Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of Harborough (9 October 1677 – 16 October 1732) (created Viscount Sherard in 1718, and

Earl of Harborough Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

in 1719) was a British peer and Member of Parliament.

Early life

Born on 9 October 1677, he was the second, but only surviving, son and heir of the former Elizabeth Christopher and

Bennet Sherard, 2nd Baron Sherard Bennet Sherard, 2nd Baron Sherard Deputy Lieutenant, DL (''baptised'' 30 November 1621 – 15 January 1700) was a British politician and Irish peer. An influential landowner in Leicestershire and Rutland, he was returned to Parliament by the form ...

, an MP for

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

who served as

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland. In 1974 Rutland became part of Leicestershire under the Local Government Act 1972, the Lieutenancy was abolished, with Rutland's Lord-Lieutenant becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Le ...

. His sister, Hon. Lucy Sherard, married

John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland Order of the Garter, KG (18 September 1676 – 22 February 1721), styled Lord Roos from 1679 to 1703 and Marquess of Granby from 1703 to 1711, was a British Whig politician who sat in the English House of Com ...

. His mother was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Robert Christopher of Alford. His paternal grandfather was William Sherard, 1st Baron Sherard, a member of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners under King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

. Through his sister, he was uncle to

Lord Sherard Manners Lord Sherard Manners ( – 13 January 1742) was an English nobleman and Member of Parliament. Early life Lord Sherard was born around 1713. He was the eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland and, his second wife, Lady Lucy Sherard. Fr ...

, MP for Tavistock, Lady Caroline Manners (wife of

Sir Henry Harpur, 5th Baronet Sir Henry Harpur, 5th Baronet (24 June 1708 – 7 June 1748) was an English baronet and politician. He was the oldest son of Sir John Harpur, 4th Baronet, of Calke Abbey, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew. He was ...

and, secondly,

Sir Robert Burdett, 4th Baronet Sir Robert Burdett, 4th Baronet (28 May 1716 – 13 February 1797) was a British politician and member of the English gentry. Burdett was the posthumous son of Robert Burdett, son of Sir Robert Burdett, 3rd Baronet of Bramcote, Warwickshire. H ...

), Lady Lucy Manners (wife of

William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose (27 August 1712 – 23 September 1790) was a British nobleman. He his the son of James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose and his wife, Lady Christian Carnegie, daughter of David Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Northesk. B ...

), Lord Robert Manners, and Lord Charles Manners, among others. Through his uncle Hon. Philip Sherard, also an MP for

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, he was a first cousin of Bennet Sherard and Margaret Sherard, the wife of

The Most Rev. The Most Reverend (abbreviated as The Most Revd or The Most Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Catholic In the Catholic Church, ...

John Gilbert,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

Career

In 1700, he succeeded his father Bennet as

Baron Sherard Lord Sherard, Baron of Leitrim, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland in 1627. The third holder of the barony would also be named Baron Harborough (1714), Viscount Sherard (1718), and Earl of Harborough (1719), with the viscountcy ending with the ...

, of Leitrim, and shortly thereafter as

, and was made deputy lieutenant of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

the same year. He held these offices until his dismissal in 1712. From 1701 to 1702, he was MP for

, and was returned for

in 1713. He held that seat until 19 October 1714, when he was created Baron Sherard, of Harborough, 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 repla ...

, and entered 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 ...

. In 1715, he was reappointed to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Rutland, which he held until his death. He was created Viscount Sherard on 31 October 1718 and Earl of Harborough on 8 May 1719.

Personal life

On 30 April 1696, Sherard was married to Mary Calverley (d. 1702), the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Calverley of

Eryholme Eryholme is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. As the population remained less than 100 in the 2011 census, information is included with that of Dalton-on-Tees. The village is situated on the south bank of the River Tees, ...

and the former Mary Thompson (a daughter of Sir Henry Thompson of

Escrick Escrick is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It was in the historic East Riding of Yorkshire, but since 1974 has come under North Yorkshire. It is approximately equidistant between Selby and York on what is now the A19 road ...

). He was succeeded by his cousin

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

as Earl of Harborough, Baron Sherard (in Great Britain and in Ireland), and as Lord-Lieutenant; the Viscountcy of Sherard became extinct upon his death.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harborough, Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of 1677 births 1732 deaths Bennet Sherard, Bennet Sherard, 3rd Baron Deputy lieutenants of Lincolnshire Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of Rutland Sherard, Bennet Sherard, 3rd Baron Sherard, Bennet Sherard, 3rd Baron English MPs 1701–1702