Charles Loftus Uniacke Townshend (5C01)

Date of Birth: 7 Jan 1861
Date of Death: 17 Mar 1931
Generation: 7th
Residence: Dublin & Reigate
Father: Charles Uniacke Townshend [5C00]
Mother: Tottenham, Anna Maria Sarah
Spouse:
  1. von Bunsen, Beatrice Margaret
Issue:
  1. Commander Charles Richard de Bunsen Loftus [5C15]
  2. Frederick William Chisholm Loftus [5C16]
  3. Charles Maurice Waddington Loftus [5C17]
  4. Edward Arthur Penderell Loftus [5C18]
  5. Walter Bevil Granville Loftus [5C19]
  6. Bernard Hugo Uniacke Loftus [5C20]
See Also: Table VC ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree

Notes for Charles Loftus Uniacke Townshend

Charles was born in Dublin and baptized at St Peter's Church on 4 February 1861.

Charles' biography can be seen on page 295 of 'Cork and County Cork in the Twentieth Century - Contemporary Biographies' by the Rev Richard J Hodges and published by W T Pike & Co in 1911. It has also been reproduced in his 'Scrapbook'.

Married 27 April 1895. Beatrice Margaret von Bunsen (1) was the only child of Carl von Bunsen, German Diplomatic Service, of Mein Genugen, Biebrich, Germany and grand-daughter of Baron von Bunsen, sometime Prussian Minister at the Court of St James.

Charles was educated at Repton and was commissioned into the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Promoted Captain in 1890 (2) he resigned his Commission on 22 April 1893 (3) and joined his father's well established Land Agency practice at 15 Molesworth Street in Dublin, as did his brother Thomas Loftus Townshend [5C02]. His cousins Thomas Courtenay Townsend [5B02] and William Charles Townsend [5B05] were also land agents in Dublin.

In his capacity as a Land and Estate Agent Charles was closely involved in the sale of the Castletownshend Estate. In 1894 the mortgage on the estate was called in and Geraldine Townsend [252] spent the next three years trying to raise the money to pay off the loan. With the estate due to be put up for auction in the summer of 1897, Geraldine, in a last desperate bid to save everything, sought in vain to set up a family syndicate to buy the entire estate. Sadly this failed to materialize and Geraldine approached Charles and others to raise a further loan to save the property. This failed as well and the complete estate was auctioned on 25 June 1897; Lot 87 (the Castle and demesne) was sold to Charles himself. It would appear that Charles and his family were living in the Castle before the auction. In a letter to Dorothea, wife of Richard Baxter Townsend [5D15], dated 31 July 1896 Hildegarde Coghill wrote the following - "We like the de Bunsen Townshends very much, old Madame(she is not really old) is especially nice and all the Hatley Townshends are as nice as possible. The son, Loftus is adorable with a most perfect tenor voice. He married a Miss Ogilvie, an Australian girl also very nice. It is pleasant having the Castle full again."(4)

However, the Castle and demesne were entailed to Maurice FitzGerald Townshend [263] and thus could not be bequeathed or sold to anyone outside the direct line of the family. This meant that in law Maurice was the legal owner of the property so, on repayment of the outstanding mortgage on the estate and having repaid Charles the purchase price of £14,000, Maurice was able to re- possess the Castle in about or just after 1914.

The report of proceedings, lists of committees, delegates, etc in June 1892 of the Munster & Connaught Unionist Convention for Provinces of Leinster shows ‘C. L. Townsend’ as a representative for the County of Dublin. Several of his kinsmen were also listed as members – Richard Harvey Townsend [534], Thomas Courtenay Townsend [5B02], Charles Eyre Townshend [5B14], Charles Uniacke Townsend [5C00], Horace Webb Townsend [634] and Horatio Hamilton Townsend [6B05].

Page 306 of the 1907 Edition of Guy's City and County Cork Directory and page 309 of the 1913 Edition of the Directory both show Charles as resident at ‘The Castle, Castletownshend’. The entry on page 279 of the 1921 Edition of Guy's records "Townshend CF, The Castle. Townshend Chas L, The Castle"

Neither Charles nor Beatrice is shown in the April 1901 Irish Census. The April 1911 Irish Census records that Beatrice was living at 46 Lansdowne Road, Dublin, a 13 room house, with her sons Walter & Hugo, her mother aged 76 and four domestic staff. None of the other four sons, aged between 10 and 15, are shown as they were presumably away at boarding school. Charles himself is not shown for this address nor for an address in Castletownshend.

'Burke's Irish Family Records' shows Charles "of Castletownshend and 46, Lansdowne Road, Dublin, later of Hill House, Reigate, Surrey". 'Slater’s Royal National Directory of Ireland, 1894’ records under the heading ‘Nobility, Gentry, Clergy & Private Residents, Dublin’ and also under the heading ‘County Magistrates for the Province of Leinster. Co Dublin’ - “Townshend Charles, jun. 'Hatley', 10 Burlington rd.” However, Burke’s show Charles' father living in Burlington Road and Slater makes no mention of his private residence so there might be some confusion here. Nevertheless it is certain that they worked out of the same office as recorded by Slater under the heading ‘Dublin Commercial Directory’ - “Townshend C. U. & C. L. land agents, 15 Molesworth Street”.

There is a further entry in Slater’s Directory under the heading ‘Munster Parishes - Kilmallock, Co Limerick. Private Residents’ - “Townsend Loftus, Fairfield house.” It seems unlikely that this refers to Charles; it could refer to his brothers Thomas Loftus Uniacke Townsend [5C02] or Robert Ponsonby Loftus Townsend [5C03] or none of them at all. Francis Guy’s County & City of Cork Directory 1875-76 records 'Townsend - William Uniacke', Kilfinane as an ex officio member of the Board of Guardians for Killmallock.

The Lloyds Register 1900 at the Royal Cork Yacht Club records "Townshend, CL. The Castle Castletownshend, Co Cork. 'Bat' (1 ton)." and Guys Postal Directory for Castletownshend 1914 shows “Townshend Chas L, The Castle Hotel”. Charlers was also a member of the Royal St. George Yacht Club, Kingstown and the Sackville Street Club, Dublin.

See the entry for Geraldine Townsend [252] for the full story on the sale of Castletownshend.

(1) Beatrice was born in 1862 and died on 21 December 1947 at Manor House, Riverhead, Sevenoaks, Kent (London Gazette 38224) and the funeral service took place at St Luke's Church, South Park, Reigate.

(2) London Gazette 26037 page 1898.

(3) London Gazette 26394 page 2361.

(4) RBT Papers 219/1.