Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill DL (b. 25 July 1825 – 19 April 1873) was an officer in the British Army, Deputy Lieutenant of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, a lieutenant in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry and a businessman. He was a great uncle of Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Buried in Bromton cemetary in Chelsea London at 51.484700,-0.189900

Family

Alan Spencer-Churchill was born in Garboldisham,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, the third son of the three-times-married

George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough (27 December 1793 – 1 July 1857), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1817 and Marquess of Blandford between 1817 and 1840, was a British nobleman, politician, and peer. The great-grandfather of S ...

and his first wife, Lady Jane Stewart, daughter of

George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway, (24 March 1768 – 27 March 1834), styled Lord Garlies between 1773 and 1806, was a British naval commander and politician. Background Garlies was the eldest son of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Gallow ...

. After

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

he served as an officer in the cavalry regiment of the

8th King's Royal Irish Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces ...

, becoming a lieutenant by purchase in 1844. In 1843 Lord Alan was

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

at the wedding of his eldest brother, John, then 7th

Marquess of Blandford A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

, to Lady Frances Vane, the future grandparents of Prime Minister, Winston Spencer Churchill. While stationed at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

with his regiment in 1846, he met and married Rosalind Dowker (sometimes referred to as 'Rosamond'), daughter of Thomas Dowker of Huntington, York. They had no surviving children. Victoria Docks 1872

Business interests

Unlike his two elder brothers, upon leaving the Army, Lord Alan eschewed a political career and chose instead, unusually for people of his class, to go into business. His association with

Peter Rolt Peter Rolt (1798 – 3 September 1882) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. The son of John David Rolt of and his wife Sophia ''née'' Butt, he was born in Deptford. Both of his grandfathers held senior positions in the t ...

(1798-1882), merchant and Conservative MP for

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, led to his involvement in international trade and to a number of company directorships, in the then burgeoning sectors of

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Among his interests were the importation of beef from Argentina as well as shipbuilding at the

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...

, and the establishment of freight transport networks, for example, through the British and South American Steam Navigation Company. He entered tourism through the hotel venture that was the new Imperial Hotel at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

Country pursuits

As was the convention for people of his class at that time, he divided his life between business and clubs in London and the pursuits of a country squire. In August 1852 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Oxfordshire, the location of the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

at Blenheim Palace, which passed to his eldest brother,

John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough (2 June 18224 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and noblem ...

. Alan Spencer-Churchill was for many years patron of the Chelsea Relief Society, founded in 1861. He died suddenly at his home in

Lowndes Square Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloane ...

, London, aged 47 years, and was buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

.Obituary of Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill:

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

, Saturday 26 April 1873, London, England, p. 24. (subscription needed).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer-Churchill, Alan 1825 births 1873 deaths

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

People from Garboldisham People educated at Eton College 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers Deputy Lieutenants of Oxfordshire Younger sons of dukes 19th-century English businesspeople Burials at Brompton Cemetery