Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough (10 October 1767 – 10 December 1807), styled Lord Sherard from 1770 to 1799, was a British peer and politician.

Early life

Sherard was the eldest son of

Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough The Reverend Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough (21 October 1719 – 21 April 1799) was a British clergyman who inherited the earldom of Harborough. Early life Born on 21 October 1719, he was one of six sons and eight daughters born to Phi ...

and his wife Jane Reeve. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

in 1780 and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

in 1786.

Career

Upon the death of John Heathcote in 1795, Lord Sherard was chosen by the

Earls of Exeter 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", particular ...

and

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

as a suitable representative for

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. (Gainsborough's interest was represented by his first cousin Gerard Edwardes; Exeter lacked suitable relatives to occupy the seat.) Sherard's father had a minor electoral interest in Rutland, and

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 4th Baronet Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 4th Baronet (6 October 1773 – 26 March 1851) of Normanton Park, Rutland, was a British Member of Parliament. Heathcote was the son of Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet, by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert ...

, who was also interested in the position, was in any case debarred that year by being

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The high sheriff, sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enf ...

. Sherard was not active in Parliament and stood down at the

1796 British general election The 1796 British general election returned members to serve in the 18th and last House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain. They were summoned before the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. The members in office in Gr ...

; Heathcote took a seat at Lincolnshire, while Sir William Lowther stood together with Edwardes. On 26 February 1797, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. Philip became

Earl of Harborough The Earldom of Harborough was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1719 for Bennet Sherard, who had previously been made Baron Harborough (1714) and Viscount Sherard, with the viscountcy ending with the death of its original hol ...

in 1799 in succession to his father, but was no more conspicuous in the Lords than he had been in the Commons.

Personal life

On 4 July 1791, Sherard married Eleanor Monckton (1772–1809), daughter of Col. Hon. John Monckton of

Fineshade Abbey Fineshade Priory was a priory of Augustinian Canons Regular in Northamptonshire, England. The remains of the site are about north-east of Corby along the A43 road. It was founded before 1208 by Richard Engayne (Engain), Lord of Blatherwycke on ...

and granddaughter of

John Monckton, 1st Viscount Galway John Monckton (1695 – 15 July 1751) of Serlby, Nottinghamshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1727 and 1751. He was elevated to the Irish peerage as the first Viscount Galway in 1727. Ear ...

. They had one son and six daughters, including: * Lady Lucy Eleanor Sherard (1792–1848), who married Henry Lowther, the second son of

William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 175719 March 1844), also known as Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Little Preston, from 1788 to 1802, and William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, from 1802 to 1807, was a British Tory pol ...

, in 1817. * Lady Anna Maria Sherard (1794–1848), who married William Cuffe in 1818. * Lady Sophia Sherard (1795–1851), who married

Sir Thomas Whichcote, 6th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

in 1812 and subsequently

William Evans-Freke, 8th Baron Carbery William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

in 1840. *

Robert Sherard, 6th Earl of Harborough Robert Sherard, 6th Earl of Harborough (26 August 1797 – 28 July 1859), styled Lord Sherard from 1797 to 1799, was a British peer. Early life Sherard was born on 26 August 1797. He was the only son of Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough and ...

(1797–1859) * Lady Jane Sherard (1799–1856) * Lady Charlotte Sherard (1801–1856), who became insane in 1825. * Lady Susan Sherard (1802–1864), who married General John Reeve, of

Leadenham House Leadenham House is a Grade II* listed Georgian country house in Leadenham, Lincolnshire, England. The house is constructed in '2½ storeys' of ashlar and dressed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings and a slate hipped roof with a 7 bay frontag ...

, in 1821. He died in December 1807 and was succeeded by his son Robert.

Descendants

Through his daughter, Lady Lucy, he was a grandfather of seven, including

Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale (27 March 1818 – 15 August 1876) was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. Early life Lowther was born on 27 March 1818. He was the eldest son of Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther and Lady Lucy Sherard. ...

, and diplomat William Lowther.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harborough, Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of 1767 births 1807 deaths

Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough (10 October 1767 – 10 December 1807), styled Lord Sherard from 1770 to 1799, was a British peer and politician. Early life Sherard was the eldest son of Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough and his wife ...

People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain British MPs 1790–1796