William Henry Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clermont, KP (5 August 1722 – 30 September 1806), was an Irish peer and politician.

Origins

He was the eldest son of Thomas Fortescue (1683–1769), 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 o ...

for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. His younger brother was

James Fortescue James Fortescue (15 May 1725 – May 1782) was an Irish politician. He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dundalk between 1757 and 1760 and County Louth between 1761 and his death. He was also elected for Monaghan in 1776, but chose to ...

, MP and Privy Counsellor.

Career

He served as

High Sheriff of Louth The High Sheriff of Louth was the Crown's representative for County Louth, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he held his office for the duration of a year. He had judicial, ceremonial and administrative func ...

in 1746. He represented Louth in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

from 1745 to 1760 and subsequently Monaghan Borough from 1761 to 1770. In 1768 he sat briefly as

for

before opting to sit for Monaghan Borough, for which he had also been elected. He was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and Custos Rotulorum of County Monaghan for life in 1775, standing down just before his death in 1806. He was created Earl of Clermont in 1777 and a Knight Founder of the Order of St Patrick on 30 March 1795. He was a

francophile A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...

and it is believed on that account he selected ''Clermont'' as the name of his earldom.''44 Berkeley Square'', A Commentary by Lord Kinross Illustrated by Adrian Daintrey, London, 196

/ref> He had

horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

interests and his

racing silks A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...

were all crimson. He was known in racing circles as ''the Father of the Turf'' and won the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

with his horse

Aimwell Aimwell (1782 – after 1786) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career that lasted from autumn 1784 to spring 1786, he ran eight times and won five races. In 1785, he won the sixth running of the Epsom Derby as well as three races ...

. He had a country estate in Norfolk and his London

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

was 44

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Ke ...

in Mayfair, which he purchased after the death of its builder, Lady Isabella Finch (1700–1771), the 7th daughter of Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, 2nd Earl of Nottingham. In the early 1960s it became the home of the

Clermont Club The Clermont Set was an exclusive group of rich British gamblers who met at the Clermont Club, originally at 44 Berkeley Square, in London's fashionable Mayfair district. It closed in March 2018 and re-opened in 2022. Clermont Club is now temporar ...

, an exclusive gambling club, and its basement and garden were occupied until 2018 by the then exclusive nightclub

Annabel's Annabel's is a private members club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London. It was opened at 44 Berkeley Square in 1963 by Mark Birley and named for his wife Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart. It was founded in the basement of the Clermont ...

Marriage and progeny

He married Frances Cairnes Murray, a daughter and co-heiress of Colonel John Murray, MP for

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

, by whom he had an only daughter: *Louisa Fortescue.

Death, burial and succession

He died aged 85 at Brighton on 29 September 1806, without male progeny, and was buried at Little Cressingham Church in Norfolk, in which parish was situated Clermont Lodge (now Clermont Hall), his shooting lodge. As he died without male progeny his earldom of Clermont and 1770 barony of Clermont became extinct, whilst his viscountcy and 1776 barony of Clermont were inherited by his nephew William Charles Fortescue, who had been MP for Louth and then County Louth since 1796.

Monument in St Andrew's Church, Little Cressingham

St Andrew's Church - wall monument - geograph

A mural monument survives in St Andrew's Church, Little Cressingham, inscribed as follows:Lord Clermont, 1880, p. 214.
:''Near this place lyeth the body of William Henry Fortescue Viscount Clermont, and Earl of Clermont in Ireland, who departed this life on the 29th day of September, 1806, in the 85th year of his age. This monument is erected in obedience to his will by his executor William Charles Fortescue, now Viscount Clermont, who was in Ireland at the time of his decease''.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clermont, William Fortescue, 1st Earl Of 1722 births 1806 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Barons Clermont Fortescue, William Fortescue, William Fortescue, William Knights of St Patrick Owners of Epsom Derby winners High Sheriffs of County Louth Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Fortescue, William Fortescue, William

William 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 ...

Peers of Ireland created by George III