James Walter Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam (20 February 1809 – 27 July 1895), known as Viscount Grimston from 1815 to 1845, was a British peer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. He was the eldest son of

James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam (26 September 1775 – 17 November 1845), styled Lord Dunboyne from 1775 until 1808 and known as the 4th Viscount Grimston from 1808 to 1815, was a British peer and politician. Life and career He was t ...

, and Lady Charlotte Jenkinson. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Verulam in November 1845. In 1860,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

noted that Grimston was one of only three to hold peerages in all three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Family

Lord Verulam married Elizabeth Joanna Weyland, daughter of

Richard Weyland Richard Weyland (25 March 1780 – 14 October 1864) was a British Whig politician. He was born the son of John Weyland of Woodrising Hall, Norfolk and Woodeaton, near Islip, Oxfordshire and educated at St John's College, Cambridge. His brothe ...

, in 1844. They had six children: * Lady Harriot Elizabeth Grimston (c.1845 – 15 August 1888), married Maj.-Gen. Francis Harwood Poore on 6 March 1885 * Lady Jane Grimston (12 December 1848 – 2 November 1920), married Sir Alfred Jodrell, 4th Baronet on 25 February 1897 *

James Walter Grimston, 3rd Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 3rd Earl of Verulam (11 May 1852 – 11 November 1924), known as Viscount Grimston from 1852 to 1895, was a British Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. He inherited his peerage in ...

(1852–1924) * Cmdr. William Grimston (7 January 1855 – 10 May 1900) * Lady Maud Grimston (c.1857 – 3 September 1929), married Maj. Paulyn Rawdon-Hastings, son of the 1st Baron Donington and the 10th Countess of Loudoun, and had issue * Canon Robert Grimston (18 April 1860 – 8 July 1928), married Gertrude Villiers and had issue, including the

politician

Robert Grimston, 1st Baron Grimston of Westbury Robert Villiers Grimston, 1st Baron Grimston of Westbury, 1st Baronet (8 June 1897 – 8 December 1979) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Life and history Grimston was the eldest son of the Rev. and Hon. Robert Gri ...

. Lord Verulam died in July 1895, aged 86, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Politics and business

Verulam was elected to 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. ...

for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1830, a seat he held until 1831, and then represented

Newport, Cornwall Newport ( kw, Porthnowyth) is a suburb of the town of Launceston in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Originally a separate settlement, Newport is immediately north of the town from which it is separated by the River Kensey. Until the early ...

from 1831 to 1832 and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

from 1832 to 1845. The latter year Verulam 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 later served in the first two administrations of the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...

as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) in 1852 and from 1858 to 1859. Between 1845 and 1892 he also held the honorary post of

Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. From 1660 the office holder was also Custos Rotulorum of Hertfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1553 – * Sir Ralph Sadleir 1570–? *He ...

, in succession to his father. During a period of unrest in 1830 he raised the Cashio Troop of Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry at the family seat of

Gorhambury House Gorhambury House is a Palladian-style house near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was built between 1777 and 1784 to replace Old Gorhambury House, which was left to fall into ruin. It was designed by Sir Robert Taylor and commissioned by ...

and commanded it with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1832 it became a troop of the

South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Th ...

, of which he became second-in-command with the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He was promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in 1847 when he and the commanding officer,

James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, (17 April 1791 – 12 April 1868), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1823, was a British Conservative politician. He held office under The Earl of Derby as Lord Privy Seal in 185 ...

, exchanged positions. He retained the command until 1864

Cricket and other sport

Verulam played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

as a right-handed batsman. He was mainly associated with

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC), making 21 appearances from 1830 to 1849. In contemporary scorecards to 1845, he was given as Lord Grimston.

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...

, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volumes 2–4 (1827–1854), Lillywhite, 1862 He was also a supporter of the boxing arts and in the early 1850s, he and his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

frequented middleweight champion Nat Langham's Rum Pum-Pas club, a dining and boxing establishment in Westminster popular with the aristocracy. Several members of his family were first-class cricketers: three of his brothers

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

and

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

all played, as did his nephews Walter Grimston and Lord Hyde.

Folklore Society

Verulam was the first President of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

, serving in the role between 1878 and 1879. It has been suggested that Verulam - like the second and third Presidents of the Society,

Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp PC DL (10 November 1830 – 19 February 1891), styled The Honourable Frederick Lygon between 1853 and 1866, was a British Conservative politician. Background and education Beauchamp was the third son of Hen ...

and

George Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford (22 February 1830 – 28 March 1898), styled Viscount Enfield between 1860 and 1886, was a British Liberal politician. Background and education Byng was the eldest son of George Byng, 2nd Earl ...

- was not a folklore scholar but lent his patronage to the Society through the efforts of W. J. Thoms, Director of the Society but known to Verulam as deputy librarian of the

Notes

References

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * Charles Mosley (ed.) ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, 3 vols. (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), vol. 2, p. 2407. * Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, ''The Hertfordshire Yeomanry: An Illustrated History 1794–1920'', Welwyn: Hart Books/Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Historical Trust, 1994, ISBN 0-948527-03-X.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verulam, James Grimston, 2nd Earl Of 1809 births 1895 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Lord-Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, Viscount UK MPs who inherited peerages Gentlemen cricketers Married v Single cricketers Non-international England cricketers Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Gentlemen of England cricketers Hertfordshire Yeomanry officers 2

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Hertfordshire Presidents of the Folklore Society A to K v L to Z cricketers