Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, (1736 – 2 January 1801) of Belan house, styled The Honourable from 1763 to 1777 and Viscount Amiens in the latter year, was an Irish peer, Whig politician, and member of the

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

House of Stratford The House of Stratford () is a British aristocratic family, originating in Stratford-on-Avon between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The family has produced multiple titles, including Earl of Aldborough, Viscount Amiens, Baron Baltin ...

. He sat 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, ...

between 1759 and 1777 and in the

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 1774 to 1775.

Background

He was the oldest son of

John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough (1697/169829 May 1777) was an Irish peer and politician and member of the Noble House of Stratford. Background John was born either on 10 August 1697,Stratford, Gerald "A History of the Stratford Family" ...

and his wife Martha O'Neale, daughter of Venerable Benjamin O'Neale, Archdeacon of Leighlin. A descendant of the English

, his younger brother was

Benjamin Stratford, 4th Earl of Aldborough Benjamin O'Neale Stratford, 4th Earl of Aldborough (1746 – 11 July 1833) styled The Honourable from 1763 until 1823, was an Irish people, Irish peer and politician of the noble House of Stratford. He was the fourth son of John Stratford, 1st ...

. In 1777, Stratford succeeded his father as earl, and in the same year he was awarded a

Doctor of Civil Laws Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of excepti ...

by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He built

Stratford Place Stratford Place is a small road in London, off Oxford Street, opposite Bond Street underground station. The road is a cul-de-sac. Stratford House Stratford House was built as the London town house of the Stratford family between 1770 and 177 ...

in London and

Aldborough House Aldborough House (sometimes Aldboro House) is a large Georgian architecture, Georgian house in Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Built as a private residence by 1795, the original structure included a chapel (since lost) and a theatre wing. The house ha ...

in Dublin.

Career

In 1759, he entered the

for

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road (Ireland), N81 road ...

, the same constituency his father also represented, and sat for it until 1768. He was returned for Baltinglass again from 1775 to 1777. In 1774, he was elected to the

for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, however was unseated for accusations of bribery. Stratford was appointed a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in May 1777, and became Governor of County Wicklow the following year.

Family

On 29 July 1765, he married, firstly, Barbara Herbert, daughter of Hon. Nicholas Herbert, a younger son of

Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke ( 165622 January 1733), styled The Honourable Thomas Herbert until 1683, was a British statesman who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1692 to 1699. Background Herbert was the third son of Philip Herbert, 5 ...

, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

. She died by an apoplexy in 1785, and Stratford married secondly Hon. Anne Elizabeth Henniker, only daughter of

John Henniker, 1st Baron Henniker John Henniker, 1st Baron Henniker (15 June 1724 – 18 April 1803), known previously as John Henniker then as Sir John Henniker, 2nd Baronet, from 1782 to 1800, was a British merchant and Member of Parliament. Life He was the son of John Henni ...

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

on 24 May 1787. Stratford died at Belan House in County Kildare, childless, and was buried at St Thomas's Church, Dublin. He was succeeded in his titles by his younger 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 ...

Stratford House

Edward's London home, Stratford place, was built between 1770 and 1776. He paid £4,000 for the site.About and History
at Oriental Club web site (accessed 28 January 2008) The central range of Stratford House was designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

and it had previously been the location of the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

's Banqueting House, built in 1565. There have been several people of note who stayed there including the sons of the Tzar of Russia, and the wife of Sir Winston Churchill was born there, and the house until 1832 was owned by the Wingfield Stratford's who inherited it from Edward's Will.Stratford, Gerald H. ''The Stratfords'', (Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House) online a
Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House
(accessed 27 January 2008) It belonged briefly to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a son of

Tsar Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1825 to 1855. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Al ...

.AN OASIS IN LONDON'S WEST END
at asia-major.com (accessed 27 January 2008) The house was little altered until 1894, when its then owner, Mr Murray Guthrie, added a second storey to the east and west wings and a colonnade in front. In 1903, a new owner, the Liberal politician Sir Edward Colebrook, later Lord Colebrooke, reconstructed the Library to an Adam design. In 1908,

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

bought a lease and began more alterations, removing the colonnade and adding a third storey to both wings. He took out the original bifurcated staircase (replacing it with a less elegant single one), demolished the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above. In 1960 the house was purchased by the Oriental Club and converted to its present state. The ballroom was turned into two floors of new bedrooms, further lifts were added, and the banqueting hall was divided into a dining room and other rooms. The house now has a main drawing room, as well as others, a members' bar, a library and an ante-room, a billiards room, an internet suite and business room, and two (non-)smoking rooms, as well as a dining room and 32 bedrooms. Stratford House is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

.Listed Buildings in Stratford Place, Westminster
– map at westminster.gov.uk (accessed 29 January 2008)

Background

Career

Family

Stratford House

References

Further reading