Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (11 July 1700 – 12 March 1764), known as Lord Lynn from 1723 to 1738, was a British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 politician.

Townshend was the eldest son of the 2nd Viscount Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Bt, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State, directing British foreign policy...

 and was educated at Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

. After graduating, he entered the Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 when he succeeded his uncle as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Great Yarmouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 in 1722. He held the seat until a year later, when he was summoned to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 through a writ of acceleration

Writ of acceleration

A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...

 in his father's barony of Townshend. As his father was already Lord Townshend, Charles was styled Lord Lynn after the barony's territorial designation

Territorial designation

A territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies...

 of Lynn Regis

King's Lynn

King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

. Townshend then became Master of the Jewel Office

Master of the Jewel Office

The Master of the Jewel Office is a position in the British Royal Household. The holders are responsible for running the Jewel Office, which holds the Sovereign's jewellry.-Masters of the Jewel Office:*1445–1448: John Merston*1465–1483: Thomas Vaughan...

 and Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Since 1689, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk.*Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex 1557–1559*Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk 1559–1572...

 in 1730 and succeeded to his father's titles in 1738.

On 29 May 1723, Townshend had married Audrey Harrison (the only daughter and heiress of Edward Harrison of Balls Park, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

) and their surviving children were George

George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend

Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC , known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier who reached the rank of field marshal.-Early life:...

, later Marquess Townshend

Marquess Townshend

Marquess Townshend is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the Townshend family of Raynham Hall in Norfolk. This family descends from Roger Townshend, who in 1617 was created a Baronet, of Raynham in the County of Norfolk, in the Baronetage of England. He later represented Orford and...

 (1724–1807) and Charles

Charles Townshend

Charles Townshend was a British politician. He was born at his family's seat of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, the second son of Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend, and Audrey , daughter and heiress of Edward Harrison of Ball's Park, near Hertford, a lady who rivalled her son in...

(1725–1767).