Lord Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox PC (né Lennox; 2 November 1821 – 29 August 1886), known as Lord Henry Lennox, was a British

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 who sat in 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. ...

from 1846 to 1885 and was a close friend of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

Background and education

Lennox was the third son of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, (3 August 179121 October 1860), of Goodwood House near Chichester in West Sussex, was a British peer, soldier and prominent Conservative politician. Origins He was born "Charles Lennox", the son an ...

, and Lady Caroline, daughter of Field Marshal

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

. He was the brother of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon, (27 February 181827 September 1903), styled Lord Settrington until 1819 and then Earl of March until 1860, was a British Conservative politician. Ba ...

, Lord Alexander Gordon-Lennox and

Lord George Gordon-Lennox Lord George Charles Gordon-Lennox (né Lennox; 22 October 1829 – 22 February 1877), was a British Conservative politician. Background Gordon-Lennox was the fifth son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lady Caroline, daughte ...

. He was educated at

The Prebendal School The Word of God is the Fountain of Wisdom , established = , type = PreparatoryIndependent , religious_affiliation = Church of England , head_label = Head , head = Louise Salmond Smith , chair_label = Chair of G ...

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, then

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

.Mosley, Charles (ed.) ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition.'' (volume 3) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 3336. Henry was born with the surname Lennox; when his father inherited the Gordon estates from his uncle, the father took the surname Gordon-Lennox for himself and his issue, by royal licence dated 9 August 1836. Henry was nonetheless commonly known by only his second surname.

Political career

Lennox entered the

in 1846 as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

, in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He represented this constituency until 1885, when he stood for

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...

, but was defeated. Lennox held office in every Conservative government between 1852 and 1876. He was a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in 1852 and between 1858 and 1859 in the first two short-lived governments 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 ...

before becoming

First Secretary of the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

in 1866 in Derby's last government, a post he held until 1868, the last year under the premiership of his close friend Benjamin Disraeli. According to John F. Beeler in ''British naval policy in the Gladstone-Disraeli era, 1866-1880'', Lennox acted as a spy to the then

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

, Disraeli, informing him of the intentions of leading admirals. He served again under Disraeli as

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irel ...

from 1874 to 1876 and was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1874. He was forced to resign as First Commissioner of Works after revelations in the case of ''Twycross v Grant'' regarding the Lisbon Tramways swindle, of which company he was a director.

Personal life

Lennox married Amelia Susannah (née Smith, then Brooman), widow of John White, in 1883. They had no children. He died in August 1886, aged 64, and was buried in the family vault in the

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

. Lady Henry Lennox died in February 1903. John White was the uncle of another peer, Lord Overtoun, while lady Amelia was the great-grandmother of 1950s MP

Richard Brooman-White Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Charles Brooman-White 16 February 1912 – 25 January 1964) was a British journalist, intelligence agent and politician for the Conservative Party. Education The only son from a military family (his mother was a Texan ...

.Loch mansion had colourful residents
Helensburgh Heritage Trust, 29 July 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, Henry 1821 births 1886 deaths People educated at The Prebendal School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Lennox, Lord Henry UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom