George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (10 February 1797 – 20 October 1883), styled Viscount Chichester until 1799 and Earl of Belfast between 1799 and 1844, was an Anglo-Irish landowner, courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1830 to 1834, as well as from 1838 to 1841, and as

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position ...

between 1848 and 1852. Ennobled in his own right in 1841, he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Antrim A list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Antrim, located in Northern Ireland. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. G. E. C., ed. Vicary Gibbs, ''The Complet ...

from 1841 to 1883 and was made a Knight of St Patrick in 1857.

Background and education

Lord Donegall was born at Great Cumberland Place,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the eldest son of Viscount Chichester (who became The 2nd

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...

in 1799) by his wife Anna May, daughter of

Sir Edward May, 2nd Baronet Sir (James) Edward May, 2nd Baronet (1751? – 23 July 1814) of Mayfield, County Waterford, was an Irish politician who was twice Sovereign of Belfast, a Member of Parliament in successive Irish and United Kingdom parliaments, and High Sherif ...

. 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 Christ Church, Oxford, before serving for a time as a captain with the 11th Hussars. He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Chichester from birth until 1799 and as Earl of Belfast from 1799 to 1844.thepeerage.com Sir George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall
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Political career

In 1818, Lord Belfast (as he was from 1799 until 1844) was elected to 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 ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...

, and two years later became representative for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. In July 1830 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

's Tory administration. In August he was returned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for Antrim. He continued as Vice-Chamberlain after Lord Grey formed his

Whig government In British politics, a Whig government may refer to the following British governments administered by the Whigs: * Whig Junto, a name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party **First Whig Junto, th ...

in November 1830. In 1831 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order. He remained as Vice-Chamberlain until 1834, the last months under the premiership of

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

. In 1837 he was once again returned to Parliament for Belfast. He did not initially serve in Melbourne's second administration, but in 1838 he once again became Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. He resigned when the government fell in 1841, and during the same year he unsuccessfully contested Belfast as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate. He was instead raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus, of Ennishowen in the

County of Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

and of

in the

County of Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. He sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

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, B ...

for three years under this title before succeeding his father in the marquessate in 1844. Lord Donegall did not serve initially in

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

's first administration, but in 1848 he returned to the government as

. He resigned along with the rest of the Whig government in early 1852. Apart from his political career he was also

from 1841 to 1883. In 1857 he was made a

Knight of the Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

. At the time of his death in 1883 he was the senior member of the Privy Council.

Family

Lord Donegall married Lady Harriet Anne Butler (d. 1860), daughter of The 1st Earl of Glengall, in 1822. They had three children: *Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester (d. 14 April 1898); married The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury. *George Augustus Chichester, Viscount Chichester (26 May 1826 – 18 June 1827) *Frederick Richard Chichester, Earl of Belfast (25 November 1827 – 11 February 1853); died in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, unmarried. After his first wife's death in September 1860, he married as his second wife Harriett Graham (d. 1884), daughter of

Sir Bellingham Reginald Graham, 7th Baronet Sir Bellingham Reginald Graham, 7th Baronet (4 November 1789 – 15 June 1866) was an English Baronet. He served as an Army officer, initially as a cornet with the 23rd Light Dragoons from 1808. He was a lieutenant serving in the 10th Royal ...

, and widow of Sir Frederick Ashworth, in 1862. There were no children from this marriage. Lord Donegall died in Brighton, Sussex, in October 1883, aged 86, and was buried in

. As both his sons had predeceased him, the larger part of the Donegall estates was inherited by his only daughter, Harriet Ashley-Cooper, Lady Ashley (later Countess of Shaftesbury and previously Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester), wife of The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury. The Barony of Ennishowen and Carrickfergus died with him, while he was succeeded in the marquessate by his younger brother, Lord Edward Chichester. The Marchioness of Donegall died in March 1884.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegall, George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of 1797 births 1883 deaths 11th Hussars officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights of St Patrick Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Eton College Lord-Lieutenants of Antrim

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 the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) 3 Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Tory MPs (pre-1834)