Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield PC (20 October 1795 – 18 March 1854), known as Viscount Anson from 1818–31, was a British Whig politician from the

Anson family The Anson family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Anson family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Anson family include the earldom of Lichfield (since 1831) and the Anson baron ...

. He served under Lord Grey and

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

between 1830 and 1834 and under Melbourne

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...

between 1835 and 1841. Lichfield's gambling and lavish entertaining got him heavily into debt and he was forced to sell off the entire contents of his

Shugborough Hall Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissol ...

estate.

Early life

Anson was the eldest son of

Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson (14 February 1767 – 31 July 1818) was a British politician and British Peerage, peer from the Anson family. Background and career Thomas Anson was born 14 February 1767, the first son of George Anson (1731� ...

, and his wife Anne Margaret, daughter of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. Major-General the Hon. George Anson was his younger brother. He was educated at

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 depa ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Career

Anson was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

in June 1818, but had to resign the seat the following month on the death of his father and his succession to viscountcy of Anson. Anson later served under Lord Grey and

from 1830 to 1834 and under Melbourne as

from 1835 to 1841. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1830 and in 1831 he was created

Earl of Lichfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...

, of Lichfield in the County of Stafford, in William IV's coronation honours.

Military career

He had joined the part-time

Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out ...

as a trooper in 1811 before being appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Lichfield Troop on 3 August 1812. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 27 September 1819 and to lieutenant-colonel and second-in-command on 17 December 1829. The regiment provided the escort when the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...

and her daughter Princess Victoria visited him at Shugborough in 1832. He succeeded as lieutenant-colonel commandant of the regiment on 10 April 1833 and commanded it until his death, having served more than 40 years, over 20 of them in command. After his death the regiment erected a memorial to him in

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

Gambling

Anson was also known for his excessive gambling and lavish entertaining at his

seat. He also purchased the estate at nearby

Ranton, Staffordshire Ranton is a hamlet and civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their ori ...

, where he built Abbey House and developed the estate into a great sporting centre. However, his extravagant lifestyle and gambling put him and the family into debts of £600,000 and led to Anson's financial collapse in 1842. The entire contents of Shugborough Hall were sold off to pay for the debts.''Thomas Anson's Library and Art Collection''
/ref> Abbey House at Ranton burned down in 1942. The ivy-covered ruins can still be seen.

Personal life

Lord Lichfield married Louisa Catherine, daughter of Nathaniel Philips, in 1819. They had four sons and four daughters, being: * Lady Louisa Mary Ann Anson (1819–1882), who married Lt.-Col. Edward King-Tenison (d. 1878) of

Kilronan Castle Kilronan Castle, previously known as Castle Tenison, is a large country house standing in of parkland on the shore of Lough Meelagh in County Roscommon, Ireland, from the village of Ballyfarnon. The house, originally constructed c.1820, was ...

, in 1838 and had issue. * Lady Anne Frederica Anson (1823–1896), who married

Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss Francis Richard Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss GCVO DL (pronounced ''weems'', rhyming with seems) (4 August 1818 – 30 June 1914), styled as Lord Elcho between 1853 and 1883, was a British Whig politician. He founded the Liberty and Propert ...

, in 1843 and had issue. *

Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (15 August 1825 – 7 January 1892), known as Viscount Anson from 1831 to 1854, was a British politician from the Anson family. Early life Lichfield was the eldest of four sons and four daughters born ...

(1825–1892) * Lady Harriet Frances Maria Anson (1827–1898), who married Augustus Venables-Vernon, 6th Baron Vernon, in 1851 and had issue. * Hon. William Victor Leopold Horatio Anson (1833–1856) * Lt.-Col. Hon. Augustus Henry Archibald Anson (1835–1877), a soldier who received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for service during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, he later served as Member of Parliament for Lichfield. In 1863, he married Amelia Maria Claughton (1844–1894), eldest daughter of the Rt. Rev.

Thomas Legh Claughton Thomas Legh Claughton (6 November 1808 – 25 July 1892) was a British academic, poet, and clergyman. He was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1852 to 1857; Bishop of Rochester; and the first Bishop of St Albans.Sutton, C. W. "Cla ...

Bishop of St Albans The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop o ...

, by the former Hon. Julia Susanna Ward (eldest daughter of

William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward (1781 – 6 December 1835) was a clergyman who succeeded to the Baron Dudley, Dudley Barony. Early life He was the son of Humble Ward and wife Susannah Beecroft. His paternal grandparents were the Rev. William ...

) and sister of Sir Gilbert Henry Claughton, 1st Baronet. They did not have children. After Anson's death, his widow married, as his second wife,

George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll George John Douglas Campbell, 8th and 1st Duke of Argyll (30 April 1823 – 24 April 1900; styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847), was a Scottish people, Scottish polymath and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal statesman. He made a significant geological ...

in 1881. * Lady Gwendoline Isabella Anna Maria Anson (1837–1912), who married 19 Apr 1865 Nicholas Power O'Shee, of Gardenmorris, co. Waterford (d. 30 Mar 1902), and had issue. * Rt. Rev. Hon. Adelbert John Robert Anson, a clergyman who served as Bishop of Qu'Apelle in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(1840–1909). Lord Lichfield died at his townhouse at 2 Stanhope Street in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, aged 58, and is buried at St Michael and All Angels Church in

Colwich Colwich may refer to: * Colwich, Kansas Colwich is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, located northwest of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,455. History Colwich was founded in 1887. The name i ...

, a short distance from Shugborough Hall. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. Lady Lichfield survived him by over 25 years and died in August 1879.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichfield, Thomas Anson, 1st Earl Of 1795 births 1854 deaths Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies 1st Earl of Lichfield 2 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth

Masters of the Buckhounds Staffordshire Yeomanry officers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV