Charles Augustus Stanhope, 8th Earl of Harrington (9 January 1844 – 5 February 1917), known as Viscount Petersham from 1866 to 1881, was a British peer and successful

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player.

Biography

Earl of Harrington Vanity Fair 19 September 1891

Early life

Harrington was the son of

Charles Stanhope, 7th Earl of Harrington Charles Wyndham Stanhope, 7th Earl of Harrington (16 August 1809 – 26 June 1881) was an English peer. Charles was the son of the Rev. Hon. Fitzroy Henry Richard Stanhope (24 Apr 1787 – 11 Apr 1864), son of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harr ...

, and Elizabeth Still de Pearsall.

Polo

He learned polo in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

while in the

Cheshire Yeomanry The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineage i ...

, a regiment of which he became Lieutenant-Colonel in command from 1899 to 1905 and Honorary Colonel thereafter. In 1885 he played at the back in the Gloucestershire team that won the County Cup. Harrington won the Hurlingham Champion Cup in 1892 with Sussex County and the Rugby Open Cup with

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. His rotund figure and flowing beard were a memorable image on British polo grounds and an obvious choice for caricature in Vanity Fair. Harrington was the inventor of the papier-mâché goal posts and was President of the County Polo Association and the first President of the Polo Pony Society. He was responsible for the establishment of the Polo Pony Stud book. He played at the Staffordshire Polo Club, based at

Ingestre Hall Ingestre Hall is a Grade II* listed building, Grade II* 17th-century Jacobean architecture, Jacobean mansion situated at Ingestre, near Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Formerly the seat of the Earl Talbot, Earls Talbot and then the Earls of S ...

, founded by

Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury Major Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, 20th Earl of Waterford, 5th Earl Talbot , KCVO (13 November 1860 – 7 May 1921), styled Viscount Ingestre from 1868 to 1877, was a British peer. Unusually for a wealthy nobl ...

, in 1895.Horace A. Laffaye, ''Polo in Britain: A History'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 29.

Other sports

The then Viscount Petersham also took part in tilting competitions at the

Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), and are held each year at venues across Shropshire, England, centred on the market town of Much ...

in 1881, when he came a joint second in flat tilting. He was invited by the games' founder,

William Penny Brookes William Penny Brookes (13 August 1809 – 11 December 1895) was an English surgeon, magistrate, botanist, and educationalist especially known for founding the Wenlock Olympian Games, inspiring the modern Olympic Games, and for his promotion of ...

, to be President of the games for 1882, by which time he had succeeded to his Earldom. In the same games he was the only President to also participate; he competed in the flat tilting, but did not take a ring, and took part in a tent-pegging demonstration. In 1883 he donated a prize to the Society for flat tilting. He was also Master of the Harrington Fox Hounds which hunted in south Nottinghamshire, and a prominent member of the

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

Committee. The South Notts Hunt crossing the River Trent at Soke Bardolph 1890

Other offices

He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

on 26 January 1917. Harrington served as Aide-de-Camp to

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

between 1907 and 1910,, thepeerage.com, September 2009 and to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

thereafter.

Family

Lord Harrington's main family homes in 1883 were

Elvaston Castle Elvaston Castle is a stately home in Elvaston, Derbyshire, England. The Gothic Revival castle and surrounding parkland is run and owned by Derbyshire County Council as a country park known as Elvaston Castle Country Park. The country park has ...

, Derbyshire, and

Gawsworth Old Hall Gawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earli ...

, Cheshire. Lord Harrington married the Honourable Eva Elizabeth Carrington, daughter of

Robert Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington Robert John Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington (16 January 1796 – 17 March 1868), was a politician and a baron in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was the son of Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington, and Anne Boldero-Barnard.Edward J. Davies, "S ...

, in 1869. He died in February 1917, aged 73, at Elvaston Castle, of blood poisoning caused by burns sustained at his engineer's workshop, and was buried at Elvaston parish church. He was succeeded in his titles by his younger brother

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

. Lady Harrington died in 1919.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Charles Augustus Stanhope, 8th Earl Of Deputy lieutenants of Derbyshire 1844 births 1917 deaths Cheshire Yeomanry officers 8 English polo players Masters of foxhounds in England

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...