Adelbert Wellington Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow (19 August 1844 – 17 March 1921), was a British soldier, courtier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Background and education

Brownlow was the second son of

John Egerton, Viscount Alford John Hume Egerton, Viscount Alford (15 October 1812 – 3 January 1851) was a British Tory Member of Parliament from the Egerton family. Born John Hume Cust, he was the eldest son of John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow by his first wife Sophia Hume, d ...

, eldest son and heir apparent of

John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH (19 August 1779 – 15 September 1853) was a British Peer and Tory politician. Life Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. He was educated at Eton (1788–93) ...

. His mother was Lady Marianne Margaret, daughter of Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton, generally known as Lady Marian Alford. His father had predeceased his own father in 1851 when Adelbert was only seven years old and thus the earldom and estates had passed to Adelbert's elder brother. Adelbert was educated at Eton.

Political career

In 1866 Brownlow was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

for North Shropshire. However, he was forced to resign his seat the following year when he succeeded in the earldom of Brownlow (and viscountcy of Alford) on the death of his older brother, and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. He held office under Lord Salisbury as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

from 1885 to 1886, as

Paymaster-General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

from 1887 to 1889 and as

Under-Secretary of State for War The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State fo ...

from 1889 to 1892 and was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

in 1887. Apart from his political career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire from 1867 to 1921, a Deputy Lieutenant for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

and a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

. He served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

in 1872.

Military career

Brownlow served with the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

as lieutenant from 1863 to 1866, and was later commanding officer of the Bedfordshire Volunteer Infantry Brigade between 1889 and 1892, and Home Counties Brigade in 1895. He was Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment from 1868 to 1908, of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World Wa ...

from 1883 to 1901, and of the

Lincolnshire Yeomanry The Lincolnshire Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry unit of the British Army formed in 1794. It saw action in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being disbanded in 1920. History Formation and early history In 1793, the prime ministe ...

and 4th Volunteer Battalion of the

Hertfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originating in units of Rifle Volunteers formed in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second Worl ...

from 1901. He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration.

Courtier

Brownlow was a Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

and

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 1921 New Year Honours for his services to the Royal Household.

Family

Lord Brownlow married Lady Adelaide Chetwynd-Talbot, daughter of Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury, in 1868. They had no children. She died in March 1917, aged 73. Lord Brownlow survived her by four years and died in March 1921, aged 75. On his death the Earldom of Brownlow and Viscountcy of Alford became extinct while he was succeeded in his Barony and Baronetcy by his second cousin, Adelbert Cust.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownlow, Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust, 3rd Earl 1844 births 1921 deaths Cust, Adelbert Wellington Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Lincolnshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Paymasters General People educated at Eton College Cust, Adelbert Wellington Brownlow, E3 Lincolnshire Yeomanry officers

Adelbert Adelbert is a given name of German origin, which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adalbart and Adalberto. Related names include ...

Barons Brownlow