Herbert Gardner, Vanity Fair, 1886-04-07

Herbert Colstoun Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere, (9 June 1846 – 6 May 1921) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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 1885 until he was raised to the peerage in 1895. He served as President of the Board of Agriculture between 1892 and 1895.

Early life

Gardner was born on 9 June 1846. He was the son of

Alan Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner Alan Legge Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner (29 January 1810 – 2 November 1883), was a British Whig politician. Background Gardner was the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner. A viscountcy was to be conferred on his father in 1815, b ...

, by his second wife, the professional actress Juliah Sarah (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Fortescue). However, he was born two years before his parents' marriage and was consequently not allowed to succeed in the barony of Gardner on his father's death in 1883.thepeerage.com Herbert Colstoun Gardner, 1st and last Baron Burghclere of Walden
/ref> He had an older brother who was not formally recognised as the baron;

Alan Coulston Gardner Col. Alan Colstoun Gardner (19 November 1842 – 25 December 1907) was a British Liberal Party politician and soldier. He was a son of Alan Legge Gardner. Military career Capt Alan Gardner passed Staff College in 1872. He served in the 1 ...

who joined the British army and saw action in India and famously in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, cou ...

His paternal grandparents were

Alan Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner Alan Hyde Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner KCB (5 February 1770 – 22 December 1815), was a British admiral. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner, he followed his father into the Royal Navy. In 1796 he was captain of t ...

, an admiral in the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, and Charlotte (née Smith) Gardner, third daughter of

Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington (22 January 1752 – 18 September 1838), was a British banker and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1779 to 1797 when he was raised to the peerage. Early life Smith was the third son of Abel Sm ...

. His maternal grandfather was Edward E. T. Fortescue. He was educated at Harrow School followed by

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

Career

While at Cambridge, he was a member and eventually manager of the Amateur Dramatic Club which was 'flourishing exceedingly' under his management. He later acted with the Canterbury Old Stagers for whom he and

William Yardley William Yardley (1632 – 6 May 1693) was an early settler of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is the namesake of the borough of Yardley, Pennsylvania. As a persecuted Quaker minister, Yardley and his wife, Jane ( nee Heath) moved from Ranscloug ...

wrote some of the best plays and epilogues they produced. In 1867, Gardner was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

and was a Deputy Lieutenant of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

Political career

At the 1885 general election, Gardner was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

, a seat he held until 1895. He served in the Liberal administrations of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and later

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

as President of the Board of Agriculture from 1892 to 1895. 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 ...

in 1892 and in 1895 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Burghclere, of Walden in the County of Essex. Gardner was a director of the P and O Steamship Company. He was an

Ecclesiastical Commissioner The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

from 1903 to 1921 and chairman of

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

. Gardner was also an author of several novels, and of the comedies ''Time will tell'', ''Our Bitterest Foe'', ''After Dinner'' and ''Cousin Zacchary''. He published a translation of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's Georgics in 1904.

Personal life

On 4 March 1890, Lord Burghclere married Lady Winifred Anne Henrietta Christiana, daughter of

Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the C ...

and Lady Evelyn Stanhope (a daughter of

George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield, PC (23 May 1805 – 1 June 1866), styled Lord Stanhope until 1815, was a British Tory politician, courtier and race horse owner. He served as Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Melbourne from 1834 to 1 ...

and

Anne Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield Anne Elizabeth Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield (''née'' Weld-Forester; 7 September 1802 – 27 July 1885) was known as a political confidante. Life Stanhope was born in 1802, the eldest daughter of Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester, M. ...

). Lady Winifred was the widow of Captain Alfred John George Byng (a son of

George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire) and of 5 St James's Square, London, was a British peer and Whig ...

), who died in 1887. Together, they were the parents of four daughters:Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * Juliet Mary Evelyn Stanhope Gardner (b. 1892), who married Alexander Duncan Cumming-Russell, son of Maj.-Gen. Francis Shirley Russell, in 1916. They divorced in 1922. * Alethea Margaret Gwendolin Valentine Gardner (b. 1893), who married

Sir Geoffrey Fry, 1st Baronet Sir Geoffrey Storrs Fry, 1st Baronet, (27 July 1888 – 1960) was private secretary to prime ministers Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin, and a member of the Fry family. Early life Geoffrey Storrs Fry was born on 27 July 1888. He was the younger s ...

. * Mary Sidney Katharine Almina Gardner (1896–1994), who married

Geoffrey Hope-Morley, 2nd Baron Hollenden Geoffrey Hope-Morley, 2nd Baron Hollenden (28 January 1885 – 19 October 1977), was a British aristocrat who served as High Sheriff of the County of London. Early life He was the son of Samuel Hope Morley and Laura Marianne (née Birch) Morley ...

. * Evelyn Florence Margaret Winifred Gardner (1903–1994), who was the first wife of the author

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

. Lord Bughclere died in May 1921, aged 74. As he had no sons the barony became extinct on his death. Lady Burghclere died in September 1933, aged 69.

References

Books

External links

Books by Winifred Anne Henrietta Christine Herbert Gardner Burghclere
*
UK Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Baron Burghclere of Walden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burghclere, Herbert Gardner, 1st Baron 1846 births 1921 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Younger sons of barons UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria