Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham (24 May 16892 August 1769), , of Burley House near

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

in Rutland and of

Eastwell Park Eastwell may refer to: *Eastwell, Kent Eastwell is a hamlet and civil parish about north of Ashford, Kent, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 103. The parish shares civil and church parish councils with neighbouring ...

near

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...

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 ...

, was a British peer and politician.

Origins

Burley on the Hill, near Oakham - geograph

Styled by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

'' Lord Finch'' until 1730, he was the eldest son and heir of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham of Burley, by his second wife Anne Hatton, a daughter of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton. His father was a prominent

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 ...

politician who had been one of the few leading Tories to actively support the Hanoverian succession.

Career

In 1710 he was elected (as Lord Finch and aged 21), as a Member of Parliament for

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

and served as

Comptroller of the Royal Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

from 1725 to 1730. He held the seat until he succeeded to the Earldom in 1730 (necessitating his move to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

). In 1739 he supported the founding of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

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 ...

, a charity providing home and education for some of the capital's many

abandoned children Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...

, and was one of the original governors. Although his father had been a supporter of Walpole, Winchilsea became instead a supporter of

Lord Carteret John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763; he worked extremely clos ...

in the so-called " Patriot Opposition". When Carteret became leading minister in 1742, Winchilsea joined him, becoming

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

(1742–1744). Later on, he allied himself with the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

and the Old Whigs, and served 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 ...

in the Rockingham administration (1765–1766). He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1752.

Marriages & issue

PORTRAIT OF MARY PALMER, COUNTESS OF WINCHILSEA AND NOTTINGHAM

He married twice but failed to produce male issue: *Firstly to Lady Frances Feilding, a daughter of Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh by his wife Hester Firebrace, by whom he had one daughter: **Lady Charlotte Finch, who died unmarried. *Secondly he married Mary Palmer, the second daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet of Wingham, by his wife Elizabeth Marsham, a sister of

Robert Marsham, 1st Baron Romney Robert Marsham, 1st Baron Romney (17 September 1685 – 28 November 1724) of The Mote, Maidstone, known as Sir Robert Marsham, Bt between 1703 and 1716, was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1716 when he w ...

and a daughter of Sir Robert Marsham, 4th Baronet. By his second wife he had eight daughters, only four of whom survived to adulthood, Heneage, Essex, Hatton and Augusta: **Lady Mary Finch (b. 7 December 1739); **Lady Frances Finch (b. 24 October 1740); **Lady Heneage Finch (1 December 1741 –1820), who in 1788 married (as his second wife) Maj.-Gen. Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet; **Lady Anne Finch (b. 9 June 1743); **Lady Georgina Finch (b. 10 July 1744); **Lady Essex Finch (b. 1 January 1746); **Lady Hatton Finch (23 February 1747 –1829), who died unmarried; **Lady Augusta Elizabeth Finch (14 February 1751 –1797),''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760''. 14 March 1750. who died unmarried.

Death & burial

He died in 1769 and was buried at Eastwell Church, near his residence. As he died without male issue his titles, together with his estates at Burley and elsewhere, passed to his nephew

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...

, the son of his brother the diplomat William Finch. He left his Kentish properties, including Eastwell Park, to his other nephew George Finch-Hatton, son of his brother Edward Finch.

References

External links

Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Earl of Nottingham
at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winchilsea, Daniel Finch, 8th Earl Of 1689 births 1769 deaths Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, Daniel Finch, Lord Lord Presidents of the Council *08

703 __NOTOC__ Year 703 ( DCCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 703rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 703rd year of the 1st millennium, the 3 ...

Lords of the Admiralty Knights of the Garter Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England People from Burley, Rutland