Lefroy, Thomas Langlois

LAWYER (IRELAND)
BORN 8 Jan 1776, Limerick - DIED 4 May 1869, Newcourt, County Wicklow (near Bray)
GRAVE LOCATION Dublin: Mount Jerome Cemetery, 158 Harold's Cross Road

Thomas Langlois Lefroy came from a family of Huguenots. His father was an army officer. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London. In the mid 1790s he visited Hampshire and there he was introduced to Jane Austen, who was twenty years old at the time. There probably was a flirt, but nothing came of it. It is possible that he was the model for Mr. Darcy in Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice".

In 1797 he was called to the bar and he married Mary Paul in 1799. Apart from his brilliant legal career he was an important amateur astronomer. In 1830 a Gothic-style house called Carrigglas Manor was built for him and his family.

In 1830 he was elected into the House of Commons for the Tories. His mind was very sharp until old age. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench in Ireland and he held this position until 1866. He retired to Newcourt where he died three years later.

Related persons
• knew Austen, Jane

Images

The grave of Thomas Langlois Lefroy at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin.
Picture by Androom (18 Aug 2016)

 

Sources
Thomas Langlois Lefroy - Wikipedia


Lefuel, Hector

Published: 21 Jan 2018
Last update: 20 Apr 2022