John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon
The Earl of Clarendon | |
|---|---|
| Justice in EyreNorth of Trent | |
| In office 30 October 1790 – 22 December 1838 | |
| Monarchs | George III,George IV,William IV,Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Falmouth |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 November 1757 |
| Died | 22 December 1838 (aged 81) |
John Charles Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon,PC(14 November 1757 – 22 December 1838)[1]was a BritishpeerandMember of Parliamentfrom theVilliers family.[2]
Biography[edit]
Villiers was born on 14 December 1757, the second son of LadyCharlotte,daughter ofWilliam Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex,andThomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon.[3]He was educated atEtonandSt John's College, Cambridge[4]and graduated with an MA in 1776 and an LL.D on 30 April 1833. He wascalled to the baratLincoln's Innon 22 June 1779.[2][5]
In January 1784Lord Camelford(probably atPitt the Elder'srequest) brought Villiers into Parliament at a by-election forOld Sarum,and he represented thatrotten boroughuntil 1790, and then sat forDartmouth1790–1802, and for theTain Burghsfrom 1802 until 27 May 1805, when he accepted theChiltern Hundreds(in order to resign his Parliamentary seat). He was afterwards member forQueenborough1807–1812 and 1820–1824. Villiers did not make his mark in Parliament as a debater, and was styled "a mere courtier, famous for telling interminable long stories".[6]
The Rolliadnotices him as "Villiers, comely with the flaxen hair", and likens him to theNereusof Homer.Sir Nathaniel Wraxallalso styles him the "Nereus" of Pitt's forces, and mentions him as a staunch supporter of that minister,[7]to whose friendship entirely he owed his appointment for life in February 1790 to the lucrative sinecure of warden and chief justice in eyre of all the royal forests, chaces, parks, and warrens north of Trent.[3]
On 6 February 1782 Villiers was made joint King's Counsel in the Duchy Court of Lancaster by his father, who then was Chancellor of theDuchy.From 29 July 1786 until his succession to the peerage he was Surveyor of Woods south of the Trent of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was added to thePrivy Counciland made Comptroller of the King's Household on 19 February 1787. This position at court he filled for three years, and on 24 February 1790 he was made a Commissioner of the Board of Trade. He was Recorder and Under-Steward of New Windsor from 1789 to 1806.[8]
When the rise of theFrench Republiccaused apprehensions in Britain, Villiers was appointed colonel of theFirst Regiment of Fencible Cavalryon 14 March 1794, and was granted the rank of colonel in the army during service in the field.[9]He was made first Prothonotary of the Common Pleas in the County Palatine of Lancaster in June 1804, and held the office until his death. From 27 November 1808 to 10 January 1810 Villiers wasenvoy to the court of Portugal.On the death of his eldest brother,Thomas,unmarried, on 7 March 1824, he succeeded him as 3rdEarl of Clarendonand as a count of theKingdom of Prussia,but took little part afterwards in public life, devoting himself to religious and charitable works.
He died suddenly, aged 81, at his residence, Walmer Terrace,Deal, Kenton 22 December 1838, and was buried at Watford on 29 December.[3]
Villiers was succeeded in the earldom by his nephew,George Villiers,[3]who became a distinguishedLiberalstatesman.
Family[edit]
Lord Clarendon married on 5 January 1791 his maternal first cousinMaria Eleanor Forbes,[10]the daughter of AdmiralJohn Forbes(1714–1796)[3]and Lady Mary Capell.[11][3]His mother Lady Charlotte Capell and Lady Mary Capell were sisters, both the daughters ofWilliam Capell, 3rd Earl of Essexand Lady Jane Hyde.[12]The marriage produced one child Lady Mary Harriet Villiers who died on 20 January 1835, unmarried.[13]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760.7 December 1757.
- ^ab"VILLIERS, Hon. John Charles (1757-1838)".History of Parliament Online.Retrieved14 May2016.
- ^abcdefWilliams 1899,p. 352.
- ^John Charles Villiers[permanent dead link]in Venn, J. & J. A., [Alumni Cantabrigienses], Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
- ^Williams 1899,p. 352 citesRegisters.
- ^Williams 1899,p. 352 cites Sir George Jackson,Diaries and Correspondence.
- ^Williams 1899,p. 352 cites WraxallPosthumous Memoirs.
- ^Williams 1899,p. 352 cites Tighe and {Davis,Annals of Windsor.
- ^Williams 1899,p. 352 citesRoyal Kalendar,Militia Lists.
- ^John Forbes (1868).Memoirs of the Earls of Granard.Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. pp. 2–.
- ^Williams, W.R. (2004)."Villiers, John Charles, third earl of Clarendon (1757-1838), politician".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28301.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^"Essex, Earl of (E, 1661)".Cracroft's Peerage.Archivedfrom the original on 1 September 2010.Retrieved26 December2017.
- ^A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire.Henry Colburn. 1869. pp. 510–.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Williams, William Rees (1899). "Villiers, John Charles".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 58. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 352..Endnotes:
- Foster'sPeerage;
- Official Return of Members of Parliament;
- Haydn'sBook of Dignities;
- Doyle'sOfficial Baronage;
- Gent. Mag.1839, i. 207.
External links[edit]
| International | |
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- 1757 births
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- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dartmouth
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