Background
Wingfield was the son of Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt, by Dorothy Beresford Rowley, daughter of Hercules Rowley, of Summerhill, County Meath.
Wingfield was the son of Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt, by Dorothy Beresford Rowley, daughter of Hercules Rowley, of Summerhill, County Meath.
He was educated at Street John"s College, Cambridge. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1751. This was an Irish peerage and gave him a seat in the Irish House of Lords.
However, he was still able to stand for election for the British House of Commons, and in 1756 he was successfully returned for Stockbridge, a seat he held until 1761.