William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst (26 March 1836 – 14 August 1910), styled Viscount Holmesdale from 1857 to 1886, was a British peer, politician and notable Freemason. He was born in Mayfair,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of William Amherst, Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church,

Hanover Square, London Hanover Square is a green square in Mayfair, Westminster, south west of Oxford Circus where Oxford Street meets Regent Street. Six streets converge on the square which include Harewood Place with links to Oxford Street, Princes Street, Hanover ...

. 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 dep ...

and went on to serve with the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, rising to the rank of captain and fighting in the Battle of Balaclava, the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, an ...

(where he was severely wounded) and the Siege of Sevastopol during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale was elected

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 o ...

(MP) for

West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe sku ...

at the 1859 general election. On 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the

James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis (20 September 1778 – 21 May 1852), known as James Cornwallis until 1814 and as James Mann between 1814 and 1823 and styled Viscount Brome between 1823 and 1824, was a British peer and Tory politician. Background ...

) in

Linton, Kent Linton is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the southward slope of the Greensand ridge, south of Maidstone on the A229 Hastings road. The name Linton comes from Old English, probab ...

. In

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

Holmesdale became MP for the new Mid Kent constituency, which he represented until 1880. He served as chairman of the

National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations The National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations (NUCCA) was an organization set up by Benjamin Disraeli. It is considered to be a precursor to the modern Conservative Party conference.Harrison, Brian, The transformation of Britis ...

in 1868.Cook, C. & Keith, B. (1975) ''British Historical Facts 1830–1900''. London and Baisngstoke: The Macmillan Press, p. 93 On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883, and on 25 April 1889 he married Alice Vaughan (), widow of Ernest Vaughan, 5th Earl of Lisburne in London. He died in 1910, aged 74, at his home of

Montreal Park Montreal Park is a development in Sevenoaks in Kent which was formerly the home of Lord Amherst, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. It was named after his conquest of Montreal in 1760. History In 1764 Lord Amherst returned home after his mili ...

, near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

as a result of an operation he received three months prior for a throat infection. He was cremated on 16 August 1910 and his ashes buried two days later in nearby Riverhead. Despite having married twice, the earl died childless and his titles passed to his brother,

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amherst, William Amherst, 3rd Earl Earls Amherst Knights of Justice of the Order of St John 1836 births 1910 deaths Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War Grand Masters of the United Grand Lodge of England People from Mayfair Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs who inherited peerages Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England People from Sevenoaks