Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort, by William Orpen

Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort DL, JP, FZS (12 June 1878 – 29 January 1943), styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour until 1893 and Earl of Bective between 1893 and 1894, was a British politician and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer.

Career

Styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour from birth, he was the son of Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort, by his second wife Emily Constantia, daughter of the Reverend Lord John Thynne. He became known by the courtesy title Earl of Bective in 1893 on the death of his half-brother. The following year, aged 16, he succeeded his father in the marquessate. Lord Headfort was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

on 4 January 1899, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 7 March 1900. He resigned from the regiment in May 1901. In June the following year he was appointed a lieutenant in the newly created

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

regiment, the

2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of the ...

. He was justice of the peace and Deputy Lieutenant for county Meath, Ireland; and a Lieutenant in the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

. He was an English Freemason, having been initiated in the Lodge of Assistance No 2773 (London, England) at Golden Square, London, in February 1901, aged 22 years. From 1922 to 1928, he served as a Senator of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

Family

Rosie Boote, a young singer who appeared in ''

The Messenger Boy ''The Messenger Boy'' is a musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Alfred Murray, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton, with additional numbers by Paul Rubens. The story concerne ...

'' in 1900 under her professional name of ''Miss Rosie Boote'', so charmed the young Marquess that he married her on 11 April 1901. Their marriage was unusual: Rose was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from a humble background, while her husband was a Protestant aristocrat. He caused a sensation when he converted to Catholicism for their marriage. They lived at Headfort House in Ireland and had three children together: * Terence Geoffrey Thomas, 5th Marquess of Headfort * Lord William Desmond Taylour (1904–89), British archaeologist, known for his work in Mycenaean Greece. Born in Ireland and educated at Harrow School, after careers in banking and interior design in New York, and war service in North Africa, he studied archaeology and anthropology at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, before completing a PhD on Mycenaean pottery in Italy. His career as an excavator began in the 1950s. After the death of Alan John Bayard Wace in 1957, he took over and completed the British expedition to Mycenae. Taylour excavated at Hagios Stephanos in Laconia between 1959 and 1977. * Lady Millicent Olivia Mary Taylour; married 28 April 1930 (div. 1936) to Henry Frederic Tiarks, a banker; they had one son, Christopher Henry Frederic (b. 13 March 1931 – died April 1932). Lady Millicent died 24 December 1975.''Burke's Peerage, 106th Edition.''

References

Work cited

External links

* *http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/archives/taylour-finding-aid * {{DEFAULTSORT:Headfort, Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of 1878 births 1943 deaths Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad British Life Guards officers Westminster Dragoons officers British Army personnel of World War I Deputy Lieutenants of Meath Geoffrey People educated at Harrow School Marquesses of Headfort Independent members of Seanad Éireann