Anthony Gerard Edward Noel, 5th Earl of Gainsborough

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(24 October 1923 – 29 December 2009) was a British peer.

Biography

Lord Gainsborough succeeded his father, Arthur Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough, in the

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particula ...

in 1927. He attended Worth Priory in Sussex. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

started, he was on his way to the United States so he attended the Jesuit-run

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit boar ...

, then located in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Returning to Britain in 1943 he was declared unfit for military service. When he was 30, the estate was free from debt and he moved back into

Exton Hall Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England, standing in its own extensive park. The Hall It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls o ...

Career

Gainsborough worked for

Vickers Supermarine Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

in Southampton. Gainsborough served as chairman of Oakham Rural District Council, 1952-67 before becoming vice-chairman and then chairman of

Rutland County Council Rutland County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current council was created in April 1997. The population of the council's area at the 2011 census was 37,369. As a unitary ...

, 1970–73. As president of the

Rural District Councils Association In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

in 1965, he played a prominent role in opposing the

Redcliffe-Maud Report The Redcliffe-Maud Report (Cmnd. 4040) was published in 1969 by the '' Royal Commission on Local Government in England'', under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud. Although the commission's proposals were broadly accepted by the Labour gove ...

's proposals for reorganising local councils which were implemented under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. Gainsborough was Master of the

Worshipful Company of Gardeners The Worshipful Company of Gardeners is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of Gardeners existed in the middle of the fourteenth century; it received a royal charter in 1605. The company no longer exists as a regu ...

(1967); President, British Association,

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

(1968–74);

Knight of the Venerable Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(1970); Chairman of the

Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood, London, England, is a Catholic charitable general hospital in north London. History and operations The hospital was founded in 1856 with a Roman Catholic affiliation and is a register ...

from 1970 to 1980, and President of the Hospital from then until his death.

Personal life and death

Gainsborough married Mary Stourton (24 September 1925 – 30 December 2018) at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

on 23 July 1947. Mary was a daughter of Major John Joseph Stourton and granddaughter of Charles Stourton, 21st Baron Stourton, 25th Baron Segrave and 24th Baron Mowbray. They had eight children together:The peerage, entry for 5th Earl of Gainsborough
/ref> * Lady Juliana Mary Alice Noel (born 27 January 1949); married

Edward Foljambe, 5th Earl of Liverpool Edward Peter Bertram Savile Foljambe, 5th Earl of Liverpool (born 14 November 1944), is an English Conservative politician and businessman. Early life Liverpool is the posthumous son of Captain Peter George William Savile Foljambe (1919–1944) ...

, two sons. * Anthony Baptist Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough (born 17 January 1950); married Sarah Winnington (of the

Winnington baronets The Winnington Baronetcy, of Stanford Court in the County of Worcester, is a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. History Sir Francis Winnington (1634–1700) Solicitor-General to King Charles II, acquired the family seat of Stanford Cou ...

), one son (heir apparent to the title Henry Noel, Viscount Campden) * Lady Maria Noel (born 3 February 1951); married with issue * Lady Janet Noel (born and died 23 January 1953) * Lady Celestria Magdalen Mary Noel (born 27 January 1954); married with issue * Gerard Edward Joseph Noel (born 23 January 1955); married Charlotte Dugdale, daughter of

Sir William Dugdale, 2nd Baronet Sir William Stratford Dugdale, 2nd Baronet, (29 March 1922 – 13 November 2014) was the chairman of Aston Villa from 1975 to 1978. Dugdale arrived at Aston Villa as a director when they were in the third division, having been relegated due t ...

. They had one son, and two daughters. * Thomas Noel (born 9 March 1958) * Edward Andrew Noel (born 22 October 1960); He married, firstly, Lavinia Jane Bingham, daughter of Comm. George Edward Bingham, but divorced with no issue. He later married Sarah Kate Yeats-Brown, great granddaughter of

Montague Yeats-Brown Montague "Monty" Yeats-Brown CMG (2 August 1834 – 22 February 1921) was a 19th-century British diplomat in Genoa and Boston. Life Yeats-Brown was born on 2 August 1834 on Palmaria, and was christened on an American warship then in harbou ...

. They have one son. Gainsborough died in 2009 and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Anthony.

References

1923 births 2009 deaths People from Rutland Councillors in Rutland 5

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

People educated at Worth School Knights of the Order of St John Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta {{UK-earl-stub