Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford, PC, FRS, FSA (4 July 1751 – 21 October 1812), styled Lord Guernsey between 1757 and 1777, was a British politician who sat in 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. ...

from 1772 to 1777 when he succeeded to a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. He was also a landscape artist.

Background and education

Aylesford was the son of

Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford (6 November 1715 – 9 May 1777), styled Lord Guernsey between 1719 and 1757, was a British peer and politician. Background and education Finch was the son and heir of Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford ...

, and Lady Charlotte Finch, daughter of

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (13 August 16622 December 1748), known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was an English peer. He rebuilt Petworth House in Sussex, the ancient Percy seat inherited from his wife, in the palatial form which s ...

. He was born at his paternal grandfather's residence,

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence had be ...

, near

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 educated at

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 ...

.thepeerage.com Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford
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Political career

Aylesford was returned to parliament for

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

in 1772, a seat he held until 1774, and then represented

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

until 1777,when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered 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 was a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

between 1777 and 1783. The latter year he was sworn of 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 ...

and appointed

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 in ...

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

. He retained this office until 1804, the last three years under the premiership of

Henry Addington Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, (30 May 175715 February 1844) was an English Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. Addington is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, an ...

. When Pitt resumed office in 1804, Aylesford was made

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Household in England. He is always a peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the office was one of considerable political importance ...

. He continued in this office until his death in 1812, under successively

Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...

, the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

. Aylesford also held the honorary position of

High Steward of Sutton Coldfield The High Steward of Sutton Coldfield was an office relating to the government of the town of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England. History Prior to the Royal Charter of 1528 Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley held the office of High St ...

from 1796 until his death.

Artistic career

Apart from his political career Lord Aylesford was an artist of some repute in the British landscape tradition.

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

has 50

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s, drawings and prints by Finch in its collection. In 1795 an ''Album of Etchings by Lord Aylesford and Others'' was published. A. P. Oppe wrote an article giving some background and listing 85 of Aylesford's etchings titled ''The Fourth Earl of Aylesford''.

The Print Collector's Quarterly ''The Print Collector's Quarterly'' (initially hyphenated as ''The Print-Collector's Quarterly''), was a quarterly periodical that was begun in 1911 and continued under various publishers until 1950. The original founders were art dealer Frederick ...

1924, Vol 11, p. 263. Lord Aylesford was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1773 and was a trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

between 1787 and 1812. In the Park at Packington MET DP800738.jpg, ''In the Park at Packington'' File:Landscape MET DP800745.jpg, ''Landscape''

Family

Lord Aylesford married Lady Louisa Thynne, daughter of

Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, KG, PC (13 September 173419 November 1796), of Longleat in Wiltshire, was a British politician who held office under King George III. He served as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieuten ...

, on 18 November 1781. They lived at

Packington Hall Packington Hall is a 17th-century mansion situated at Great Packington, near Meriden, Warwickshire, England the seat of the Earl of Aylesford. It is a Grade II* listed building. History It was built in 1693 for Sir Clement Fisher on whose ...

near Meriden, Warwickshire and had thirteen children: * Heneage Charles Finch, Lord Guernsey (27 February 1784 – 18 July 1784) * Lady Charlotte Finch (31 January 1785 – 17 January 1869), married Charles Palmer on 22 January 1823. *

Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford (24 April 1786 – 3 January 1859) was a British peer, the eldest son of Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford. He was styled Lord Guernsey until he succeeded his father in 1812. Aylesford married in 1821 Augu ...

(24 April 1786 – 1859) * Hon. Daniel Finch (25 February 1789 – 17 January 1868), artist. * Lady Frances Finch (c. 1791 – 12 July 1886), unmarried * Hon. Edward Finch (1792 – 9 April 1830) *

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

the Hon. John Finch (1793 – 25 November 1861), married in 1835 Katherine Ellice (d. 1872) * Hon. Henry Finch (1795–1829) * Hon. Charles Finch (b. 1799) * Hon. Charles and Lady Caroline (buried Jan 27 1797) Warwickshire C of E Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials * Lady Mary Finch (d. 24 July 1823) * Lady Elizabeth Finch (d. 1 June 1879) * Lady Henrietta Finch (d. 1828) * Lady Caroline Finch (d. 1821) Lord Aylesford died at

Great Packington Great Packington is a hamlet, civil parish and country park in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England.

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, in October 1812, aged 61, from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

in the stomach. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Heneage. The Countess of Aylesford died in December 1832, aged 72.

Legacy

* namesake of Aylesford, Nova Scotia

External links

*
Works by Lord Aylesford at tate.org.ukA catalog of etchings by Lord Aylesford

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylesford, Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of 1751 births 1812 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Guernsey, Heneage Finch, Lord Guernsey, Heneage Finch, Lord 18th-century British painters British male painters 4 Fellows of the Royal Society Guernsey, Heneage Finch, Lord Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Heneage Trustees of the British Museum British printmakers