William Henry Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe (15 May 1812 – 26 January 1857) was a British politician.

Background

Downe was the son of the Reverend William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe, Rector of Sessay and Thormanby in North Yorkshire.

Political career

Downe was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for Rutland in 1841, a seat he held until 1846. The latter year he succeeded his father in the viscountcy. However, as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords.

Family

Lord Downe married Mary Isabel, daughter of the Right Reverend Richard Bagot, in 1843. They had eight sons and two daughters: He died in January 1857, aged 44, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, Hugh. Lady Downe later remarried and died in April 1900. Lord Downe, his wife and her second husband, are buried in the churchyard of the Church of St James, Baldersby in North Yorkshire.