The Riddell Collection of Wax Seals:
Seal Life Stories: the remarkable careers of 23 individuals from the Riddell Collection of Wax Seals
19: andrew agnew of lochnaw (1793-1849)
Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw
Andrew Agnew was born in Kinsale, County Cork to Andrew Agnew and Martha, daughter of John de Courcy, 19th Lord Kingsale. He attended the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oxford before succeeding his grandfather as 7th Baronet in 1809.
He was M.P. for Wigtownshire twice, and spent the majority of his parliamentary career campaigning for sabbath observance. As a Sabbatarian he petitioned Parliament regularly with a bill which would prohibit all forms of secular labour on Sunday. The bill was voted down four times before being withdrawn completely. On its fourth attempt, it was challenged by Charles Dickens as being discriminatory towards the poor and working class.
The bill, as well as prohibiting labour, also made all forms of secular leisure activities illegal – visiting parks, galleries, tea rooms, trips on paddle steamers. After the reading of the fourth version of the bill, Dickens wrote and published a pamphlet entitled ‘Sunday Under Three Heads’ in which he imagined its effects on the population. He concluded that ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man to serve the Sabbath.’
Andrew married Madeline Carnegie in 1816, with a family of twelve children by 1835.