Francis Melfort William Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford DL (born 13 March 1954) is an English

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and landowner, who had a seat in 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 ...

from 1986 until the reform of the House of Lords which took effect in 2000. He serves as the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Staffordshire University and in a number of other roles.

Biography

Stafford belongs to the Roman Catholic

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...

family of Fitzherbert, whose most famous member was

Maria Fitzherbert Maria Anne Fitzherbert (''née'' Smythe, previously Weld; 26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837) was a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom). In 1785, they secretly contracted a marriage that was ...

, the first (unrecognised) wife of

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

. He was educated at

Farleigh School Farleigh School is a Catholic preparatory day and boarding school in Andover, Hampshire, England. Situated in of parkland in the Test Valley, Hampshire, it educates around 430 children. The current school comprises a pre-prep department (ages ...

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

, the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

and the

Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = public university, Public , president = Charles III, King Charles , vice_chancellor = P ...

.OA News
dated 2005 at ampleforth.org.uk Stafford is the eldest son of Basil Fitzherbert, 14th Baron Stafford, by his marriage to Morag Nada Campbell. On his father's death in 1986 he inherited the Barony of Stafford and the Swynnerton Park estate near

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a canal town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, north of Stafford, south of Stoke-on-Trent and north of Rugeley. It was an urban district council and a rural district council before becoming part of the Borough of Staffor ...

. He lost his seat in the

under the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

.''Burke's Peerage'', volume 3 (2003), p. 3,706 He was a director of Tarmac Industrial Products and has been a non-executive director of the Mid-Staffordshire Mental Health Foundation and a Governor of

Harper Adams University Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provider of higher educa ...

since 1990. In 1993 he was Pro-Chancellor of

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

. He was the

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

for 2005, making him the first peer to serve as a High Sheriff since 1371: while English peers all sat in the House of Lords they could not also serve the Crown as a High Sheriff. He now serves as the

of Staffordshire University and has been a Deputy Lieutenant for the same county since 1993.

Marriage and children

Stafford married Katherine Mary Codrington on 28 June 1980. They have two sons and two daughters: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Benjamin John Basil Fitzherbert (born 8 November 1983),

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the barony. He married Georgina Hewlett, a granddaughter of Thomas Clyde Hewlett, Baron Hewlett, on 10 December 2011. * Hon Toby Francis Fitzherbert (born 27 March 1985) * Hon Teresa Emily Fitzherbert (born 15 June 1987), married Andrew J. Byrne on 30 May 2015. * Hon Camilla Rose Jane Fitzherbert (born 19 December 1989), engaged in 2018 to Harry M. M. Taylor.Mr H.M.M. Turner and the Hon C.R.J. Fitzherbert
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron 1954 births Living people English Roman Catholics Barons Stafford (1640 creation) People associated with Keele University People associated with Harper Adams University People educated at Ampleforth College Deputy Lieutenants of Staffordshire High Sheriffs of Staffordshire