George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, (9 May 1838 – 13 March 1930), styled Viscount Deerhurst from November 1838 until 1843, was a British

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

politician. He was

Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms The Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms is a post in the Government of the United Kingdom that has been held by the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the ...

between 1877 and 1880 and again between 1885 and 1886 as well as

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

between 1886 and 1892 and again between 1895 and 1901.

Early life

Coventry was born on 9 May 1838 at

Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent is a street in central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and are now Grade ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was the son of George William Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst, and the former Harriett Anne Cockerell. His elder sister, Lady Maria Emma Catherine Coventry, was the wife of Hon. Gerald Henry Brabazon Ponsonby (the youngest son of

John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, PC (31 August 1781 – 16 May 1847), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician. He was notably Home Secretary in 1834 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ...

).G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume III, page 475-476. His paternal grandparents were

George Coventry, 8th Earl of Coventry George William Coventry, 8th Earl of Coventry (16 October 1784 – 15 May 1843), styled Viscount Deerhurst from 1809 to 1831, was a British peer and Tory Member of Parliament. Early life Coventry was the eldest son of George Coventry, 7th Ear ...

and the former Hon. Emma Susanna Lygon (a daughter of

William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp (25 July 1747 – 21 October 1816), known as Lord Beauchamp of Powyke between 1806 and 1815, was a British politician. Early life Lygon was the son of Reginald Lygon (originally Reginald Pyndar), of Madresfiel ...

Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet (18 February 1755 – 6 January 1837) was a Somerset-born Englishman who prospered as an official of the East India Company (EIC) and became a politician. He sat in the House of Commons for most of the period bet ...

and the former Hon. Harriet Rushout (a daughter of

John Rushout, 1st Baron Northwick John Rushout, 1st Baron Northwick (23 July 1738 – 20 October 1800) was a British politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Evesham. Rushout was the son of Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet and Lady Anne Compton, and was educated at Eton and Chri ...

). 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 Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

Career

Coventry sat on the Conservative benches 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 ...

and served as

Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms The Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms is a post in the Government of the United Kingdom that has been held by the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the ...

under the

Earl of Beaconsfield Earl of Beaconsfield, of Hughenden in the County of Buckingham, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, a favourite of Queen Victoria. Victoria favoured Disraeli's Tory poli ...

from 1877 to 1880 and under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

from 1885 to 1886 and under Salisbury as

from 1886 to 1892 and again from 1895 to 1900. In 1877 he was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Coventry was also

Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire. Since 1719, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Worcestershire. Lord Lieutenants of Worcestershire to 1974 *''see Lord Lieutenant of Wales for pre- ...

from 1891 to 1903, and an Honorary Colonel of the 3rd and 4th (Militia) Battalions,

the Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regime ...

from 1900. He was honoured as

Lord High steward The Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ''ad hoc'' office that is primarily ceremonial and ...

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

in December 1901, and received the Honorary Freedom of the borough of Tewkesbury in January 1902. During the First World War the Earl of Coventry, as Lord Lieutenant, was the figurehead of the county war effort. He chaired a number of committees and charities, and was President of the Worcestershire Volunteer Regiment of the

Volunteer Training Corps The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I. Early development After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who wer ...

(the WW1 Home Guard). Apart from his political career he was also involved in horseracing. His racing colours were brown with blue cap and were carried to victory in consecutive

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

s by the half-sisters

Emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

, 1863, and

Emblematic An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

, 1864. In 1899 he was President of the Royal Agricultural Society. The Earl was also interested in the development of agriculture and maintained a paternalistic attitude toward his tenants. He established a jam factory in order to provide them with a local outlet for their fruit although this proved unable to compete with larger-scale commercial competitors and went into liquidation in 1908.

Personal life

On 25 January 1865, Lord Coventry married Lady Blanche Craven, daughter of

William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and the former Lady Emily Mary Grimston (a daughter of

James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam (26 September 1775 – 17 November 1845), styled Lord Dunboyne from 1775 until 1808 and known as the 4th Viscount Grimston from 1808 to 1815, was a British peer and politician. Life and career He was t ...

. Together they had six sons and three daughters: * George William Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst (1865–1927), who married the American-born Virginia Lee Bonynge (''née'' Daniel), the daughter of William Daniel who was adopted by Charles William Bonynge. * Hon.

Charles John Coventry Colonel Charles John Coventry, CB (26 February 1867 – 2 June 1929) was a British Army officer and an amateur cricketer who played in two retrospectively-recognised Test matches for England in 1899. Those were his only first-class appearan ...

(1867–1929), who was a soldier and successful

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er; he married Lily Whitehouse, daughter of

William Fitzhugh Whitehouse William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of En ...

and sister to U.S. diplomat

Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse (February 5, 1883 – August 5, 1965) was an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Minister to Guatemala and U.S. Minister to Colombia. Early life Whitehouse was born on February 5, 1883 in New York City. He was on ...

, in 1900. * Hon. Henry Thomas Coventry (1868–1934), who also played first-class cricket; he married Edith ( Kip) McCreery, daughter of Col.

Lawrence Kip Lawrence Kip (September 17, 1836 – November 17, 1899) was an American soldier, author, and sportsman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Kip was born on September 17, 1836 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was t ...

and

Eva Lorillard Kip Lawrence Kip (September 17, 1836 – November 17, 1899) was an American soldier, author, and sportsman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Kip was born on September 17, 1836 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was t ...

, in 1907. * Hon. Sir Reginald William Coventry (1869–1940), who married Gwenllian Pascoe Morgan, daughter of Edward Vaughan Morgan, in 1911. After her death in 1925, he married Frances Constance Jones, daughter of Charles Gwillim Jones, in 1926. * Lady Barbara Elizabeth Coventry (1870–1946), who married Gerald Dudley Smith, son of Dudley Robert Smith, in 1894. * Lady Dorothy Coventry (1872–1965), who married

Sir Keith Fraser, 5th Baronet Major Sir Keith Alexander Fraser, 5th Baronet (1867–1935) was a British cavalry officer, and a Conservative Member of Parliament for Harborough from 1918 until 1923. Biography Keith Fraser was born in 1867. He was the son of General James K ...

, in 1910. * Lady Anne Blanche Alice Coventry (1874–1956), who married Prince

Victor Duleep Singh Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh (10 July 1866 – 7 June 1918) was the eldest son of Maharani Bamba Müller and Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of Lahore, and of the Sikh Empire, and the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Biog ...

, the eldest son of Maharaja

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

. * Hon. William Francis Coventry (1875–1937), who died unmarried. * Hon. Thomas George Coventry (1885–1972), who married Alice Ward, daughter of Thomas Ward, in 1910. They divorced around 1930. Lord Coventry died on 13 March 1930, aged 91,Hammond, Peter W., editor, ''The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda'' (Stroud,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 1998), page 212. and was succeeded in the earldom by his grandson George, the son of George William Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst. Lady Coventry survived her husband by only three days and died on 16 March 1930, aged 87.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, page 933.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, George Coventry, 9th Earl of 1838 births 1930 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Lord-Lieutenants of Worcestershire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Masters of the Buckhounds Earls of Coventry People educated at Eton College