edmund Bastard*, spent a profitable time with his father in the East Indies, where one of his prizes brought him £50,000. In 1812 his father bought him the Canonteign estate. The Duke of Northumberland, grateful for Sir Edward Pellew’s promoting his son, Lord Algernon Percy, brought Pellew in for Launceston to hold the seat for his father until he returned to England, but Sir Edward was called to the Lords and his son kept the seat. He was expected to support government. On 1 Apr. 1816 he assured the House he was ‘no party man; the gentlemen who were in the habit of supporting government knew this very well and that he mostly concurred with them’. The speech was in criticism of the navy estimates and he threatened to bring before the House the grievances of sailors on foreign stations whose pay was withheld. This was after he had joined opposition in support of reductions in the army and Household estimates, 28 Feb., 6 and 11 Mar. 1816, and opposed government on the property tax, 18 Mar. He voted with ministers against inquiry into their use of informers, 5 Mar. 1818. He supported government against Tierney’s censure motion, 18 May 1819. He eventually resigned his seat rather than support the Roman Catholic relief bill: he had voted against it on 11 and 24 May 1813. He died 2 Dec. 1833.

C. Northcote Parkinson, Edward Pellew, Visct. Exmouth, 71, 375, 395, 400.

Ref Volumes: 1790-1820

Author: P. A. Symonds

Notes