Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Henry George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon,
FSA (3 June 1772 – 16 April 1833), styled The Honourable Henry Herbert from 1780 to 1793 and Lord Porchester from 1793 to 1811, was a British military officer and
Whig politician.
Background and education
Born in
Hill Street 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 ...
, Herbert was the oldest son of
Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon PC (20 August 1741 – 3 June 1811), known as The Lord Porchester from 1780 to 1793, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1780 when he was raised to the peerage as Ba ...
,
and
Lady Elizabeth Alicia Maria Wyndham, the oldest daughter of
Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont
Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, PC (19 August 171021 August 1763), of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, Petworth House in Sussex, and of Egremont House in Mayfair, London, was a British statesman who served as Secretary of State for the Sou ...
.
[Burke (1832), p. 212] He was baptised in
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...
on 22 June 1772.
His younger brothers were the sailor
Charles Herbert
Charles Herbert Saperstein (December 23, 1948 – October 31, 2015), known as Charles Herbert, was an American child actor of the 1950s and 1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation of moviegoers for an on-scree ...
and the botanist
William Herbert.
Another brother,
Algernon Herbert was an
antiquary
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
.
Herbert 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 depa ...
until 1789.
Career
Herbert joined the
Royal Wiltshire Militia as captain in 1790 and when the
West Somerset Yeomanry
The West Somerset Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in World War II (as two field artille ...
was raised in 1794 became its major.
[Doyle" (1886), p. 341] He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel four years later and obtained colonelcy of the regiment in 1803.
Having been elected for Cricklade, Herbert entered the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
in 1794.
[Thorne (1986), p. 184] After the
Act of Union 1801
The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...
he represented the constituency then in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
until 1811, when he succeeded his father as earl.
During his time as
Member of Parliament he stirred an investigation into the failure of the
Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...
in 1809. Herbert was nominated a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
in 1803 and served as
High Steward of
Newbury.
He was chosen a fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...
in 1814 and was vice-president of the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
.
Marriage and children

On 26 April 1796, he married the heiress
Elizabeth "Kitty" Acland (d.1813), at
St George's Hanover Square.
[Cokayne (1913), p. 47] She was the only daughter and eventual heiress of Col. John Dyke Acland (1747–1778), son and heir apparent of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet (1722–1785) of Killerton, Devon, and Petherton Park in Somerset, who acquired
Pixton Park,
Tetton, Kingston St Mary
Tetton is an historic estate in the parish of Kingston St Mary in the English county of Somerset. The present Listed building, grade II* listed Tetton House dates from 1790 and was enlarged and mainly rebuilt in 1924–6 by Hon. Mervyn Herbert (1 ...
, and
Holnicote, Setworthy by his marriage to the heiress Elizabeth Dyke (d.1753). Her brother was
Sir John Dyke Acland, 8th Baronet
There have been four baronetcies created for members of the Acland family, two in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The family originated in the 12th century at the estate of Acland in the parish of Lan ...
, who died aged 7.
Carnarvon inherited from his wife the substantial Somerset estates of Pixton and Tetton. Kitty died at
Shooter's Hill
Shooter's Hill is a district of South East London, England, straddling the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in the Borough of ...
in 1813; Herbert survived her for twenty years until 1833.
By his wife he had five children, three daughters and two sons.
* Lady Harriet Elizabeth Herbert (b. 1797), who married Rev. J. C. Stapylton.
*
Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon
Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, FRS (8 June 1800 – 10 December 1849), styled Lord Porchester from 1811 to 1833, was a British writer, traveller, nobleman, and politician.
Background and education
Herbert was born in London ...
(1800–1849), who married Henrietta Anna Howard-Molyneux-Howard, eldest daughter of
Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard
Lord Henry Thomas Howard-Molyneux-Howard (7 October 1766 – 17 June 1824), known as Henry Howard until 1812, and as Henry Molyneux-Howard until 1817, was a British gentleman who served as Deputy Earl Marshal in the latter part of the reign of G ...
* Hon. Edward Charles Hugh Herbert (1802–1852), who married Elizabeth Sweet-Escott, daughter of Prebendary Thomas Sweet-Escott. They had two sons.
* Lady Theresa Elizabeth Mary Herbert (1803–1815)
* Lady Emily Frances Theresa Herbert (d. 1854), who married
Philip Bouverie-Pusey, paternal grandson of
Jacob des Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone and maternal grandson of
Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough
The Reverend Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough (21 October 1719 – 21 April 1799) was a British clergyman who inherited the earldom of Harborough.
Early life
Born on 21 October 1719, he was one of six sons and eight daughters born to Phil ...
. They had one son, and two daughters.
Death and burial
He died, aged 60, at his London residence in
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...
and was buried at
Burghclere
Burghclere is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. According to the 2011 census the village had a population of 1,152. The village is near the border of Hampshire with Berkshire, four miles south of Newbury. The closest settlement ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
.
He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Henry.
[Urban (1833), p. 463]
Porchester's Post
The westernmost boundary of the historic estate of
Pixton Park in Somerset is marked by "Porchester's Post", a 10-foot high oak obelisk first erected in 1796 for that purpose, by the 2nd Earl of Carnarvon, of
Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, husband of Elizabeth "Kitty" Acland, heiress of Pixton, whom he had married that year. He was then aged 24 and until his father's death in 1811 was known by his courtesy title of
Lord Porchester. It is located high up on
Exmoor
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
between Withypool Hill and Halscombe Allotment (grid reference SS 828 334), 7 miles north-west of Pixton Park. It was renewed and re-erected in 2002 by the
Exmoor National Park
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
Authority. A brass plaque attached to it is inscribed as follows:
For image see
/ref>
:"First erected in 1796 to mark the boundary of the Carnarvon Estate. Re-erected in memory of Lord Porchester, Earl of Carnarvon, the Chairman of the 1977 inquiry into the protection of moorland on Exmoor and to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002".
Notes
References
External links
* his link is well meaning but WRONG
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnarvon, Henry Herbert, 02nd Earl of
1772 births
1833 deaths
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
Deputy lieutenants of Somerset
2
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Henry Herbert, 02nd Earl of Carnarvon
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cricklade
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cricklade
People educated at Eton College
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
Military personnel from the City of Westminster
UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs who inherited peerages
West Somerset Yeomanry officers