Bennet Sherard, 3rd Earl of Harborough (3 September 1709 – 23 February 1770), styled Lord Sherard from 1732 to 1750, was a British aristocrat who inherited the earldom of Harborough.

Early life

Born on 3 September 1709, he was the eldest surviving of six sons and eight daughters born to

Philip Sherard, 2nd Earl of Harborough Philip Sherard, 2nd Earl of Harborough ( – 20 July 1750), of Whissendine, Rutland, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1710 and later succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Harborough. Earl ...

by his wife, the former Anne Pedley (d. ). Among his siblings were brothers the Rev.

Robert Sherard Robert Harborough Sherard (3 December 1861 – 30 January 1943) was an English writer and journalist. He was a friend, and the first biographer, of Oscar Wilde, as well as being Wilde's most prolific biographer in the first half of the twentiet ...

, Hon. John Sherard, Hon. Daniel Sherard, a Naval officer, and Lt.-Gen. Hon. Philip Sherard of the

69th Regiment of Foot The 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Formation ...

. Among his sisters was Lady Dorothy Sherard, who married Rev. James Torkington of

Great Stukeley Great Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys. It is north-west of Huntingdon. Great Stukeley is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic coun ...

(Rector of Kings Ripton and

Little Stukeley Little Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys, in Cambridgeshire, England. Little Stukeley lies approximately north-west of Huntingdon. Little Stukeley is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a n ...

). His father, a Member of Parliament 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 ...

, succeeded to the earldom of his cousin, Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of Harborough, in 1732. His paternal grandparents were Bennet Sherard of

Whissendine Whissendine is a village and civil parish in Rutland, England, north-west of the county town, Oakham. The population at the 2001 census was 1,189, increasing to 1,253 at the 2011 census. The village's name either means 'valley of Hwicce' or ...

, and the former Dorothy Fairfax (a daughter of

Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (30 December 1631 – 13 April 1688) was an English politician. He was the grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. He was born the son of Henry Fairfax, of York, Rector of Bolton ...

). His aunt Margaret Sherard was 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 ...

. Through his sister, Lady Dorothy, he was uncle to the political reformer and radical writer Ann Jebb, wife of reformer John Jebb. His mother was the daughter and heiress of Nicholas Pedley of Washingley (son and heir of Sir

Nicholas Pedley Sir Nicholas Pedley (17 September 1615 – 6 July 1685) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1656 and 1679. Pedley was the son of the Reverend Nicholas Pedley of Huntingdonshire and his wife Susan Brath ...

, Serjeant-at-Law) and the former Frances Apreece (daughter of Robert Apreece).

Career

Upon his father's death on 20 July 1750, he became the third

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 ...

Personal life

Lord Harborough married four times during his lifetime. His first marriage was on 28 June 1748 to Lady Elizabeth Verney,''The Register of Marriages (and Burials) belonging to St James's Westminster. 1723-1754''. 28 June 1748. daughter of

Ralph Verney, 1st Earl Verney Ralph Verney, 1st Earl Verney (18 March 1683 – 4 October 1752), of Middle Claydon, near Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, known as The Viscount Fermanagh until 1742, was initially a Tory and later a Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons in ...

and the former Catherine Paschall (a daughter of Henry Paschall). Lady Elizabeth died on 7 June 1756. On 2 July 1757, he married, secondly, to Frances Noel (d. 1760), third daughter and co-heiress of William Noel,

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court o ...

from 1757 to 1762 (son of

Sir John Noel, 4th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

) and the former Elizabeth Trollope (daughter of Sir Thomas Trollope, 3rd Baronet). Together, they were the parents of one daughter: * Lady Frances Sherard, who married Maj.-Gen. George Morgan in 1776. On 31 March 1761, he married, thirdly, to Margaret Hill (1729–1766/7), half-sister of

Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick (16 April 1745 – 6 January 1789), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1784 when he was raised to the peerage. Early life Hill was the youngest and only surviving ...

and daughter of Thomas Hill of

Tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

and Anne Powys (a daughter of Richard Powys of

Hintlesham Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh. It is in the Belstead Brook electoral division of Suffolk County Council. The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th-century Gr ...

). They were the parents of one child: * Hon. Bennet Sherard (d. 1768), ''styled'' Lord Sherard, who died in infancy on 21 February 1768. On 8 October 1767, he married, lastly, to Elizabeth Cave (1739/40–1797), eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Cave, 5th Baronet and Elizabeth Davies (only daughter and heiress of Dr. Griffin Davies of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. As the earl died on 23 February 1770 without surviving male issue, his titles passed to his younger brother,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

. The dowager Countess of Harborough died on 5 March 1797.

References

External links

Bennet Sherard, 3rd Earl of Harborough (1709 or 1710-1770), Lord Lieutenant of Rutland and Custos Rotulorum of Rutland
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harborough, Bennet Sherard, 3rd Earl of 1709 births 1770 deaths Bennet Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain