Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington, CB (2 September 17847 September 1862), styled The Honourable Leicester Stanhope until 1851, was an English peer and soldier.

Early life

Leicester Stanhope was born in Dublin in 1784, the third son of

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington General Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington (17 March 17535 September 1829), styled Viscount Petersham until 1779, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1779 when he succeeded to the pe ...

, and

Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (née Fleming; 23 May 1755 – 3 February 1824), was a society hostess and heiress who served as a lady of the Bedchamber to the British queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Early life Jane Fleming wa ...

Career

Stanhope became a Cornet and Sublieutenant in the

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

on 1 October 1799. He was promoted lieutenant on 20 October 1802. He exchanged into the

9th Regiment of Foot 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

on 19 March 1803, and on 2 April 1803 purchased a captaincy in the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. On 9 November 1803, he exchanged into the

Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1 ...

, and on 27 January 1813, into the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons. In 1807 he served in South America, and was present at the attack on

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Promoted major, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

on 29 June 1815, as a brevet lieutenant-colonel. He exchanged into the 47th Regiment of Foot while serving there and was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General on 24 April 1817. From late 1817 to 1818, Stanhope and his regiment took part in the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

. On 14 October 1818, he was appointed a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

for his service in the conflict. He resigned as quartermaster on 29 March 1821 and purchased an unattached lieutenant-colonelcy on 26 June 1823. He was brevetted colonel on 10 January 1837. He is known as a worker with

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

in the cause of

Greek independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, although while he was in Greece in 1823 and 1824 his relations with Byron were not altogether harmonious. He wrote ''A Sketch of the History and Influence of the Press in British India'' (1823), and ''Greece'', ''in 1823 and 1824''.

Personal life and death

On 23 April 1831, at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Th ...

, he married Elizabeth Green, daughter of William Green and Ann Rose Hall, both of Jamaica. They had four children: *Lady Anna Caroline Stanhope (16 July 18329 April 1913), married Edward Sacheverell Chandos-Pole and had issue *Algernon Russell Gayleard Stanhope (1838–1847) *Lady Geraldine Evelyn Stanhope (26 January 18415 January 1914), married Edward Leeson, 6th Earl of Milltown, without issue * Sydney Stanhope, 6th Earl of Harrington (1845–1866) In 1851, he inherited the

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particula ...

from his brother,

Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington Major-General Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington (8 April 17803 March 1851), styled Viscount Petersham until 1829, was an English peer and man of fashion. Petersham, the 3rd Earl of Harrington's eldest son, was a Regency era buck. He was e ...

Harrington House, 13 Kensington Palace Garden

In 1852 Stanhope acquired a plot of land formerly belonging to the kitchen garden of Kensington Palace: he constructed Harrington House (or ''No. 13 Kensington Palace Gardens''), which was built in his favourite gothic style, at the cost of £15,000. Harrington House was owned by the family until the First World War; Since 1930 Harrington House has been home to the Russian Embassy. The exterior of the house was designed by Decimus Burton, following plans sketched by the Earl. Works were carried under the supervision of

Charles James Richardson Charles James Richardson (1806–1871) was an English architect, artist and writer. Life Richardson was a pupil of Sir John Soane, from 1824 to 1830; he then became Soane's assistant, holding the position until 1837 and Soane's death. Soane's will ...

, who was the surveyor to the Earl's extensive South Kensington estate. Details and the final plans are thought to have been left to Richardson; he did, however, acknowledge the "great measure" the Earl was involved in the design. The house's unorthodox architecture was widely criticised, including by Richardson; Lord Harrington, however, thought it to be "a house without a fault". Stanhope died 7 September 1862, at Harrington House.
He was succeeded by his son: Sydney Seymour Hyde Stanhope, 6th Earl of Harrington

References

External links

*

Portrait of the 5th Earl, by

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depen ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl Of 1784 births 1862 deaths 10th Royal Hussars officers 17th Lancers officers 47th Regiment of Foot officers British Life Guards officers Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Companions of the Order of the Bath 5 Royal Norfolk Regiment officers British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Maratha War Leicester Younger sons of earls