Charles Edward Stourton, 23rd Baron Stourton, 27th Baron Segrave, 26th Baron Mowbray (11 March 1923 – 12 December 2006) was an English peer. He sat on the

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 i ...

benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and was a Conservative whip in government and in opposition from 1967 to 1980. He was one of the 92

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

s elected to keep their seat in the reformed House of Lords under the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

Family

Mowbray was the only son of William Marmaduke Stourton, 22nd

Baron Stourton Baron Stourton is a title in the Peerage of England, It was created by patent in 1448 for John Stourton. In 1878, the ancient barony of Mowbray was called out of abeyance in favour of the twentieth Baron Stourton. About two weeks later, the ...

, 26th

Baron Segrave Baron Segrave (Seagrave) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1283 for Nicholas de Segrave, and the title is drawn from a village in Leicestershire now spelled Seagrave. The 6th Baron Segrave had previously succeede ...

, and 25th

Baron Mowbray Baron Mowbray is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ for Roger de Mowbray in 1283. The title was united with the Barony of Segrave in 1368, when John Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham and 5th Baron Mowbray succeeded to tha ...

, and Sheila Gully, a granddaughter of

William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby PC, KC (29 August 18356 November 1909) was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1895 and 1905. Background and education Gully was the son of Jam ...

, who served as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

from 1895 to 1905. He had one sister. Through his father, he was descended from a brother of Geoffrey de Mowbray,

Bishop of Coutances The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)''; French: ''Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathe ...

, who was an adviser to

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. Another relative,

William de Mowbray William de Mowbray (–), lord of Thirsk and Mowbray, was a Norman Lord and English noble who was one of the twenty-five executors of '' Magna Carta''. He was described as being as small as a dwarf but very generous and valiant. Family origin W ...

, was one of the barons who forced King John to put his seal to

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

in 1215; as a direct descendant, Charles travelled to

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 ...

in 1976 with a parliamentary delegation that presented one of the four copies of the

held by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

to the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

Education and military service

He was educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, and served as a lieutenant in the

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

in the

Second World War 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 ...

. He was injured and lost his right eye near

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Stephen de Yarburgh-Bateson, 5th Baron Deramore, in 1953. They had two sons. His elder son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

(born 17 April 1953) succeeded him as Lord Mowbray. His wife died in 1998, and in 1999 he married Joan, Lady Holland (née Street), widow of Sir Guy Holland.

Political career

Stourton was

Gold Stick Officer The Gold Stick and the Silver Stick are bodyguard positions in the British Royal Household, personal attendants to the Sovereign on ceremonial occasions. Gold Stick Although now only in evidence on ceremonial and state occasions, the of ...

at the

coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

in 1953. He was a councillor on

Nidderdale Rural District Nidderdale was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1938 to 1974. It was created from the combination of most of the disbanded rural districts of Great Ouseburn and Knaresborough The district covered villages in the lower valley ...

Council from 1954 to 1959. Despite his strong

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith, he took his mother's side when his parents separated in 1961, in a case that drew significant publicity. His father was labelled "egocentric" and his mother was granted a decree of

judicial separation Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...

on the grounds of her husband's cruelty. Stourton subsequently took his father to court over disputes concerning the administration of the family estates. The case was later settled. He inherited three baronies when his father died in 1965. The Barony of Mowbray is the third most senior barony in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

, after the baronies of Ros and Despencer. However, since Georgiana Lady de Ros was female, and Lord le Despencer is also

Viscount Falmouth Viscount Falmouth is a title that has been created twice, first in the Peerage of England, and then in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 for George FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Ch ...

, he followed his father as premier baron of England, losing that distinction in 1983 when Lady de Ros died and was succeeded by her son. His father's will left most of his estate to his 12-year-old grandson, Edward, with little provision for his wife or son. The family seat at Allerton Park, near

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, perhaps the most important

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

stately home in England, was left in trust until Edward was 30. The house was leased to an American businessman in 1983. Recognisable by his eyepatch, he sat on the Conservative benches and rarely departed from the Conservative party line. He became an opposition whip in 1967, and continued as a Conservative whip for 13 years until he resigned in 1980. As a lord-in-waiting, he was often called upon to greet visiting heads of state at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. He was twice Chancellor of the

Primrose League The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883. At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...

, from 1975 to 1979 and from 1981 to 1984. He was also a spokesman on the environment for the government of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

from 1970 to 1974, and on transport, the environment, and the arts for the government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

from 1979 to 1980. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982. After the

, he was elected as one of the 92

s to keep a seat in the reformed House. He sat on the House of Lords

Committee of Privileges The Commons Select Committee of Privileges is appointed by the House of Commons to consider specific matters relating to privileges referred to it by the House. It came into being on 7 January 2013 as one half of the replacements for the Committ ...

and was a captain of the House of Lords shooting team. He was vice-president of the British Association of the

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; ...

, and was also its longest-serving Knight. Mowbray also served as President and Delegate of the British and Irish Association of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George under the Grand Master, the Duke of Castro between 1975–2000. He became a director of

Securicor Securicor plc was one of the United Kingdom's largest security businesses. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Group 4 Falck in 2004. History The Company was founded by Edward Shortt, a former Liberal Cabinet Ministe ...

in the 1960s. He was chairman of Thames Estuary Airport Company from 1993.

References

External links

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 15 December 2006
Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 19 December 2006
Obituary
''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 23 December 2006
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 3 January 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mowbray, Charles Stourton, 26th Baron 1923 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons Mowbray *27 *23 British Army personnel of World War II British Roman Catholics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Councillors in North Yorkshire English Roman Catholics Grenadier Guards officers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act Knights of Malta People educated at Ampleforth College