Oil-on-canvas portrait of John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory (1745–1818) by Thomas Beach (1738-1806)

John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory FRS DL (2 May 1745 – 13 February 1818), styled 'Lord Gowran' from 1751 to 1758, was an Irish peer and

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 ...

Biography

John FitzPatrick was born on 2 May 1745, the son of John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory, and Lady Evelyn (née Leveson-Gower; daughter of

John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC (10 August 1694 – 25 December 1754), was an English Tory politician and peer who twice served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower is best known for his political caree ...

). He had a younger brother

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, who also became a noted statesman and soldier, and two younger sisters,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and Louisa. He succeeded to his father's title of earl of Upper Ossory in 1758 but as this was a title in the

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five di ...

it did not entitle him to a seat in the

British 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 Westminster ...

. In 1767 he was instead elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, a seat he held until 1794. He was also

Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. Since 1711, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1549–1551 *Oliver St John, 1st Baron St ...

from 1771 to 1818. In 1794, he was given the title of 'Baron Upper Ossory', of Ampthill in the County of Bedford, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself re ...

, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords. In 1763, Fitzpatrick was in Italy with the bibliophile,

Topham Beauclerk Topham Beauclerk ( ; 22 December 1739 – 11 March 1780) was a celebrated wit and a friend of Dr Johnson and Horace Walpole. Life Topham Beauclerk was born on 22 December 1739, the only son of Lord Sidney Beauclerk and a great-grandson of King ...

; where he bought old-master paintings and commissioned paintings from Gavin Hamilton. His is also thought to have been a patron of John Higton, given his depiction of "Dogs at Ampthill Park" in 1810. On returning to Britain, Fitzpatrick embarked on an affair with Anne Fitzroy, wife of Prime Minister Augustus Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, (and daughter of

Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth (1708 – 30 January 1784) succeeded to the Baronetcy of Ravensworth Castle, and to the family estates and mining interests, at the age of fifteen, on the death of his grandfather in 1723. He was created 1s ...

). This resulted in the Prime Minister having an affair with

Anne Parsons Anne Maynard or Anne, Viscountess Maynard; Anne Parsons; Nancy Parsons; Nancy Maynard; Mrs. Horton (c. 1735 – 1814/5) was a Kingdom of Great Britain successful courtesan and political mistress. She was de facto first lady, entertaining guests ...

, a courtesan, the birth of a child, the duchess's divorce and her marriage to FitzPatrick in 1769.Peter Durrant, 'FitzRoy, Augustus Henry, third duke of Grafton (1735–1811)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 200
accessed 14 Feb 2017
/ref> Like his younger brother Richard, Fitzpatrick was a friend of

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled '' The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-ri ...

, whilst their half-sister Mary FitzPatrick had married Charles James Fox's older brother

Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland of Holland and 2nd Baron Holland of Foxley (20 February 1745 – 26 December 1774) of Holland House in Kensington, Middlesex, was a British peer. Biography Lord Holland was the eldest son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron H ...

. As such Fitzpatrick became step-father to

Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland of Holland, and 3rd Baron Holland of Foxley PC (21 November 1773 – 22 October 1840), was an English politician and a major figure in Whig politics in the early 19th century. A grandson of Henry ...

on the death of his parents. He was also a noted friend to

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...

; a large volume of correspondence between Walpole and Fitzpatrick's wife, the Countess of Upper Ossory survives. John Fitzpatrick died in February 1818, aged 72, when his titles became extinct. His natural son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, succeeded to parts of his estates and was given the title of

Baron Castletown Baron Castletown, of Upper Ossory in the Queen's County, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 December 1869 for John FitzPatrick, the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Queen's County. He was the illegi ...

in 1869; however on his death his estate was inherited by his step-son

- who also adopted Ampthill Park as his seat. Fermyn Woods Hall, inherited from his father, passed to his daughters. File:Joshua Reynolds - Collina (1779).jpg, Portrait of the daughter of John Fitzpatrick (1779). File:Lady Anne FitzPatrick by Joshua Reynolds.jpg, Lady Anne FitzPatrick.

References

External links

*
John FitzPatrick at www.thepeerage.comThe Fitzpatricks - Earls of Upper OssoryFitzpatrick - Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Ossory, John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of 1745 births 1818 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people Politicians from County Kilkenny Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Great Britain created by George III Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Fellows of the Royal Society