William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establish ...

politician and an elder brother of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

. His surname changed twice: he was born with the name Wesley, which he changed to Wesley-Pole following an inheritance in 1781. In 1789 the spelling was updated to Wellesley-Pole, just as other members of the family had changed Wesley to Wellesley.

Origins

He was born as William Wesley, at Dangan Castle, the second son of

Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington (19 July 1735 – 22 May 1781) was an Anglo-Irish politician and composer, as well as the father of several distinguished military commanders and politicians of Great Britain and Ireland. Early life ...

, by his marriage to Annie Hill, a daughter of

Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon ( 1694 – 30 January 1771), was an Irish politician. Born Arthur Hill, he adopted the surname Hill-Trevor in 1759. He was the second son of Michael Hill of Hillsborough, M.P. and Privy Councillor, and ...

. He was the younger brother of

Richard Wesley Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing. Early life Wesley w ...

, later

Marquess Wellesley A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

, and the elder brother of

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

, who became

, and of Henry, who became Lord Cowley.

Early life

Wesley was educated at Eton (1774–1776) before entering the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

, serving in the Navy between 1777 and 1783; most notably aboard HMS ''Lion'', a new ship launched in 1777, at the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfather ...

of 1779.

Pole inheritance

Due to the debts of their father, the Wesley family entered into financial stringency. This was partially alleviated following the death in 1781 of the childless William Pole, of Ballyfin in Ireland, his godfather and the husband of his great-aunt Ann Colley, who bequeathed his estates to Wesley, on the condition which was usual in such situations that he should adopt the surname "Pole". Pole was descended from Peryam Pole, third son of the antiquary Sir William Pole (1561–1635) of Shute House, Devon, a brother of Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet. He had married Ann Colley, the sister of Wesley's grandfather

Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington Richard Colley Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington ( – 31 January 1758) was an Irish peer, best remembered as the grandfather of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Biography Richard Colley (as he was christened) was born around 1690, the son ...

(1690–1758). This Wesley had been born Richard Colley, but had changed his name in 1728, following an inheritance, to Wesley. Thus it was that in 1781, in accordance with the Will of his great-uncle William Pole, Wesley changed his name to Wesley-Pole.

Political career

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

, Mornington was a Member of the Irish Parliament for Trim from 1783 to 1790 and of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for

East Looe East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

from 1790 to 1795 and Queen's County from 1801 to 1821. He served as

Secretary of the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

under the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

between 1807 and 1809 and as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

under

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

between 1809 and 1812 and was also a Lord of the Irish Treasury between 1809 and 1811 and

Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as Ch ...

between 1811 and 1812. Mornington was sworn of both the

British Privy Council The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1809. He served in Lord Liverpool's government from 1814 to 1823 as

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

. In 1821 he was elevated to the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

as Baron Maryborough, of Maryborough in the Queen's County (now Portlaoise, Co. Laois). In 1823 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County for life. From 1823 to 1830 he was

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 ...

and from 1834 to 1835

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. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

. From 1838 he held the honorary position of

Captain of Deal Castle Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Succession to earldom

On the death in 1842 of his elder brother Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley and 2nd Earl of Mornington, he succeeded as 3rd Earl of Mornington.

Marriage and progeny

In 1784 Lord Mornington married Katherine Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of Admiral John Forbes and granddaughter of

George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard PC (21 October 1685 – 19 June 1765) was an Anglo-Irish naval commander and diplomat. He was at the Capture of Gibraltar. He took a very valuable prize ship and was briefly a Governor of the Leeward Islands. H ...

, and of

William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex, (11 January 16978 January 1743) was an English courtier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Essex and Lady Mary Bentinck. His younger sister, Lady Mary Capel, married Alan Brodrick, 2 ...

. It was said that among the 1st Earl's sons, they had the only happy marriage. They had the following progeny, one son and three daughters: The Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)

The Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)

William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (22 June 1788 – 1 July 1857) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman notorious for his dissipated lifestyle. Ancestry One of his great-grandfathers was Henry Colley (d.1700) (or Cowley) of Castle ...

, (1788–1857), who inherited his father's titles. *Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley (1786–1845), who married Sir

Charles Bagot Sir Charles Bagot GCB (23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as ambassador to the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the second Governor General of ...

, Bart., G.C.B., on 22 July 1806. The couple had four sons and six daughters. The family accompanied their parents to Canada on the appointment of Sir Charles Bagot as Governor-General of British North America, on 12 January 1842. As the wife of a Governor-General in Canada, Lady Bagot assumed the title of 'Her Excellency', in Montreal in August 1842. After her husband's death at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toron ...

on 18 May 1843, she accompanied the remains to England. She died in London on 2 February 1845. *Lady Emily Harriet (1792–1881), who in 1814 married Lord FitzRoy Somerset, later 1st

Baron Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops d ...

. * Lady Priscilla Anne (1793–1879), who married John Fane, Lord Burghersh, later 11th

Earl of Westmorland Earl of Westmorland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created in 1397 for Ralph Neville. It was forfeited in 1571 by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, for leading the Rising of the Nort ...

.Christie's
Lotnotes by a drawing of the Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence. Url visited on 21 March 2012

Death

He died on 22 February 1845.

References

royalmintmuseum.org.uk, ''William Wellesley-Pole, Master of the Mint''

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mornington, William Wellesleypole, 3rd Earl Of 1763 births 1845 deaths 19th-century Irish people British MPs 1790–1796 Captains of Deal Castle Chancellors of the Exchequer of Ireland Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV

William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an Anglo-Irish politician and an elder brother of the Duke of Wellington. His surname changed twice: he wa ...

Irish MPs 1783–1790 Masters of the Mint Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Queen's County constituencies (1801–1922) People educated at Eton College People from County Meath Irish expatriates in England Royal Navy officers UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Mornington, E3 UK MPs who were granted peerages United Kingdom Postmasters General Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland Chief Secretaries for Ireland Masters of the Buckhounds Earls of Mornington