Background
Dawnay was the son of John Dawnay of Womersley, Yorkshire and his wife Elizabeth Hutton, daughter of Sir Richard Hutton, a Judge of the King"s Bench.
Dawnay was the son of John Dawnay of Womersley, Yorkshire and his wife Elizabeth Hutton, daughter of Sir Richard Hutton, a Judge of the King"s Bench.
He was baptised on 25 January 1625. He entered Gray"s Inn and Jesus College, Cambridge in 1641. He was knighted on 2 June 1660.
In 1661 he was elected Member of Parliament for Pontefract in the Cavalier Parliament.
He was re-elected Member of Parliament for Pontefract in the two elections of 1679. He was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Viscount Downe on 19 February 1681.
Lord Downe was twice married.
Cavalier Parliament. Exclusion Bill Parliament. Habeas Corpus Parliament]
In 1660, Dawnay was elected Member of Parliament for Yorkshire in the Convention Parliament.
As this was an Irish peerage he could remain a member of the House of Commons and he was re-elected in 1681, 1685 and 1689.