George Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick

The Right Honourable The Earl of Warwick MP
Photograph by Bernieri,c. 1868
Member of ParliamentforSouth Warwickshire
In office 1845–1853
Preceded by	Sir John Mordaunt Evelyn John Shirley
Succeeded by	Evelyn Philip Shirley Lord Guernsey
Personal details
Born	George Guy Greville (1818-03-18)18 March 1818 Berkeley Square,London,United Kingdom
Died	2 December 1893(1893-12-02)(aged 75) Warwick Castle,Warwick,United Kingdom
Political party	Tory
Spouse	Anne Charteris ​ (m.1853)​
Relations	John Savile, 2nd Earl of Mexborough(grandfather)
Parent(s)	Henry Greville, 3rd Earl of Warwick Sarah Elizabeth Monson, Lady Monson(formerly Lady Sarah Elizabeth Savile)
Alma mater	St John's College, Oxford

George Guy Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick, 4th Earl Brooke(28 March 1818 – 2 December 1893), styledLord Brookefrom 1818 to 1853, was an EnglishTorypolitician, bibliophile and collector.

Early life

George Guy Greville, Lord Brooke, as a Child, by John Bradley,c. 1819.

George Guy Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick in 1839.

Greville was born in Charles Street,Berkeley Square,London. He was the only child ofHenry Greville, 3rd Earl of Warwick,andthe former Lady Sarah Elizabeth Savile,eldest daughter ofJohn Savile, 2nd Earl of Mexborough.

He was educated atSt John's College, Oxford,from where he obtained aBAin 1839.

Career

He wasMember of Parliament(MP) forSouth Warwickshirefrom 1845 to 1853, when he succeeded to the peerage.He served as honorary colonel to theWarwickshire Yeomanrycavalry, and asA.D.C.toQueen Victoria.

He joined theCanterbury Associationon 11 February 1850 and was, from the day of joining, a member of the management committee.

Collector

Lord Warwick was also a prolific contributor to the improvements ofWarwick Castleduring the nineteenth century. Alongside his artistic wife, Anne Charteris 4th Countess of Warwick, he oversaw the redecoration of the castle's Great Hall and domestic apartments after the fire of 1871. The celebrated architectAnthony Salvinwas employed to rebuild the hall in the typical Victorian 'Gothic' taste, embellished with stained glass to achieve the effect of a medieval baronial hall. The domestic apartments were also redesigned, with each room assigned a different 'historical' style, typical of the nineteenth century interest in the 'Romantic Interior'.

Known as a prolific collector of books, Lord Warwick established a Shakespeare Library at Warwick Castle with the help ofJames Halliwell-Phillippsduring the years 1852–1870. The entire contents of the library was sold after his death in 1897 to theFolger Shakespeare Library,Washington, D.C.

Lord Warwick was also a great collector of arms and armour, most of which was purchased through the legendary New Bond Street dealer and forger Samuel Luke Pratt (1805–1878). Many of the greatest pieces were acquired by Pratt from the dispersed collection ofSamuel Rush Meyrickand later sold to Greville. Alongside original pieces Pratt sold the Earl several Victorian forgeries, a practice that was fairly common place of dealers in Antique furniture and arms and armour at the time.

Personal life

On 18 February 1852, he married Lady Anne Charteris (1829–1903),daughter ofFrancis Wemyss-Charteris, 9th Earl of WemyssofGosford House.They had five children:

• Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick(1853–1924).
• Alwyn Greville (1854–1929), who married Mabel Elizabeth Georgina Smith OBE (d. 1940), only daughter of Ernald Mosley Smith ofSelsdon Park(son of bankerGeorge Robert Smith), in 1888.
• Louis Greville (1856–1941), theHigh Sheriff of Wiltshirein 1920 who married Lily Gordon (d. 1898), a daughter of J. H. Gordon, in 1887.
• Lady Eva Greville (1860–1940), who married Col. Frank Dugdale CVO, second son of James Dugdale ofWroxall Abbey,in 1895.
• Sidney Greville(1866–1927), who served as Private Secretary to QueenAlexandra.

He died atWarwick Castleon 2 December 1893.

See also

• Earl of Warwick
• List of owners of Warwick Castle

External links

• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Warwicke