Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue
| The Right Honourable The Earl Fortescue KG PC |
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"Hugh, Earl Fortescue KG, Lord Lieutenant of Devon". Wearing Garter Star. Marble bust by Edward Bowring Stephens, 1861; Memorial Hall, West Buckland School, Devon
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| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
| In office 13 March 1839 – 11 September 1841 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Normanby |
| Succeeded by | The Earl de Grey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 February 1783 |
| Died | 14 September 1861 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Susan Ryder (1796–1827) (2) Elizabeth Geale (c. 1805–1896) |
| Alma mater | Brasenose College, Oxford |
Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue KG, PC (13 February 1783 – 14 September 1861), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1789 to 1841, was a British Whig politician. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1839 to 1841.
Contents
Background and education
Fortescue was the eldest son of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue, and Hester Grenville, daughter of Prime Minister George Grenville. He was educated at Eton and Brasenose College, Oxford.
Political career
Fortescue first became an MP, for Barnstaple, just after his 21st birthday, and sat for various constituencies almost continuously until 1839. The latter year he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Fortescue, and then served under Lord Melbourne as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1839 to 1841 (when he succeeded his father in the earldom) and under Lord John Russell as Lord Steward from 1846 to 1850. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1839 and created a Knight of the Garter in 1856. Fortescue belonged to that section of the Whig party that welcomed much of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon hoping for radical change in Britain.[citation needed] After Napoleon's first abdication and exile to Elba he arranged visits by other prominent Whigs to the Emperor.[citation needed]
Portraits
A statue of the Earl stands in Exeter Castle Yard, and his marble bust is displayed on the staircase of the Memorial Hall in West Buckland School. 49 of the Fortescue family portraits were saved from the disastrous fire at Castle Hill of 9 March 1934 with minor smoke damage, but were shortly afterwards all destroyed by fire when the delivery lorry returning them from the restorer caught fire whilst parked overnight pending their return to Castle Hill.[2]
Co-founds West Buckland School
In 1858 together with Rev. J.L. Brereton, Prebendary of Exeter Cathedral and Rector of West Buckland, he founded the Devon County School, situated on land between West Buckland and East Buckland donated by him from his North Devon estate centred at Filleigh. The school was intended to provide a top quality education to local boys, including therefore the sons of many of his tenant farmers; it continues today as West Buckland School, an independent private school. A marble bust of Earl Fortescue, sculpted in 1861 by Edward Bowring Stephens (1815–82), stands on the staircase of the school's Memorial Hall.
Marriage & progeny
Lord Fortescue married twice:
- Firstly in 1817 to Lady Susan Ryder (d.1827), daughter of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby. They had the following issue:
- Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue (1818–1905)
- Hon. John Fortescue, MP
- Hon. Dudley Fortescue, MP
- Secondly in 1841, 14 years after the death of his first wife, to Elizabeth Geale (d. May 1896), daughter of Piers Geale and widow of Sir Marcus Somerville, 4th Baronet (c. 1775–1831).
Death & succession
Fortescue died in September 1861, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue.
Sources
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs [self-published source][better source needed]
- Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, Fortescue, pp. 75–82
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Fortescue
References
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Barnstaple 1804–1807 With: William Devaynes William Taylor |
Succeeded by George Thellusson William Taylor |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for St Mawes 1807–1809 With: Scrope Bernard to 1808 Earl Gower from 1808 |
Succeeded by Scrope Bernard-Morland Earl Gower |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1812–1817 With: William Henry Fremantle |
Succeeded by James Hamilton Stanhope William Henry Fremantle |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Devon 1818–1820 With: Edmund Pollexfen Bastard |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Dyke-Acland, Bt Edmund Pollexfen Bastard |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Tavistock 1820–1830 With: John Peter Grant to 1826 Lord William Russell 1826–1830 Lord Russell from 1830 |
Succeeded by Lord John Russell Lord Russell |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Devon 1830–1832 With: Sir Thomas Dyke-Acland, Bt, to 1831 Lord John Russell from 1831 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for North Devon 1832–1839 With: Newton Fellowes to 1837 Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt from 1837 |
Succeeded by Lewis Buck Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Devon 1839–1861 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Somerset |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1839–1841 |
Succeeded by The Earl de Grey |
| Preceded by | Lord Steward 1846–1850 |
Succeeded by The Marquess of Westminster |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Earl Fortescue 1841–1861 |
Succeeded by Hugh Fortescue |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Fortescue (writ in acceleration) (descended by acceleration) 1839–1859 |
Succeeded by Hugh Fortescue |
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- Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
- Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain
- Knights of the Garter
- 1783 births
- 1861 deaths
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Lord-Lieutenants of Devon
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- UK MPs 1802–06
- UK MPs 1806–07
- UK MPs 1807–12
- UK MPs 1812–18
- UK MPs 1818–20
- UK MPs 1820–26
- UK MPs 1826–30
- UK MPs 1830–31
- UK MPs 1831–32
- UK MPs 1832–35
- UK MPs 1835–37
- UK MPs 1837–41
- Fortescue family
- People educated at Eton College
- Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
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