Edward Harley, 5th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (20 February 1773 – 28 December 1848) was an English nobleman.
Harley was the son of
John Harley (dean of Windsor) and Roach Vaughan. Edward succeeded to the titles and estates (including the Harley family seat at
Brampton Bryan
Brampton Bryan is a small village and civil parish situated in north Herefordshire, England close to the Shropshire and Welsh borders.
Brampton Bryan lies midway between Leintwardine and Knighton on the A4113 road. The nearest station is Bu ...
) of his father's elder brother
Edward Harley, 4th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
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 Oxf ...
on the 4th Earl's death without issue in 1790.
In 1803
Henry Bickersteth became the Earl's medical attendant whilst the Earl was on a tour of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, staying with him until 1805. Edward became Bickersteth's friend and patron and in 1835 Bickersteth married the earl's eldest daughter. In 1804 Edward sold the Ewyas Lacy
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
s by auction. He commissioned work from the architect
Robert Smirke.
He was commissioned as
Major-Commandant of the
Royal Radnor Light Infantry, a
Militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
regiment, on 23 June 1819; his eldest son, Edward, Lord Harley, took over command on 1 July 1822.
Family
He and his wife
Jane Elizabeth Scott
Jane Elizabeth Harley, Countess of Oxford and Countess Mortimer (''née'' Scott; 1774–1824) was an English noblewoman, known as a patron of the Reform movement and a lover of Lord Byron.
Life
She was a daughter of the Reverend James Scott, M.A ...
(a notable mistress of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
) married 3 March 1794 and had eight children, including the following:
*Lady Jane Elizabeth Harley (2 March 1796 – Innsbruck 1 September 1872), married 17 August 1835
Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale
Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale, PC (18 June 1783 – 18 April 1851), a member of the prominent Bickersteth family, was an English physician, law reformer, and Master of the Rolls.
Early life and education
Langdale was born on 18 June 1 ...
.
*Edward Harley, Lord Harley (20 January 1800 – 1 January 1828)
*Lady
Charlotte Mary Harley (12 December 1801 – 9 May 1880), married 4 March 1823
Anthony Bacon
*Lady Anne Harley (31 July 1803 - Florence, 18 May 1874) married in 1836 Signor Giovanni Battista Rabitti,
''Cavaliere'' San Giorgio (3 November 1797 - 5 November 1844, leaving her a widow with three children)
*Lady Frances Harley (26 January 1805 – 15 October 1872) married 20 April 1835 Lt.-Col. Henry Venables Vernon Harcourt (1791 - 26 February 1853), the son of the
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
/ref>
*Alfred Harley, 6th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Alfred Harley, 6th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (10 January 1809 – 19 January 1853), styled Lord Harley between 1828 and 1849, was a British peer and the last holder of the title of Earl of Oxford, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer.
Harley was t ...
(10 January 1809 – 19 January 1853)
*Hon. Mortimer (17 December 1811 – 3 April 1812)
*Lady Louisa, died young.
Due to his wife's infidelity, doubts were expressed about the paternity of many of the children, who were unkindly referred to as "the Harleian Miscellany."
The earl died on 28 December 1848 at his seat at Brampton Bryan Hall
Brampton Bryan Hall is a 17th-century English country house in the village of Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire. It is still owned by the descendants of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, chief minister under Queen Anne and is a Grade II* listed buildin ...
.
Notes
1773 births
1848 deaths
Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain
Edward
{{GB-earl-stub