Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland (20 April 178511 February 1847), styled Earl Percy until 1817, was a British

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and Tory politician who served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

under the Duke of Wellington from 1829 to 1830.

Background and education

Northumberland was the son of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and Frances Julia, daughter of Peter Burrell. He was educated at Eton and the University of Cambridge ( St John's College).

Political career

Northumberland entered parliament as the member for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

in July 1806. In September of that year he was elected member for the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

, on the death of Charles James Fox. He declined to fight the seat at the general election two months later, instead being returned for Launceston. In 1807 he offered himself as a candidate for the county of Northumberland in opposition to Charles, Lord Howick (afterwards the 2nd Earl Grey), who declined to contest the seat. Percy was returned unopposed, and continued to sit until 1812, when he was called to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration by the title Baron Percy.John Latimer. ''Local Records, or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events''. 1857 In 1817 he succeeded his father as Duke of Northumberland. He served as Ambassador Extraordinary at the coronation of

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

in 1825, defraying the expenses thereof himself, and he "astonished the continental nobility of the magnitude of his retinue, the gorgeousness of his equippage, and the profuseness of his liberality". In March 1829 he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, a post he held until the following year. He was thus in office when the

Catholic Emancipation Act Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

was passed, and was pronounced by

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

"the best chief governor that ever presided over the affairs of Ireland."

Other public positions

In November 1834 Northumberland was elected high Steward of the university of Cambridge, holding that honour until 1840 when he was made Chancellor of the University. He played a prominent role in the establishment of the Church Building Society responsible for building the so-called " Waterloo churches" during the early 19th century. He proposed the CBS's formation at a meeting in the Freemasons' Hall, London on 6 February 1818, chaired by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. The Society lobbied parliament to provide funding for a church building programme, and parliament subsequently passed the Church Building Act, voting £l,000,000 to the cause. He also played a part in the development of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in a time when it was a controversial game by providing a field for the annual

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

Shrove Tuesday game and presenting the ball before the matcha ritual that continues to this day. Between 1817 and 1847 he held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland.

Family

Northumberland married Lady Charlotte Clive on 29 April 1817 at Northumberland House. They had no children. Northumberland died at

in February 1847, aged 61. His remains were transported to London by train on 19 February, and were interred in the Northumberland Vault within Westminster Abbey,Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland – Westminster Abbey
/ref> on 23 February. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Lord Prudhoe. In August 1851, an altar monument to the Duke was placed in St. Paul's Church, Alnwick.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland, Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of 1785 births 1847 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Chancellors of the University of Cambridge

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, ...