Charles Noel Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough (2 October 1781 – 10 June 1866), known as Charles Edwardes until 1798, as Charles Noel between 1798 and 1823 and as the Lord Barham between 1823 and 1841, was a British peer and Whig politician.

Early life

Gainsborough was born on 2 October 1781 as Charles Edwardes. He was the eldest son of

Sir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baronet Sir Gerard Noel Noel, 2nd Baronet (17 July 1759 – 25 February 1838), of Welham Grove in Leicestershire and Exton Park in Rutland, known as Gerard Edwardes until 1798, was an English Member of Parliament. Background Gerard Noel was born Gerar ...

and Diana Middleton. His father succeeded his father-in-law as second Baronet of the Navy in 1838 and his mother succeeded her father as second Baroness Barham in 1823, both according to special remainders in the letters patent. In 1798, on the death of his great uncle

Henry Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough Henry Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough (1743 – 8 April 1798) was an English peer. He inherited the earldom in 1759, on the death of his brother, Baptist Noel, 5th Earl of Gainsborough. He was the son of Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough. In ...

(on whose death the earldom became extinct), Gainsborough and the rest of the family assumed, by Royal licence, the surname of Noel in lieu of his patronymic.Record for ''Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough'' on ''thepeerage.com''
/ref> His paternal grandparents were the former Lady Jane Noel (a daughter of

Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough (1708 – 21 March 1751) was an English peer and Member of Parliament, styled Viscount Campden until 1714. Early life He was the son of Baptist Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough and Lady Dorothy Manners, the s ...

) and Gerard Anne Edwardes, an illegitimate son of

Lord Anne Hamilton Lord Anne Hamilton (12 October 1709 – 25 December 1748) was a Scottish nobleman. He is said to have married the richest woman in the UK and they had a child. Early life Hamilton was born at St. James's Square, London, the third son of Lieutena ...

(the younger son of

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien Scheme, which cost many of ...

). His maternal grandfather was Admiral

Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, PC (14 October 172617 June 1813) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the Seven Years' War. Middleton was given command of a guardship at the Nore, a R ...

Career

Gainsborough succeeded his father as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest l ...

in 1808, a seat he held until 1814. In 1823, he succeeded his mother as the 3rd Baron Barham in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

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 Westminster ...

. In 1838, he also succeeded his father as the 3rd Noel baronet, of the Navy the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James ...

. In 1841, he was he was created Baron Noel, of Ridlington in the County of Rutland, Viscount Campden, of Campden in the County of Gloucester, and

Earl of Gainsborough Earl of Gainsborough is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation ended in extinction when the sixth Earl died without heirs. However, the title was re ...

, in the

County of Lincoln Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

, all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, a revival of the title held by his ancestors. The family seat is Exton Hall, near Exton,

Personal life

Lord Gainsborough was four times married. His first marriage was in July 1809 to Elizabeth Welman (1786–1811), the only child of Thomas Welman of Poundisford Park in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

and Elizabeth Locke (a daughter of John Locke of Howley). She died on 1 December 1811. There were no children from this marriage. Lord Gainsborough married, secondly, on 13 May 1817 to Elizabeth Grey (1800–1818), second daughter of

Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet, (10 October 1767 – 3 October 1828) was a British Royal Navy officer and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He served with the Royal Navy from the age of 14 and was on active service from 1781 to 1804, during the ...

of Falloden (the third son of

Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, (circa 23 October 1729 – 14 November 1807) was a British Army general in the 18th century and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He was a distinguished soldier in a generation of exceptionally capable military a ...

) and Mary Whitbread (a daughter of Samuel Whitbread of Cardington and Southill and the former Lady Mary Cornwallis, third daughter of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis). Before her death on 20 September 1818, they were the parents of one child: *

Charles George Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough Charles George Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough (5 September 1818 – 13 August 1881), styled Viscount Campden between 1841 and 1866, was a British peer and Whig politician. Background Gainsborough was the only child of Charles Noel, 1st Earl o ...

(1818–1881), who married Lady Ida Harriet Augusta, a daughter of William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll and

Elizabeth FitzClarence Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll (née FitzClarence; 17 January 1801 – 16 January 1856) was an illegitimate daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom and Dorothea Jordan. She married William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, and becam ...

(an illegitimate daughter of King

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded ...

). His third marriage was on 29 July 1820 to Arabella Hamlyn-Williams (d. 1829), second daughter of

Sir James Hamlyn-Williams, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

of Clovelly Court and the former Diana Anne Whitaker (a daughter of Abraham Whitaker). Before her death on 4 October 1829, shortly after the birth of her youngest child, they were the parents of two sons and two daughters: *

Gerard James Noel Gerard James Noel PC, DL, JP (28 August 1823 – 19 May 1911), styled The Honourable Gerard Noel from birth, was a British Conservative politician. Early life Noel was the eldest son of Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough and, his thir ...

(1823–1911), a

for Rutland from 1847 to 1883, a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

from 1866 to 1868,

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

in 1868, and Chief Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings from 1876 to 1880; who in 1863 married Lady Augusta Mary Lowther (d. 1916), sister of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, and second daughter of Col. Henry Cecil Lowther MP (second son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale) and Lady Lucy Eleanor Sherard (eldest daughter of Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough). * Henry Lewis Noel (1824–1898), a Captain who married his cousin Emily Elizabeth Noel, second daughter of Baptist Wriothesley Noel (eighth son of Sir Gerald Noel, 2nd Baronet and Diana Barham, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Baroness Barham) and Jane Baillie (eldest daughter of Peter Baillie), in 1852. After her death in October 1890, he remarried to Anne Adelaide Burnside (d. 1904), the only child of Rev. John Burnside, Rector of

Plumtree A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

, in 1892. * Lady Mary Arabella Louisa Noel (d. 1883), who married Sir Andrew Agnew, 8th Baronet of Lochnaw, in 1846. * Lady Catherine Hamilton Noel (1829–1855), who married, as his first wife, James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, in 1849. His fourth marriage was on 25 July 1833 to Lady Frances Jocelyn (1814–1885), the second daughter of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden and Maria Catherine Frances Stapleton (second daughter of Thomas Stapleton, 15th Baron Despencer). Lady Gainsborough was a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mist ...

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 ...

from 1837 to 1872 and Extra Lady of the Bedchamber from 1872 until her death in 1885. Together, they were the parents of: * Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel (1834–1894), a Groom of the Privy Chamber from 1867 to 1871 who married Alice Maria Caroline de Broe, a daughter of Paul de Broe, in 1863. After his death, she married Rev. David MacAnally in 1895. * Lady Victoria Noel (d. 1916), who married Sir Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, later Governor of South Australia, in 1862. Gainsborough died in June 1866, at the age of 84, and was succeeded by his son from his second marriage,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. His eldest son from his third marriage, Gerard, was a

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. The dowager Countess of Gainsborough remained a widow until her death on 12 May 1885.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gainsborough, Charles Noel, 1st Earl of 1781 births 1866 deaths 1 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages

Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria