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A Victorian barrister, oarsman, and Conservative MP, he combined public life with a lifelong love of rowing on the Thames. His story connects Parliament, Oxford sport, and an old family estate at Hardwick House.
by Philip Lybbe Powys Lybbe
Born on 12 June 1818 at Broomfield House in Southgate, Middlesex, he came from the Powys family of Hardwick House near Whitchurch-on-Thames. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, later becoming a barrister and a justice of the peace for Oxfordshire.
He is best remembered in public life as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newport on the Isle of Wight from 1859 to 1865. In 1863 he obtained a Royal Licence to change his name, and later used the surname Lybbe.
Rowing was another major part of his life. He rowed for Oxford in the 1839 Boat Race and later helped win the Stewards' Challenge Cup at Henley as a member of the Midge club. He died on 12 September 1897 at Patcham, Sussex, and was buried at Whitchurch-on-Thames.