George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex FSA (13 November 1757 – 23 April 1839) was an English aristocrat and politician, and styled Viscount Malden until 1799. His surname was Capell until 1781.

Early life

Joshua Reynolds portrait of George and Elizabeth Capel 1768

George Capell was the eldest son and heir of William Anne Capell, 4th Earl of Essex (1732–1799), from his first marriage to Frances Hanbury-Williams. After his mother's death from childbirth in 1759, his father remarried to Harriet Bladen (a daughter of Thomas Bladen of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

). From his father's second marriage, he was the elder half-brother of William Robert Capel and Admiral

Thomas Bladen Capel Admiral Sir Thomas Bladen Capel (25 August 1776 – 4 March 1853) was an officer in the British Royal Navy whose distinguished service in the French Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him rapid promotion and great a ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and one of

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

's '' Band of Brothers''. His paternal grandparents were

William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex, (11 January 16978 January 1743) was an English courtier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Essex and Lady Mary Bentinck. His younger sister, Lady Mary Capel, married Alan Brodrick, 2n ...

and Lady Elizabeth Russell (a daughter of

Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG (1 November 1680 – 26 May 1711) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of William Russell, Lord Russell, and his wife Lady Rachel Wriothesley. From 1683 until 1694, he was styled Lor ...

). His mother was the daughter of

Charles Hanbury Williams Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, KB (8 December 1708 – 2 November 1759) was a Welsh diplomat, writer and satirist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1734 until his death. Early life Hanbury was the son of a Welsh ironmaster and Member of Parl ...

and Lady Francis Coningsby (a daughter of

Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby PC (2 November 1656 – 1 May 1729) of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times from 1679 until 1716 when he was created a peer and sat ...

Career

George Capell was educated at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, receiving his MA in 1777. In 1781 he took the additional name of Coningsby on succeeding to the

Hampton Court, Herefordshire Hampton Court Castle, also known as Hampton Court, is a castellated country house in the English county of Herefordshire. The house is in the parish of Hope under Dinmore south of Leominster and is a Grade I listed building, which is the h ...

estate of his grandmother, Lady Francis Hanbury-Williams, née Coningsby. He later (1810) sold the estate to John Arkwright, the grandson of the inventor and industrialist

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as t ...

. He was one of the two members of parliament for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

from 1779 to 1780, a member for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

from 1781 to 1784, for

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based i ...

from 1785 to 1790, and for Radnor from 1794 to 1799. On 4 March 1799 Capel-Coningsby succeeded his father as 5th

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. He served as

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and High Steward of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

in 1802, and as

Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Herefordshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appointed ...

from 1802 to 1817. He became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1801, and received an honorary D.C.L. from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1810. Upon his succession to the title of Earl of Essex, he set about a major reconstruction of the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

Cassiobury House Cassiobury House was a country house in Cassiobury Park, Watford, England. It was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Essex. Originally a Tudor building, dating from 1546 for Sir Richard Morrison, it was substantially remodelled in the 17th and ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, Hertfordshire, engaging the services of the architect

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

and landscape designer

Humphrey Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

to develop the house and grounds. Essex was noted as a major patron of the arts and was responsible for building up a large fine art collection at Cassiobury. An obituary of Essex in 1839 records that "his Lordship has richly embellished his house at Cassiobury, as well as his town mansion in Belgrave Square, with numerous choice works of our native painters", and that he had entertained a number of noted British artists of the day at Cassiobury and commissioned works from them, including J. M. W. Turner,

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

John Callcott Horsley John Callcott Horsley RA (29 January 1817 – 18 October 1903) was an English academic painter of genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony in Cranbrook. Child ...

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

and

Edwin Henry Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...

Estates

Lord Malden inherited the Earl of Ranelagh estates from his mother, including extensive lands in Ireland in Co. Roscommon (the town of Roscommon and surrounding townlands) Co. Meath (mostly around the Navan area) and Co Dublin (in the Swords area).

Personal life

Memorial to Harriet Capel-Coningsby, Watford St Mary

George Capel-Coningsby was twice married. His first marriage was on 6 June 1786, as her second husband, to Sarah Bazett. Sarah, a widow of Edward Stephenson, was the daughter of Henry William Bazett of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

and Clarissa Penelope Pritchard. Sarah was a talented and prolific artist, known as "Sarah, Viscountess Malden", and from 1799 as "Sarah, Countess of Essex", who specialised in making watercolour copies of old portraits and other paintings, and her surviving copies in many instances are the only evidence of the now lost originals. George outlived Sarah, who died in 1838. After Sarah's death, on 14 April 1838 Essex married the opera singer Kitty Stephens, a daughter of Edward Stephens. Lord Essex died on 23 April 1839 at Cassiobury, aged 81, and was buried at

, leaving behind his operatic widow, Kitty Stephens, who was now the Countess Dowager. Because he had no son of his own, his Earldom and estates passed to a nephew, Arthur Algernon Capell, the eldest son of his half-brother John Thomas Capell.

Illegitimate daughter

He had an illegitimate daughter, Harriet (1808–1837), who married

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel '' The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, '' Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and t ...

(d. 1858) of Heavitree, Devon. The Earl erected a mural monument to Harriet in the Essex Chapel of St Mary's Church, Watford.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Essex, George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl Of 1757 births 1839 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Lord-Lieutenants of Herefordshire Malden, George Capel Coningsby, Viscount Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Okehampton Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies

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 Presiden ...

People from Watford