Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey PC, PC (Ire) ( – 31 March 1737), of Farnborough, Hampshire, Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire, and Knockgrenan, near Camolin, county Wexford, was an

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 State rel ...

Tory politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

from 1702 to 1710 and in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from 1703 to 1710. He then succeeded as 6th

Viscount Valentia Viscount Valentia is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It has been created twice. The first creation came in 1621 for Henry Power. A year later, his kinsman Sir Francis Annesley, 1st Baronet, was given a "reversionary grant" of the viscountcy, ...

and 5th

Earl of Anglesey Earl of Anglesey was a title in the Peerage of England during the 17th and 18th centuries. History The first creation came in 1623 when Christopher Villiers was created Earl of Anglesey, in Wales, as well as Baron Villiers. He was the elder br ...

, joining both the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

. He served as Vice-Treasurer in Ireland from 1710 to 1716 and was a member of the regency commission upon the succession of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

Early life and family

Annesley was the third son of

James Annesley, 2nd Earl of Anglesey James Annesley, 2nd Earl of Anglesey FRS (c. 1645 – 1 April 1690), styled Lord Annesley from 1661 to 1686, was a British peer. He was the son of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey and Elizabeth Altham. He matriculated at Christ Churc ...

and his wife Elizabeth Manners (died 1700), daughter of

John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (10 June 160429 September 1679), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited the title Earl of Rutland on the death of his second cousin George Manners, 7 ...

. He was appointed a

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

in 1689, and began studies at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

around 1693. He attained an MA from

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

in 1699, and was elected a fellow the next year. In 1724, he gave £200 to Magdalene College for the establishment of a librarian post for the

Pepys Library The Pepys Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge, is the personal library collected by Samuel Pepys which he bequeathed to the college following his death in 1703. Background Samuel Pepys was a lifelong bibliophile and carefully nurtured hi ...

. He married his cousin Mary Thompson (died 1719) on 6 January 1702, third daughter of

John Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham John Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham (c. 1648 – 1 November 1710), known as Sir John Thompson, Bt, between 1673 and 1696, was an English politician. Thompson was the son of Maurice Thomson (1601/4-1676), of St Andrew, Eastcheap, City of London ...

and Frances, daughter of

Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, PC, (10 July 16146 April 1686) was an Anglo-Irish royalist statesman. After short periods as President of the Council of State and Treasurer of the Navy, he served as Lord Privy Seal between 1673 and 1682 ...

Political life

Anglesey was returned at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

Member of Parliament for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1703, he was elected to represent

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

, near his family estate in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, for the Irish Parliament. He held both seats until the death of his brother

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 * Second E ...

in 1710, when he succeeded as 6th

and 5th

in the Irish and

peerages respectively. He was appointed to the

and Irish Privy Councils in 1710 and 1711 respectively. Anglesey became Vice-Treasurer and Paymaster General in Ireland, but in 1711, after spending a period in Ireland, he had ambitions to succeed the

Duke of Ormond The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

Viceroy of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. When the Duke of Shrewsbury replaced Ormond, he opposed the parliamentary confirmation of the commercial treaty with France and undermined Shrewsbury in Ireland. In July 1714 he was commissioned to remodel the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

. However, following the death of Queen Anne in August he took his place on the regency commission for

until his arrival from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. Following the publication of plans to reduce the Irish army, he lost his position in court by 1715, and in 1716 he was removed from office, expressed in public as voluntary. He served as High Steward of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1722 to 1737. The death of George I in 1727 saw Anglesey encourage Irish Torys to come to court, however, his appointment as Governor of

was one of only a few gains. Anglesey died from the effects of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

on 31 March 1737 in

Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town located in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 57,486 as of the 2011 census and is an important centre of aviation, engineering and technology. The town is probably best known for it ...

, where he was buried. He and his wife had no children and he was succeeded as 6th Earl of Anglesey by his cousin Richard Annesley, 5th Baron Altham.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anglesey, Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl Of 1670s births 1737 deaths 5 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cambridge University British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Irish MPs 1703–1713 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

English MPs 1702–1705 Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber