Chichester Samuel Parkinson-Fortescue, 2nd Baron Clermont and 1st Baron Carlingford (18 January 1823 – 30 January 1898), known as Chichester Fortescue until 1863 and as Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue between 1863 and 1874 and Lord Carlingford after 1874, was a British Liberal politician of the 19th century.

Background and education

Born Chichester Fortescue, Carlingford was the son of Chichester Fortescue (died 1826),

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 Hillsborough in the Irish Parliament. He came of an old

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 establis ...

family settled in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

since the days of

Sir Faithful Fortescue Sir Faithful Fortescue (1585–1666), of Dromiskin in County Louth, Ireland, was Governor of Carrickfergus in Ireland, long the chief seat and garrison of the English in Ulster and was a royalist commander during the English Civil War. Origi ...

(1581–1666), whose uncle, The 1st Baron Chichester, was

Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...

. The history of the family was written by his elder brother, Thomas Fortescue, who in 1852 was created

Baron Clermont Baron Clermont is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. All three creations are extinct. The first creation, ''Baron Clermont, of Clermont in the County of Lo ...

. His mother was Martha Angel, daughter of Samuel Meade Hobson. The future Lord Carlingford was educated at

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 uniq ...

, where he took a first in Classics (1844) and won the chancellor's English essay (1846). In 1863, he assumed by Royal Licence the additional surname of Parkinson as heir to his aunt's husband,

William Parkinson Ruxton William Parkinson Ruxton (1766 – 11 October 1847) of Red House in County Louth was an Irish Member of Parliament. Ruxton was the son of Charles Ruxton by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Parkinson of Red House. He inherited the Re ...

Political career

In 1847, the then Chichester Fortescue was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for Louth as a Liberal. He became a junior Lord of the Treasury in 1854 under Lord Palmerston, a post he held until 1855, and was later

Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the ...

under Palmerston between 1857 and 1858 and 1859 and 1865. He was admitted to the

Imperial 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 ...

in 1864 and the following year he was made

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 u ...

under Lord Russell, a post which he again occupied under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

from 1868 to 1871 (this time with a seat in the Cabinet). In 1866, he was also admitted to 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 execu ...

. He was then

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century, that evolved gradually into a government ...

between 1871 and 1874. In the latter year he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Carlingford, of Carlingford in the County of Louth. Lord Carlingford later served under Gladstone as Lord Privy Seal between 1881 and 1885 and as

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

between 1883 and 1885. In 1882, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick. He parted from Gladstone on the question of

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the ...

, but in earlier years he was his active supporter on Irish questions.

Personal life

Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, Vanity Fair, 1869-08-14

Lord Carlingford married Frances Elizabeth Anne, Countess Waldegrave, daughter of

John Braham John Braham may refer to: *John Braham (MP) (1417), MP for Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), Suffolk *John Braham (tenor) (1774–1856), English opera singer *John Joseph Braham, Sr. (1847–1919), Anglo-American composer and conductor *John Bra ...

, in 1863. She had been married three times before, the second time to The 7th Earl Waldegrave. There were no children from the marriage. Carlingford's influence in society was due largely to her. She died in July 1879, aged 58. In 1887, Carlingford's brother, Lord Clermont, died, and Carlingford inherited his peerage according to a special remainder, after which he was known as Lord Carlingford and Clermont.''Historical Register of the University of Oxford: With an Alphabetical Record of University Honours and Distinctions Conferred to the End of Trinity Term, 1888'' (Clarendon Press, 1888), p. 142 He died at

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, France, in January 1898, aged 75. Both his titles became extinct on his death for lack of heirs as his marriage had produced no children.

Arms

References

Attribution: *

Sources

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External links