George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford (22 February 1830 – 28 March 1898), styled Viscount Enfield between 1860 and 1886, was a British Liberal politician.

Background and education

Byng was the eldest son of

George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire) and of 5 St James's Square, London, was a British peer and Whig ...

and his wife, Lady Agnes, daughter of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1852.

Political career

In 1852 Byng entered Parliament as Member of Parliament for

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

, a seat he held until 1857, when he became MP for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. He served under Lord Russell as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The new body was headed by a President, and with the Lord President of ...

between 1865 and 1866 and under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affa ...

between 1871 and 1874.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, In 1874, Lord Enfield left the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

when he was defeated at the general election, but was then called up to the House of Lords in his father's barony of Strafford. He again held office under Gladstone as a Lord-in-waiting in 1880 and as

Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the British India, period of British rule be ...

between 1880 and 1883. Lord Strafford was also

First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civ ...

from 1880 to 1888 and

Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex. From 1794 to 1965, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex. The office was abolished on 1 April 1965, with the creation of Greater London and the post of L ...

from 1884 to 1888. When the first

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

was formed in 1889, he was chosen as a County Alderman, serving until 1895. Throughout his political career, he served with the part-time

Royal West Middlesex Militia The Royal West Middlesex Militia, later the Edmonton Royal Rifle Regiment, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised in Middlesex in the Home counties of England during the 18th Century from earlier precursor units. It later became part of the King' ...

, becoming

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 30 October 1853 when his father was the

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. On 21 September 1871 he took over from his father as Honorary Colonel of the regiment, being succeeded in his turn by his younger brother Henry on 15 June 1878. In 1886, he succeeded his father in the earldom of Strafford.

Interests

He was the third President of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

, serving in that role between 1885 and 1888. It has been argued that his links with the Society should be seen more as "aristocratic patronage" rather than active research interest in the topic.

Family

Lord Strafford married Lady Alice Harriet Frederica, eldest daughter of

Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, (1 January 1800 – 18 February 1857), known as Lord Francis Leveson-Gower until 1833, was a British politician, writer, traveller and patron of the arts. Ellesmere Island, a major island (10th in size am ...

, on 25 July 1854. They had no children. He died at the family home in St. James's Square in March 1898, aged 68, and was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. The Countess of Strafford died in December 1928.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strafford, George Byng, 3rd Earl of 1830 births 1898 deaths Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Enfield, George Byng, Viscount Liberal Party (UK) Lords-in-Waiting Lord-Lieutenants of Middlesex Presidents of Middlesex County Cricket Club Enfield, George Byng, Viscount Enfield, George Byng, Viscount Enfield, George Byng, Viscount Enfield, George Byng, Viscount Enfield, George Byng, Viscount UK MPs who inherited peerages People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Members of Middlesex County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock Presidents of the Folklore Society Middlesex Militia officers