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George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham (19 May 1791 – 8 January 1858) was an English politician known for duelling with the then
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Arthur Wellesley, 1st 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 o ...
.
Early life
Hatton, born at
Kirby Hall
Kirby Hall is an Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. The nearest main town is Corby. One of the great Elizabethan houses of England, Kirby Hall was built for Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwick, beginnin ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, on 19 May 1791, was grandson of
Edward Finch-Hatton, and son of
George Finch-Hatton (1747–1823) of Eastwell Park, near Ashford, Kent, M.P. for Rochester 1772–84, by his wife whom he married in 1785,
Lady Elizabeth Murray
Lady Elizabeth Mary Finch-Hatton (née Lady Elizabeth Mary Murray; 18 May 1760 – 1 June 1825) was a British aristocrat and the subject of a notable painting, once thought to be by Johann Zoffany, now attributed to David Martin.
Biography
...
, eldest daughter of
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount of Stormont, (9 October 1727 – 1 September 1796), known as the (7th) Viscount of Stormont from 1748 to 1793, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines o ...
. She died on 1 June 1825.
George William, the elder son, was educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
and
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
, where he proceeded B.A. in 1812.
On 13 October 1809 he became a captain in the Ashford regiment of Kentish local militia, on 14 December 1819 commenced acting as a lieutenant of the Northamptonshire regiment of yeomanry, and on 7 September 1820 was named a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Kent. His cousin,
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...
and fourth earl of Nottingham, having died on 2 August 1826, succeeded to these peerages.
House of Lords
He presided at a very large and influential meeting held on
Penenden Heath
Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England.
As the name suggests it is nucleated around a former heath (now park land).
History
Before the expansion of Maidstone, the heath was often used as a venue for a site for sh ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, on 10 October 1828, when strongly worded resolutions in favour of Protestant principles were carried. In his place in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
, he violently opposed almost every liberal measure which was brought forward. He was particularly noted as being almost the only English nobleman who was willing to identify himself with the Orange party in Ireland, and he was accustomed to denouncing in frantic terms
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
and the system of education carried out in
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...
.
Occasionally he took the chair at May meetings at
Exeter Hall
Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings by promoters of human bettermen ...
, but his intemperate language prevented him from becoming a leader in evangelical politics. The
Catholic Relief Bill
The Roman Catholic Relief Bills were a series of measures introduced over time in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries before the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom to remove the restrictions and prohibitions impose ...
of 1829 encountered his most vehement hostility, and ultimately led to a duel with 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 ...
. Lord Winchilsea, in a letter to the secretary of
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, wrote that the duke, "under the cloak of some coloured show of zeal for the Protestant religion, carried on an insidious design for the infringement of our liberties and the introduction of popery into every department of the state". The duke replied with a challenge. The meeting took place in Battersea Fields on 21 March 1829, the duke being attended by
Sir Henry Hardinge, and his opponent by
Edward Boscawen, 4th Viscount Falmouth. The duke fired and missed; he claimed he did so on purpose. However, the duke was known as a poor shot and accounts differ as to whether he purposefully missed. Winchilsea kept his arm by his side at the command to "fire" then quite deliberately raised his arm in the air and fired. He then apologised for the language of his letter. It is almost certain that Winchilsea and Falmouth had agreed on their course of action, as the letter of apology was already prepared.
He was a very frequent speaker in the Lords, and strenuously opposed the
Reform Bill
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
and other
Whig measures. He was gazetted lieutenant-colonel commandant of the
East Kent Yeomanry on 20 December 1830, named a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Lincoln on 26 September 1831, and created a
D.C.L. at Oxford on 10 June 1834.
Personal life
Winchilsea was married three times:
#
Georgiana Charlotte. on 26 July 1814, eldest daughter of
James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, she died at Haverholme Priory on 13 February 1835. Together they had:
##
George Finch-Hatton, 11th Earl of Winchilsea
George James Finch-Hatton, 11th Earl of Winchilsea and 6th Earl of Nottingham (31 May 1815 – 9 June 1887), styled Viscount Maidstone between 1826 and 1857, was a British peer and Tory politician.
Early life
Winchilsea in May 1815 and was the s ...
(1815–1887)
## Lady Caroline Finch-Hatton (c1817–1888)
# Emily Georgiana, on 15 February 1837, second daughter of Sir
Charles Bagot
Sir Charles Bagot GCB (23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as ambassador to the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the second Governor General of ...
,
G.C.B., she died at
Haverholme Priory
Haverholme Priory was a monastery in Lincolnshire, England. Its remains are situated north-east from the town of Sleaford and less than south-west from the village of Anwick.
Foundation
In 1137, Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln offered the sit ...
on 10 July 1848
# Fanny Margaretta, on 17 October 1849, eldest daughter of
Edward Royd Rice
Edward Royd Rice (25 April 1790 – 27 November 1878) was an English politician and first-class cricketer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 1847 to 1857.
In cricket, he was associated with Middlesex and was active from 1826 to ...
of Dane Court,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and his wife Elizabeth Austen. She died on 26 April 1909. She is a great-niece of
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
through Elizabeth Austen, daughter of
Edward Austen Knight
Edward Austen Knight (born Edward Austen; 7 October 1767 – 19 November 1852) was the third eldest brother of Jane Austen, and provided her with the use of a cottage in Chawton where she lived for the last years of her life (now Jane Austen's ...
. Together they had:
## Lady Evelyn Georgiana Finch-Hatton (–1932)
##
Murray Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea
Murray Edward Gordon Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea and 7th Earl of Nottingham (28 March 1851 – 7 September 1898), styled the Hon. Murray Finch-Hatton until 1887, was a British Conservative politician and agriculturalist. His country re ...
(1851–1898)
##
Henry Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea
Henry Stormont Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea and 8th Earl of Nottingham (3 November 1852 – 14 August 1927) was an English peer.
Early life
He was the third son of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea (1791–1858) and his thir ...
(1852–1927)
##
Harold Finch-Hatton
Harold Heneage Finch-Hatton (23 August 1856 – 16 May 1904) was a British politician and Australian federationist.
Early life
Finch-Hatton was born in Eastwell Park, Kent, England, the fourth son of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilse ...
(1856–1904)
He died at
Haverholme Priory
Haverholme Priory was a monastery in Lincolnshire, England. Its remains are situated north-east from the town of Sleaford and less than south-west from the village of Anwick.
Foundation
In 1137, Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln offered the sit ...
, near
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, 8 January 1858.
Influence
He was the writer of a pamphlet entitled ''Earl of Winchilsea's Letter to the "Times", calling upon the Protestants of Great Britain to unite heart and soul in addressing the Throne for a Dissolution of Parliament,'' 1851.
He was responsible for the phrase
Kentish Fire meaning prolonged derisive cheering.
References
Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winchilsea, George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of
1791 births
1858 deaths
People educated at Westminster School, London
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
People from North Northamptonshire
Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers
*10
705
__NOTOC__
Year 705 ( DCCV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 705 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
British duellists
British Militia officers
Royal East Kent Yeomanry officers
People associated with King's College London
Deputy Lieutenants of Lincolnshire
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 ...
Ultra-Tory peers