Moreton Frewen

Moreton Frewen (8 May 1853 – 2 September 1924), nicknamed "Mortal Ruin", was a British entrepreneur and writer on monetary reform, who served briefly as a Member of Parliament (MP).

Early life Frewen was born on 8 May 1853 at Brickwall House, Northiam, East Sussex. He was the third son of Thomas Frewen (1811–1870), MP for South Leicestershire, and Helen Louisa Homan (1821–1901). before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained his BA in 1877.

Career Frewen was a charming adventurer from an old Sussex landed gentry family. He was known as a fine shot, often invited to shoot at Sandringham by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII; a good horseman who taught Lillie Langtry to ride; and a keen fisherman. He gambled most of his inheritance on a two-horse race, declaring he would go to America if he lost - which he did. He founded an enormous ranch at Kaycee in Wyoming, where he built the first two-storey building in the state. There he established the Frewen Brothers Cattle Company, which later went public as the Powder River Cattle Company Ltd. taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He resigned on 5 July 1911 because his seat was needed for Healy and because of his reactionary public statements: his opposition to the Parliament Bill to remove the legislative veto of the House of Lords was proving a political liability. He was therefore an uncle (by marriage) to Winston Churchill. Capt. Oswald Moreton Frewen (1887–1958) Clare Consuelo Frewen (1885–1970), married Wilfred Sheridan, grandson of Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Frewen died on 2 September 1924 at his residence Brede Place, Brede, East Sussex.

Works The economic crisis, 1888 Melton Mowbray, and other memories, 1924

In popular culture Frewen figures prominently in the novel Mortal Ruin by John Malcolm.