John Spencer Stanhope (1787–1873) was an English landowner and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), 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 artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

Life

The son of Walter Spencer-Stanhope, he was born 27 May 1787. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1804. Around 1807 he was in Edinburgh, and joined the

Speculative Society The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition, founded in 1764. It was mainly, but not exclusively, an Edinburgh University student organisation. The formal purpose of the Society ...

. Spencer Stanhope, after travel, spent the years 1810 to 1813 as a French prisoner of war of the French, taken captive by bad faith. He was detained for two years in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, allowed to visit Paris, and then set free. He travelled with

Thomas Allason Thomas Allason (1790–1852) was an English architect, surveyor and landscaper, noted in particular for his work at Connaught Square and the Ladbroke Estate in Kensington. Early life Allason was born in London, England, in 1790. He studie ...

in Greece. Based on researches carried out there, he published ''Topography illustrative of the Battle of Plataea'' in 1817. In 1816 he had added to the

Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and s ...

in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

a piece of Parthenon frieze he had purchased in Greece. With an estate also at

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...

, Spencer Stanhope resided at

Cannon Hall Cannon Hall is a country house museum located between the villages of Cawthorne and High Hoyland some 5 miles (8 km) west of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Originally the home of the Spencer and later the Spencer-Stanhope family, it ...

, in Yorkshire. He died on 8 November 1873. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

(FRS) and

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

Family

Stanhope married in 1822 Elizabeth Wilhelmina Coke, daughter of Thomas William Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester.

Walter Spencer-Stanhope (1827–1911) Sir Walter Thomas William Spencer-Stanhope (21 December 1827 – 17 November 1911) was a British Conservative politician and Volunteer officer. Background He was the eldest son of John Spencer-Stanhope and grandson of Walter Spencer-Stanhope (s ...

and

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (20 January 1829 – 2 August 1908) was an English artist associated with Edward Burne-Jones and George Frederic Watts and often regarded as a second-wave pre-Raphaelite. His work is also studied within the context o ...

were their sons. Of four daughters, *Anna Wilhelmina married the lawyer Percival Pickering, and was mother of A. M. W. Stirling and Percival Spencer Umfreville Pickering FRS. *Eliza Anne married

Richard St John Tyrwhitt Richard St John Tyrwhitt (1827–1895) was an English cleric and academic, known as a writer on art. Life The eldest son of Robert Philip Tyrwhitt (1798–1886), a police magistrate, and his wife Catherine Wigley, daughter of Henry St. John, he ...

. Anne Alicia and Louisa Elizabeth were unmarried.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, John Spencer 1787 births 1873 deaths English antiquarians English landowners Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 19th-century British businesspeople