Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington (3 January 1747 – 5 July 1786), was a British politician. He was born the eldest son of

Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington, PC (c. 1708 – 14 January 1772), was the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a member of the Whig Party in the parliament and was known for his wit and writing. Family Born the second son of ...

, and educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

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 ...

. He succeeded his father to the earldom in 1772, inheriting

The Grange, Northington The Grange is a 19th-century country house-mansion and English landscape park near Northington in Hampshire, England. It is currently owned by the Baring family, Barons Ashburton. English Heritage have a guardianship deed on the scheduled monu ...

. He was appointed a

Teller of the Exchequer The Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer was an office in the English Exchequer. The Tellers of the Exchequer received any money to be paid into the Exchequer, noted the amount in a book, and sent a copy of the entry, called a Teller's Bill, to ...

in 1763, a position he held until his death. He was also Clerk of the hanaper for life from 1771. Northington Grange - Hampshire

He was elected a

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 ...

(MP) for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

on 30 March 1768, and sat until succeeding as 2nd Earl of Northington on 14 January 1772, when he moved to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. He was made a

Knight of the Thistle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

on 18 August 1773. In 1783 he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

in the Fox-North Coalition, being appointed a member of 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 ...

on 30 April. A 1787 portrait by

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 depend ...

is in the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

. On his death, unmarried and without a male heir, at the age of thirty-nine, his titles became extinct. His sisters (Lady Bridget Tollemache, Lady Jane Aston, Mary Dowager Countess Ligonier, and Lady Elizabeth Eden) inherited his estates. They sold The Grange to the Drummond banking family.

References

External links

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HENLEY, Robert, Lord Henley (1747-86). History of Parliament Online
1747 births 1786 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights of the Thistle Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Barons Henley {{GB-earl-stub