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Lot Essay
George Hay Dawkins, second son of Henry Dawkins II of Standlynch, Wiltshire and Over Norton, Oxfordshire and his wife, Lady Juliana Colyear, daughter of Charles Colyear, second Earl of Portmore (1700-1785), inherited the Penrhyn Castle and estates on the death of his cousin, Richard Pennant (1737?-1808). The family wealth was founded in slate, the slave trade and in estates in Jamaica. George Hay Dawkins assumed the additional name and arms of Pennant on his inheritance in 1816. He was M.P. for Newark in Nottinghamshire from 1814-1818 and New Romney in Kent from 1820-1830. George Hay Dawkins Pennant expanded the estate by purchasing various parcels of land and bought most of the hotels in the city of Bangor, but will be most remembered for the building of the present Penrhyn castle to the designs of Thomas Hooper (1776-1856) in the neo-Gothic fantasty style between 1821-1836. Hooper also designed the elaborate carvings, plasterwork and mock-Norman furniture that make Penrhyn such a unique castle.
He married Sophia May (d. 1812), daughter of Cornwallis, 1st Viscount Hawarden (d. 1803) in 1807 and had two daughters who were known as the 'Slate Queens'. The elder Juliana Isabella Mary inherited Penrhyn and married Edward Douglas Gordon in 1833 and in 1841 they became the Hon. Edward and Mrs Douglas Pennant. The second daughter Emma Elizabeth Alicia (1810-1888) married Thomas Hanbury-Tracy, 2nd Baron Sudeley. He married secondly Elizabeth (1780-1859), daughter of Hon. William Henry Bouverie.
He married Sophia May (d. 1812), daughter of Cornwallis, 1st Viscount Hawarden (d. 1803) in 1807 and had two daughters who were known as the 'Slate Queens'. The elder Juliana Isabella Mary inherited Penrhyn and married Edward Douglas Gordon in 1833 and in 1841 they became the Hon. Edward and Mrs Douglas Pennant. The second daughter Emma Elizabeth Alicia (1810-1888) married Thomas Hanbury-Tracy, 2nd Baron Sudeley. He married secondly Elizabeth (1780-1859), daughter of Hon. William Henry Bouverie.