Henry Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester

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The Earl of Ilchester
Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways (John Linnell, 1848)
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
In office
5 August 1835 (1835-08-05) – 6 July 1841 (1841-07-06)
MonarchsWilliam IV
Victoria
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Melbourne
Preceded byThe Earl of Gosford
Succeeded byThe Earl of Surrey
Personal details
Born(1787-02-21)21 February 1787
Died8 January 1858(1858-01-08) (aged 70)
NationalityBritish
Political partyWhig
SpouseCaroline Leonora Murray (d. 1819)
Children4
Parent
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford

Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester, PC (21 February 1787 – 8 January 1858), styled Lord Stavordale from birth until 1802, was a British peer and Whig politician. He served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under Lord Melbourne from 1835 to 1841.

Background and education[edit]

Stavordale was the eldest son of Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester, and Mary Theresa O'Grady, daughter of Standish O'Grady. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, which later (1814) awarded him a DCL.

Political and Yeomanry career[edit]

Lord Ilchester succeeded his father as third Earl of Ilchester in 1802. On 15 April 1808, he was commissioned a captain in the Dorsetshire Yeomanry. The regiment was disbanded in 1814. He was commissioned major in it on 8 December 1830 when it was re-formed.[1]

On 5 August 1835 he was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Whig administration of Lord Melbourne. He was made a Privy Counsellor on 12 July 1837. Ilchester was replaced as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard on 5 July 1841, shortly before the government's fall.[2] He was also appointed Lord Lieutenant of Somerset on 19 April 1837,[3] but the resigned from the post in May 1839.

On 6 June 1840, he was promoted from major to lieutenant-colonel in the Yeomanry.[4] He was made lieutenant-colonel commandant of the Dorsetshire Yeomanry on 12 February 1846,[5] resigning the command in July 1856.[6]

Family[edit]

Lord Ilchester married Caroline Leonora Murray, daughter of Lord George Murray, in 1812. They had four children:

  • Henry Thomas Leopold Fox-Strangways, Lord Stavordale (7 January 1816 – 11 August 1837), captain in the Dorsetshire Yeomanry 1837[7]
  • Lady Theresa Anna Maria Fox-Strangways (11 January 1814 – 2 May 1874), married Edward Digby, 9th Baron Digby on 27 June 1837.
  • Stephen Fox-Strangways, Lord Stavordale (21 March 1817 – 25 May 1848), cornet in the Dorsetshire Yeomanry 1838,[8] later captain
  • Lady Caroline Margaret Fox-Strangways (9 January 1819 – 26 June 1895), married Sir Edward Kerrison, 2nd Baronet on 23 July 1844.

Lady Ilchester died giving birth to her fourth child. Lord Ilchester died at Melbury House on 8 January 1858, aged 70. Both his sons had predeceased him and he was succeeded in his titles by his half-brother, William Fox-Strangways.

Arms[edit]

Arms of Fox-Strangways

The arms of the head of the Fox-Strangways family are blazoned Quarterly of four: 1st & 4th: Sable, two lions passant paly of six argent and gules (Strangways); 2nd & 3rd: Ermine, on a chevron azure three foxes' heads and necks erased or on a canton of the second a fleur-de-lys of the third (Fox).[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "No. 18774". The London Gazette. 8 February 1831. p. 243.
  2. ^ "No. 19996". The London Gazette. 6 July 1841. p. 1753.
  3. ^ "No. 19487". The London Gazette. 25 April 1837. p. 1048.
  4. ^ "No. 19867". The London Gazette. 19 June 1840. p. 1462.
  5. ^ "No. 20573". The London Gazette. 17 February 1846. p. 603.
  6. ^ "No. 21910". The London Gazette. 5 August 1856. p. 2712.
  7. ^ "No. 19493". The London Gazette. 9 May 1837. p. 1192.
  8. ^ "No. 19611". The London Gazette. 27 April 1838. p. 977.
  9. ^ “Earl of Ilchester” in Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage (Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968), p. 607
Political offices
Preceded by Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
1835–1841
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the
Dorsetshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own)

1846–1856
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset
1837–1839
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Earl of Ilchester
1802–1858
Succeeded by