Edward Harley, 4th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, (2 September 1726 – 11 October 1790), styled Lord Harley from 1741 to 1755, was a British peer and Tory politician.

Early life

Harley was the eldest son of

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 ...

and Martha Morgan, daughter of Welsh politician William Morgan. His two younger brothers were John Harley,

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the deane ...

and then

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

; and the politician Thomas Harley, who was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

and also sat in Parliament. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

between 1735 and 1744; and then

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 ...

, graduating with a

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

in 1748.

Career

Harley was elected as MP for Herefordshire in at the 1747 general election, even though he was only 20 years old. Prior to the election,

Lord Foley Baron Foley is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, both times for members of the same family. The first creation came in 1712 in favour of Thomas Foley, who had earlier represented Stafford in the House of Co ...

wrote to Harley's father, "As he is under age I am in great fear lest some trick should be played on him on the day of election ... which if it should happen I think would be of the most evil consequence to your family as well as to the interest of the county." He returned unopposed and took a seat on the treasury board, serving until in 1755 he succeeded to his father's titles and estates, including the family seat of Brampton Bryan Castle and Hall. He was High Steward of Hereford from 1755, a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

from 1760, and

Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Radnorshire. After 1715, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Radnorshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974, being replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, with ...

from 1766, all until his death. He was also Harleian Trustee at 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 ...

from 1755 until his death.

Personal life

In 1751, he married heiress Susannah Archer, who brought a dowry of £50,000 (). Susannah was a daughter of

William Archer William or Bill Archer may refer to: * William Archer (British politician) (1677–1739), British politician * William S. Archer (1789–1855), U.S. Senator and Representative from Virginia * William Beatty Archer (1793–1870), Illinois politician ...

and his second wife Susanna Newton (a daughter of Sir John Newton, 3rd Baronet of

Barrs Court Barrs Court is an urban residential area in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire to the East of the City & County of Bristol, England, History Barrs Court Moat was initially part of Kingswood Chase, a royal hunting forest (successor to ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

). He died at Brampton Bryan Hall at the age of 64. As he had no children, his titles and estates passed to his nephew Edward Harley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford and Mortimer, Edward Harley, 4th Earl Of 1726 births 1790 deaths People from Herefordshire Harley, Edward Harley, Lord Harley, Edward Harley, Lord Harley, Edward Harley, Lord Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-Lieutenants of Radnorshire

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 ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Westminster School, London