Wyndham Lewis

Wyndham Lewis was born on 7 October 1780 and died on 14 March 1838. He was a British politician with familial connections to industrial and landowning interests in Wales and southwestern England. His father was Reverend Wyndham Lewis of Tongwynlais in Glamorganshire.

Through inheritance from his family, Lewis acquired shares in the Dowlais Iron Company and sizeable estates located in Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, and Gloucestershire. He pursued legal studies at Lincoln's Inn, entering as a student in 1812 and qualifying as a barrister in 1819. Additionally, he served as a major in the county militia, and held positions as a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant.

Lewis held parliamentary seats representing three constituencies during his political career. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff Boroughs from 1820 to 1826, for Aldeburgh from 1827 to 1829, and for Maidstone from 1835 until his death in 1838.

In 1816, Wyndham Lewis married Mary Anne Evans, daughter of John Evans. The couple did not have children. Wyndham Lewis died in London's Mayfair district at the age of 57.

Following his death, his widow Mary Anne Lewis remarried in 1839, becoming the wife of Benjamin Disraeli, a prominent British politician. In 1868, she was elevated to the peerage as Viscountess Beaconsfield. She and Wyndham Lewis are referenced in a book authored by Douglas Hurd, which discusses Disraeli; notably, it mentions their acquaintance and financial support during Disraeli’s election campaigns. The account details how Disraeli initially regarded Mary Anne as a "rattle and flirt" in 1834 but developed a closer relationship with her over time, especially after Wyndham Lewis’s death, leading to an increasingly significant connection between her and Disraeli.

External references include records of her contributions in Parliament as documented in Hansard and entries in the Welsh Biography Online.