Lord Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox PC (né Lennox; 2 November 1821 – 29 August 1886), known as Lord Henry Lennox, was a British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1846 to 1885 and was a close friend of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

Background and education

Lennox was the third son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, and Lady Caroline, daughter of Field Marshal

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

. He was the brother of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon, (27 February 181827 September 1903), styled Lord Settrington until 1819 and then Earl of March until 1860, was a British Conservative politician. Ba ...

Lord Alexander Gordon-Lennox Lord Alexander Francis Charles Gordon-Lennox (14 June 1825 – 22 January 1892), was a British Conservative politician. Background Gordon-Lennox was the fourth son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, and Lady Caroline, daughter of Fi ...

and

Lord George Gordon-Lennox Lord George Charles Gordon-Lennox (né Lennox; 22 October 1829 – 22 February 1877), was a British Conservative politician. Background Gordon-Lennox was the fifth son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lady Caroline, daughte ...

. He was educated at The Prebendal School, Chichester, then University of Oxford.Mosley, Charles (ed.) ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition.'' (volume 3) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 3336. Henry was born with the surname Lennox; when his father inherited the Gordon estates from his uncle, the father took the surname Gordon-Lennox for himself and his issue, by royal licence dated 9 August 1836. Henry was nonetheless commonly known by only his second surname.

Political career

Lennox entered the House of Commons in 1846 as Member of Parliament for Chichester, in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He represented this constituency until 1885, when he stood for Partick, but was defeated. Lennox held office in every Conservative government between 1852 and 1876. He was a Junior Lord of the Treasury in 1852 and between 1858 and 1859 in the first two short-lived governments of the Earl of Derby before becoming

First Secretary of the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

in 1866 in Derby's last government, a post he held until 1868, the last year under the premiership of his close friend Benjamin Disraeli. According to John F. Beeler in ''British naval policy in the Gladstone-Disraeli era, 1866-1880'', Lennox acted as a spy to the then

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

, Disraeli, informing him of the intentions of leading admirals. He served again under Disraeli as First Commissioner of Works from 1874 to 1876 and 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 ...

in 1874. He was forced to resign as First Commissioner of Works after revelations in the case of ''Twycross v Grant'' regarding the Lisbon Tramways swindle, of which company he was a director.

Personal life

Lennox married Amelia Susannah (née Smith, then Brooman), widow of John White, in 1883. They had no children. He died in August 1886, aged 64, and was buried in the family vault in the Lady Chapel of Chichester Cathedral. Lady Henry Lennox died in February 1903. John White was the uncle of another peer,

Lord Overtoun John Campbell White, 1st Baron Overtoun, (21 November 1843 – 15 February 1908) was a Scottish chemical manufacturer, supporter of religious causes, philanthropist and Liberal politician. He was raised to the peerage by Gladstone in 1893, an ...

, while lady Amelia was the great-grandmother of 1950s MP Richard Brooman-White.Loch mansion had colourful residents
Helensburgh Heritage Trust, 29 July 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, Henry 1821 births 1886 deaths People educated at The Prebendal School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Lennox, Lord Henry UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Henry Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom