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 of Gainsborough 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. Ear ...

, by his second wife Elizabeth, 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 ...

. His mother died two weeks after he was born. He was the half-brother of Gerard Noel. He was educated privately and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Career

Gainsborough succeeded his uncle William Noel 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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Rutland in 1840, but only held the seat until the following year. He then served a year as

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement offic ...

for 1848. In 1866 he succeeded his father in the earldom 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 Westminste ...

. The following year he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland The ancient position of Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland was abolished on 31 March 1974. Between 1 April 1974 and its reestablishment on 8 April 1997 Rutland came under the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1690, all lord-lieutenants have also b ...

, which he remained until his death. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Prince Albert's Own Leicestershire Yeomanry from 1879–81, recorded as captain on 12 August 1850. He and his wife embraced Roman Catholicism on New Year's Day in 1850.

Family

Lord Gainsborough married Ida Harriet Augusta, daughter of

William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, KT, GCH, PC (21 February 1801 – 19 April 1846), styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician. Early life Erroll was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and h ...

and Elizabeth FitzClarence, 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 hi ...

, in 1841. The family home was at

Flitteriss Park Flitteriss Park is an ancient deer park in the English Midland counties of Leicestershire and Rutland west of Oakham. It is a modern livestock farm today but has a rich history. History Flitteriss Park was enclosed by royal grant as a Me ...

. They had five children: * Lady Blanche (25 March 1845 – 21 March 1881), who married Thomas Murphy ** The "Lady Blanche House" is commemorated by New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 109 in

Bartlett, New Hampshire Bartlett is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,200 at the 2020 census, up from 2,788 at the 2010 census. Bartlett includes the unincorporated community of Glen as well as portions of the communities of ...

* Lady Constance (19 October 1847 – 8 April 1891), who married

Sir Henry Bellingham, 4th Baronet Sir Alan Henry Bellingham, 4th Baronet, (23 August 1846 – 9 June 1921) was an Anglo-Irish Conservative Member of Parliament. He was Justice of the Peace, High Sheriff of Louth and Lord Lieutenant of Louth. He was Senator of the Royal Univers ...

* Charles, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough (20 October 1850 – 17 April 1926), had issue * Edward (28 April 1852 – 9 November 1917), who married Ruth Lucas * Lady Edith (1849 - 22 August 1890), who became a nun Lady Gainsborough died in October 1867. Lord Gainsborough remained a widower until his death in August 1881, aged 62. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Charles. His grandsons included Edward Noel and John Baptist Lucius Noel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gainsborough, Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of 1818 births 1881 deaths 2 High Sheriffs of Rutland Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland Noel, Charles Noel, Charles UK MPs who inherited peerages Noel, Charles Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Charles Leicestershire Yeomanry officers