Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster (29 July 1867 – 19 September 1951), known as Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1892 to 1910, was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life

Ancaster was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 29 July 1867. He was the eldest son of Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster, and Lady Evelyn Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly. He was educated at Lambrook Preparatory School and at Eton, where he was editor of the ''Eton College Chronicle'' and president of the Eton Society. He then attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

Career

In 1894, he was elected to Parliament for the Horncastle Division of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, a seat he held until shortly after the December 1910 general election, when he succeeded his father as second Earl of Ancaster and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Ancaster later held office as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries under

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

from 1921 to 1922 and under

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

and

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

from 1922 to 1924. Apart from his parliamentary political career he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland. In 1974 Rutland became part of Leicestershire under the Local Government Act 1972, the Lieutenancy was abolished, with Rutland's Lord-Lieutenant becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Le ...

from 1921 to 1951, Chairman of Rutland County Council from 1922 to 1937, DL for the county of

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

and JP for Lincolnshire, where he was Chairman of the Kesteven Quarter Sessions from 1911 to 1937. He was Joint

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal but above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord High Constable. The office of Lo ...

between 1910 and 1951. He was appointed GCVO in 1937. During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

he was appointed an honorary

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the Leicestershire Imperial Yeomanry, but was in June 1901 transferred to become

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Lincolnshire Imperial Yeomanry, rising to Lieutenant-Colonel. On 12 December 1902 he was one of the founding directors of Ivel Agricultural Motors Limited of

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

, founded by Dan Albone who had invented the Ivel Agricultural Motor (the word 'tractor' did not come into common use until later).

Personal life

In 1905, Lord Aveland married American heiress Eloise Lawrence Breese (1882–1953), daughter of William Lawrence Breese of New York, at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

. Her sister Anne married Lord Alastair Robert Innes-Ker, the second son of

James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe James Henry Robert Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe (5 September 1839 – 23 October 1892), became Duke of Roxburghe on the death of his father, James Henry Robert Innes-Ker, 6th Duke of Roxburghe. Early life He was born on 5 September 1839 to Ja ...

. Lord Alastair's brother, Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe, also married an American, Mary Goelet. Eloise and Anne's brother, William L. Breese Jr., was married to Julia Kean Fish, daughter of U.S. Representative Hamilton Fish II. Together, Eloise and Gilbert were the parents of two sons and two daughters: * Lady Catherine Mary Heathcote-Drumond-Willoughby (1906–1996), who married Charles Wedderburn Hume and John St Maur Ramsden (1902–1948), son of Sir John Ramsden, 6th Baronet. * Gilbert James Heathcote-Drumond-Willoughby (1907–1983), who married the Hon. Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor, daughter of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor. * Lady Priscilla Heathcote-Drumond-Willoughby (1909–2002), who married Col. Sir John Aird, 3rd Baronet (parents of Sir John Aird, 4th Baronet). * John Heathcote-Drumond-Willoughby (1914–1970), who died unmarried. He died on 19 September 1951, aged 84, and was succeeded in his titles by his only surviving son, Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby. His widow died in 1953.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancaster, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of 1867 births 1951 deaths *26 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Gilbert Gilbert Lord-lieutenants of Rutland Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Gilbert UK MPs who inherited peerages Deputy lieutenants of Perthshire Leicestershire Yeomanry officers Lincolnshire Yeomanry officers English justices of the peace People educated at Eton College Heathcote baronets Politicians from London