Lieutenant colonel John Stuart Bligh, 6th Earl of Darnley DL (16 April 1827 – 14 December 1896), styled Lord Clifton from 1831 to 1835,

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of the

Manor of Cobham, Kent Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

, was a British peer.

Early life

He was the eldest son of

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley, FRS (25 February 1795 – 12 February 1835), styled Lord Clifton until 1831, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and politician. Background Darnley was the second but eldest surviving son o ...

and the former Hon. Emma Jane Parnell (a daughter of

Henry Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton Henry Brooke Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton PC (3 July 1776 – 8 June 1842), known as Sir Henry Parnell, Bt, from 1812 to 1841, was an Irish writer and Whig politician. He was a member of the Whig administrations headed by Lord Grey and Lord ...

). Among his siblings were the Rev. Edward Vesey Bligh, Lady Elizabeth Caroline Bligh (wife of Sir Reginald Cust), Lady Emma Bess Bligh (wife of

Arthur Purey-Cust Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust (born Cust; 21 February 1828 – 23 December 1916) was a Church of England cleric and author who served as Dean of York from 1880 to 1916. Biography He was born as Arthur Perceval Cust, the younger son of the Honou ...

), the Rev. Henry Bligh (vicar of St James' Church, Hampton Hill). Darnley matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 15 May 1845 and received his B.A. in 1848 and his M.A. in 1869.

Cricket career

An amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, Bligh made a single appearance in

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 officia ...

for the

Gentlemen of Kent Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

against the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in 1848. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed without scoring in the Gentlemen of Kent first innings by Jones Nash, while in their second innings he was dismissed for 2 runs by Harvey Fellows.

Career

Bligh succeeded his father in the earldom in 1835. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on 3 September 1847. On 24 July 1848, he was commissioned captain of the Cobham Troop of the

West Kent Yeomanry The Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It amalgamated with the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) to form the ...

. He was promoted to major on 18 April 1859, and to lieutenant-colonel on 28 April 1863. He retired from the Yeomanry on 9 September 1874, retaining his rank.

Personal life

On 31 August 1850, Darnley married Lady Harriet Mary Pelham, the daughter of Henry Pelham, 3rd Earl of Chichester, and the former Lady Mary Brudenell (daughter of

Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan (25 April 1760 – 14 August 1837) was an English peer and Member of Parliament. Early life Robert Brudenell was born in Westminster, the posthumous son and heir of Colonel the Hon. Robert Brudenell and h ...

). Together, they had eight children: *

Edward Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley Edward Henry Stuart Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley (21 August 1851 – 31 October 1900), styled Lord Clifton until 1896, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was an English landowner and aristocrat who played first-class cricket for Kent and for othe ...

(1851–1900), who married Jemima Adeline Beatrice Blackwood, daughter of Francis J. L. Blackwood. * Lady Edith Louisa Mary Bligh (1853–1904), who married George Burvill Rashleigh in 1882. * Lady Kathleen Susan Emma Bligh (1854–1928), who married

William Vesey Brownlow Major-General William Vesey Brownlow (12 June 1841 – 15 March 1928) was a British Army officer. Military career Brownlow was commissioned as an ensign the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot in April 1859. He served in the Anglo-Zulu War ...

. *

Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (13 March 1859 – 10 April 1927), styled The Honourable Ivo Bligh until 1900, lord of the manor, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British nobility, British nobleman, parliamentarian and cri ...

(1859–1927), who married Florence Rose Morphy, daughter of John Stephen Morphy, of

Beechworth, Victoria Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

. * Lady Alice Isabella Harriet Bligh (1860–1943), who died unmarried. * Hon. Arthur Frederick Pelham Bligh (1865–1924), who died unmarried. * Lady Mary Rose Florence Bligh (1868–1896), who died unmarried. * Lady Constance Violet Lucy Bligh (b. 1869), who married William Shakespear Childe-Pemberton in 1894. Lord Darnley died on 14 December 1896 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnley, John Bligh, 6th Earl of 1827 births 1896 deaths John 06 Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of Kent John 06 English cricketers Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry officers Barons Clifton