Hercules Langford Rowley

Hercules Langford Rowley PC (circa 1714 – 25 March 1794) was an Irish politician and landowner.

**Early Life**

Hercules Langford Rowley was born around 1714. He was the only son of Frances (née Upton) Rowley and Hercules Rowley. His father served as a Member of Parliament for County Londonderry from 1703 until his death in 1742. Hercules Langford Rowley's sister was Dorothy Beresford Rowley, who married Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt; their children included Edward and Richard, the 2nd and 3rd Viscounts Powerscourt. Hercules Rowley's paternal grandfather was Sir John Rowley, knighted for services during the Restoration, and his grandmother was Mary Langford, daughter and heiress of Sir Hercules Langford, 1st Baronet.

In 1661, his great-grandfather Langford purchased Lynch’s Castle in County Meath from Henry Jones, Lord Bishop of Meath. His maternal grandfather was Arthur Upton of Castle Upton in County Antrim. Through his aunt Anne, Rowley was a first cousin of Sir Randal Beresford, 2nd Baronet, and through his aunt Mary, he was connected to Mary Clotworthy, who married Hon. Robert Fitzgerald, son of the 16th Earl of Kildare, and was grandmother to the 19th Earl of Kildare and the Duke of Leinster.

His family connections extended to Lettice Rowley, who was the wife of Arthur Loftus, 3rd Viscount Loftus.

**Career**

Hercules Langford Rowley served as High Sheriff of County Meath in 1738. He was a Member of Parliament for County Londonderry from 1743 to 1760, and subsequently for County Meath from 1761 until his death in 1794. He was made a member of the Irish Privy Council.

His wife was granted the titles Viscountess Langford of Langford Lodge and Baroness Summerhill in the Peerage of Ireland on 19 February 1766; these titles were associated with his family. She was succeeded in her peerages by her son, the second Viscount.

He inherited his father’s estates, including Lynch’s Castle, which had been owned by the Langford family since 1661. In 1731, he commissioned architects Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and Richard Cassels to build a Georgian mansion called Summerhill House on the property. Lynch’s Castle was abandoned in the 1730s but remained as a folly. Summerhill House was damaged by fire multiple times and was ultimately destroyed by the Irish Republican Army in 1921, remaining a ruin until demolished in 1970.

In 1743, upon entering Parliament, Rowley purchased a residence on Mary Street in Dublin, later known as Langford House. It was an imposing four-story, five-bay structure situated in a fashionable area.

**Personal Life**

On 31 October 1732, Hercules Rowley married Elizabeth Ormsby Upton (1713–1791), daughter of Clotworthy Upton, MP for Newton and County Antrim, and Jane Ormsby. They resided at Summerhill, County Meath.

They had several children, including:

- Hon. Jane Rowley (c. 1734–1818), who married Thomas Taylour, becoming Baroness Headford, Viscountess Headfort, and Countess of Bective through her husband's peerages.

- Hercules Rowley, 2nd Viscount Langford (1737–1796), Member of the Irish House of Commons for County Antrim and Downpatrick; he died unmarried.

- Major Hon. Clotworthy Rowley (1740–1781), who married Elizabeth Crosbie and Frances Wesley.

- Hon. Catherine Rowley (1748–1816), who married Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford.

- Arthur Rowley, who died unmarried.

Hercules Langford Rowley died on 25 March 1794 at Langford House in Dublin.

**Descendants and Legacy**

The viscountcy became extinct upon the death of his son Hercules in 1796. The estates were inherited by his grandson Clotworthy Taylour, who was the son of Jane Rowley and Thomas Taylor, 1st Earl of Bective. Clotworthy assumed the surname Rowley and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Langford in 1800.

Through his daughter Jane, Hercules Langford Rowley was the grandfather of notable figures including Thomas Taylour, 1st Marquess of Headfort; the Pakenham family, including Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; and others associated with Irish and British nobility.