Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (2 June 1689 – 16 June 1741), styled Lord Harley between 1711 and 1724, was a British politician, bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts.
Background
Harley was the only son of
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG PC FRS (5 December 1661 – 21 May 1724) was an English statesman and peer of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory ...
, by his first wife, Elizabeth Foley.
Career
He was MP for
Radnor (as his father and paternal grandfather had been before him) from 1711 to 1714, and for
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
from 1722 until he succeeded his father in 1724 and entered 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 ...
. He was a bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts, and took little interest in public affairs. Harley's considerable collection of coins and medals – 520 lots in all – was auctioned by Christopher Cock at his house in the Great Piazza,
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
over six days, from 18 March 1742.
He extended his father's library and expanded the
Harleian Collection
The Harleian Library, Harley Collection, Harleian Collection and other variants ( la, Bibliotheca Harleiana) is one of the main "closed" collections (namely, historic collections to which new material is no longer added) of the British Library in ...
, now in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. The department of
holds a number of papers relating to the 2nd Earl and the management of his estates in the Portland (London) collection. Harley family papers (Pw2Hy) are part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection.
London estate
Through his wife, he inherited
Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...
in Nottinghamshire, and
Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned b ...
in Cambridgeshire. Wimpole became their main residence, but they had to sell it in 1740 to pay Edward's debts. He also acquired a considerable amount of land in the West End of London which was developed during his life. Many of the now famous streets took their names from Harley connections – primarily
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...
and
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
. Other streets, named after Harley properties, include
Wigmore Street
Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east. It is named afte ...
and
Wimpole Street
Wimpole Street is a street in Marylebone, central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian baroque architecture, compl ...
.
Family
On 31 August 1713 he married
Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles
Henrietta Harley, Countess of Oxford and Countess Mortimer (''née'' Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles; 11 February 1694 – 9 December 1755) was an English noblewoman, the only child and heiress of John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle and his wife, t ...
(1694–1755), only daughter and heir of the
1st Duke of Newcastle and his wife, the former Lady
Margaret Cavendish
Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623 – 15 December 1673) was an English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer and playwright.
Her husband, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was Cavalier, R ...
, daughter of the
2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They had two children:
*
Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715–1785), who married
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1 March 1709 – 1 May 1762), styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1716 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1716 to 1726, was a British peer and politician.
Portland was the son of Henry Bentinck, 1s ...
in 1734.
*Henry Cavendish Harley, Lord Harley (18 October 1725 – 22 October 1725)
Lord Oxford and Mortimer died in London in 1741 and was buried in the vault of the Duke of Newcastle in Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded in the earldom by his cousin
Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer ( – 11 April 1755) was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was the nephew of Britain's First Minister between 1710 and 1714 Robert Harley.
Early life
Harley was the son and heir o ...
.
References
David Stoker, 'Harley, Edward, second earl of Oxford and Mortimer (1689–1741)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
External links
Biographies of the Dukes of Portland and associated families, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottinghamat thePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford and Mortimer, Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of
1689 births
1741 deaths
Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Harleian Collection
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies
British MPs 1710–1713
British MPs 1713–1715
British MPs 1722–1727
Fellows of the Royal Society
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 ...
English book and manuscript collectors