Memorial in the chapel at Stansted Park Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, (1 March 1851 – 1 December 1920), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1895 until 1906, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

peer.

Background

Ponsonby was the eldest son of Reverend

Walter Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough (13 August 1821 – 24 February 1906), was a British peer and member of the House of Lords. He was the fifth son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife Lady Maria Fane. He ...

, and his wife, Louisa, daughter of

Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (29 August 1798 – 7 October 1877; styled Lord Elliot from 1823 to 1845) was a British politician and diplomat. Background and education St Germans was born in Plymouth, Devon, the son of Willia ...

Career

He qualified as a barrister in 1879 and was secretary to Lord Robert Grosvenor (a younger son of

Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

) at

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

from 1880 to 1884 and to Arthur Peel,

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 1884 to 1895. After Peel's retirement in 1895, Ponsonby was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB). He also took the courtesy title of Viscount Duncannon following his father's accession to the earldom of Bessborough, also in that year. In 1898, he was High Sheriff of Carlow. He was appointed a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(CVO) on 11 August 1902, and a Knight of the Order of St Patrick (KP) in 1914. He was also involved in business and became a director of the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

in March 1895, and served as its Chairman from February 1908 until his death.

Family

On 22 April 1875, Ponsonby married Blanche Guest (1847–1919), the sister of

Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, 2nd Baronet, DL (29 August 1835 – 22 February 1914) was a British industrialist and a member of the prominent Guest family. Early life Ivor Bertie Guest was born at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, the s ...

, and they had six children: *Lady Olwen Verene (1876–1927), married

Geoffrey Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne Geoffrey Henry Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne, 1st Baron Mereworth, (born Browne-Guthrie; 6 January 1861 – 30 June 1927) was an Irish politician. Oranmore was the only son of Geoffrey Guthrie-Browne, 2nd Baron Oranmore and Browne, an ...

. *Lady Helen Blanche Irene (1878–1962), married John Congreve (1872–1957) and settled at

Mount Congreve Mount Congreve is an 18th-century Georgian estate and mansion situated near the village of Kilmeaden in County Waterford, Ireland. The architect was John Roberts, a Waterford-based architect who subsequently designed and built most of the 18t ...

estate in County Waterford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. * Vere Brabazon, later styled Viscount Duncannon, later 9th Earl of Bessborough (1880–1956),

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

. *Hon. (Cyril) Myles Brabazon (1881–1915), soldier and father of the 11th Earl of Bessborough. *Hon. Bertie Brabazon (1885–1967), barrister and soldier. *Lady Gweneth Frida (1888–1984), married (1) Hon. Windham Baring, (2) Ralph Cavendish. Ponsonby inherited the earldom from his father in 1906, and on his death in 1920, his titles passed to his eldest son, Vere. His death procured an erroneous obituary of

Lord Desborough William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, (30 October 1855 – 9 January 1945) was a British athlete, sportsman, public servant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons first for the Liberal Party and then for the Conservatives betwee ...

being published after ''

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'' (f ...

'' confused the two peers.

References

External links

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

, 107th edition. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessborough, Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl Of 1851 births 1920 deaths

Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough Memorial in the chapel at Stansted Park Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, (1 March 1851 – 1 December 1920), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1895 until 1906, was a British peer. Background Ponsonby was the eldest son of Reverend ...

Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights of St Patrick Ponsonby High Sheriffs of Carlow Edward