Alan Legge Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner (29 January 1810 – 2 November 1883), was a British Whig politician.

Background

Gardner was the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner. A viscountcy was to be conferred on his father in 1815, but he died before the patent had passed the

Great Seal A great seal is a seal used by a head of state, or someone authorised to do so on their behalf, to confirm formal documents, such as laws, treaties, appointments and letters of dispatch. It was and is used as a guarantee of the authenticity of ...

and the title was never given to his son. He did, however, manage to get his father's barony passed down to him instead of his father's other son, Fenton Gardner, by establishing that Fenton was illegitimate.

Career

In his youth, Gardner was a member of the literary salon established by the

Countess of Blessington Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (née Power; 1 September 1789 – 4 June 1849), was an Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and ...

and the Count D'Orsay. He was also a celebrated sportsman. He sat on the Whig benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and served in the Whig administration of

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1837 to 1841.

Family

Lord Gardner first married Frances Margaret Hughes (12 October 1814 – 3 December 1847) in 1835. The marriage was childless. After her death he married secondly the actress Julia Sarah Hayfield Fortescue (1817 – 3 November 1899 Brighton), daughter of Edward E. T. Fortescue, in December 1848 at St George's, Hanover Square, London. They had several children born before and after their marriage; as his former mistress, she was unacceptable in Victorian high society. His son Herbert Gardner, born two years before his parents' wedding, became a Liberal politician and was created

Baron Burghclere Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

in 1895. One of Lord Gardner's legitimate daughters, the Hon. Florence (7 Feb 1853 – 3 Aug 1934), was the wife of

William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, (7 March 1853 – 23 October 1911), was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892. B ...

, sometime

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

; a granddaughter Lady Dorothy Onslow married

Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

and became

Vicereine of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

. Gardner died in November 1883, aged 73, when his titles became dormant. Lady Gardner died in 1899. Issue, according to Fortescue website: * a son (b 1842), possibly Col. Alan Coulston Gardner (d 1907); he married and had issue two sons, but was illegitimate so could not inherit the 1798 barony. * a son (born 1843) * Herbert Gardner (1846–1921), who married Lady Winifred Byng, née Herbert, daughter of the 4th Earl of Carnarvon, and had issue 4 daughters. One daughter Evelyn was the first wife of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

and was thus known as "She-Evelyn". Another daughter married Geoffrey Hope-Morley, 2nd Baron Hollenden. * Hon. Florence Coulston Gardner (7 Feb 1853 – 3 Aug 1934),Born after an 1848 marriage in St. George's, Hanover Square, London, according to most peerage directories, but before an 1856 marriage per the Fortescue website . married

, sometime

, and had issue. *Hon. Evelyn Coulston Gardner (1856–1902), married 1881 William Fuller Maitland and had issue

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

External links

*
Lord Gardner at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Alan Gardner, 3rd Baron 1810 births 1883 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom