Mr. Rouncewell is the son of Mrs. Rouncewell, the father of Watt, and the brother of George. Mr. Rouncewell is an industrious and practical man who has made his fortune in the iron trade. He has rejected a career in Sir Leicester Dedlock’s service, where his family has worked for generations. He is very proud that he has deviated from this course and that he has made his own way in the world and provides for his family with his money made in manufacturing. Mr. Rouncewell is a caring man and a political activist. The reader is told that he successfully runs for Parliament and is staunchly opposed to Sir Leicester’s political conservativism. Mr. Rouncewell represents changes in social mobility during the 19th century, in which working men were no longer reliant on wealthy patrons to make their fortune but could make their own way in new industries and trade.