In December 1857 Cowell inherited the substantial Carmarthenshire estates of the Stepney family, having been engaged in litigation about it for many years with the former incumbents, the Chambers family. He chose not to live in Llanelly House, which was let for commercial purposes, and he allowed the construction of many new streets, shops and houses on his land in an attempt to boost his income. He was thus largely responsible for much of the present layout of Llanelli and chose the names of many of its streets, which reflected his family's connections and careers: for example, Stepney Street, Murray Street, Salamanca Road, Glenalla Road, Inkerman Street. A somewhat eccentric and disagreeable figure (Queen Victoria detested him ), Cowell gained the nickname of ‘Old Whalebone’ . In 1864 Stepney was briefly mentioned as a potential candidate for the parliamentary vacancy in the
Carmarthen Boroughs, but he withdrew in favour of
William Morris, a cousin of the late member, David Morris. Prior to the 1868 General Election, William Morris announced his retirement and Colonel Cowell-Stepney, as he had now become, was elected Liberal MP for Carmarthen Boroughs at the age of seventy-seven. He made little impact in Parliament, although he spoke out against religious education in schools and opposed electoral intimidation by other Welsh landlords . He was the publisher of the
Social Economist which published an abridged version of the
Communist Manifesto in August and September 1869. This coincided with Cowell-Stepney attending the
Basle Congress of the
International Workingmen's Association in September 1869, where he was a delegate of the General Council. He retired in 1874. On 22 September 1871
Prime Minister Gladstone, a family friend, created a new baronetcy for Cowell-Stepney. He died on 15 May 1877 and is buried with his wife in
Kensal Green Cemetery. ==References==