Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis, (7 March 1754 – 16 May 1839), known as the Lord Clive between 1774 and 1804, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1774 to 1794 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Clive.

Early life

Powis was the eldest son of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive ("Clive of India"), and Margaret born Maskelyne. He was born at Queen Square,

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and he was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Political career

Clive succeeded his father as Baron Clive of Plassey, County Clare in 1774. However, as this was an

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, it did not entitle him to a seat in the British House of Lords (although it did entitle him to a seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

). At the 1774 general election he was elected as member of parliament for

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, a seat he held until 1794. He was a member of the Board of Agriculture in 1793. On 13 August 1794, Clive was created Baron Clive, of Walcot in the County of Shropshire, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

, and consequently took his seat in the House of Lords. Almost certainly this was a belated act of contrition by the Crown for the lack of recognition to his father. In 1797, he was placed in charge of the Shropshire Militia, which was the first English militia to be posted in Scotland, to address potential civil unrest. A force of 1000 men, they arrived at

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

on 21 September 1797 and the company were billeted in Dalkeith until 9 October, after which they moved to Edinburgh, the main seat of possible unrest and home of previous disturbance such as the Dundas Riots. On arrival in Edinburgh they were inspected at St Anne's Yard by Lord Adam Gordon in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the Scottish Armies. Clive had a distinguished career in India where he was Governor of Madras from 1798 to 1803, returning home to the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. On 14 May 1804, he was further created Baron Powis of

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

co Montgomery, Baron Herbert of Chirbury, County Shopshire, Viscount Clive of Ludlow, County Shopshire, and Earl of Powis, County Montgomeryshire, a revival of the title which had become extinct on the death of his brother-in-law, George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, in 1801. Edward Clive also served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire from 1775 to 1798 and from 1804 to 1839 and as

Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire The following is a list of people who have held the title of Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. After 1761, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced by the Lord Lie ...

from 1804 to 1830. He was Recorder of the boroughs of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

in 1775, and

in 1801. He was colonel of the Shropshire Militia in 1775 and of the South Shropshire Militia in 1809;R. G. Thorne
CLIVE, Edward, 2nd Baron Clive (1754–1839), of Walcot, Salop.
in ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820'', 1986. along with the other

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

colonels he was granted brevet rank as colonel in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1794.

Family

Before his elevation to the Earldom of Powis, he married Lady Henrietta Herbert of

, daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, in 1784. Their children were: * Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert (d. 1835); married Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet. *

Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, Knight of the Garter, KG (22 March 1785 – 17 January 1848), styled Viscount Clive between 1804 and 1839, was a British peer and Tory (British political party), Tory politician. He was the grandson of Cliv ...

(1785–1848), who inherited

* Lady Charlotte Florentia Herbert (1787–1866); married Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, and was the governess of the future

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. * Robert Henry Clive (1798–1854); a politician. m Lady Harriet Windsor, 13th Baroness Windsor Lord Powis lived at Walcot, Shropshire, an estate purchased by his father from the Walcot family in 1764. Lady Powis died on 3 June 1830, aged 71. Lord Powis survived her by nine years and died at his London home, 45

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

, on 16 May 1839, aged 85. He was buried at Bromfield Parish Church, near his Oakly Park property. His obituary in the ''Annual Register'' calls him: :''Remarkable for his physical vigour, and though he spent some years in India and lived freely, he might be seen, when about eighty, digging in his garden at six o'clock in the morning in his shirt sleeves. He was apparently well the day before his death.''

References

* *

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, Edward Clive, 1st Earl of 1754 births 1839 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Clive, Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Clive, Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Clive, Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Clive, Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Earls of Powis Peers of Great Britain created by George III Lord-lieutenants of Montgomeryshire Lord-lieutenants of Shropshire Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Clive, Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

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

People educated at Eton College Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons