Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort DL, JP, FZS (12 June 1878 – 29 January 1943), styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour until 1893 and Earl of Bective between 1893 and 1894, was a British politician and

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer.

Career

Styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour from birth, he was the son of

Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort Order of St Patrick, KP Privy Council of Ireland, PC (I) (1 November 1822 – 22 July 1894) was an Irish peer, styled Lord Kenlis until 1829 and Earl of Bective from 1829 to 1870. He was High Sheriff ...

, by his second wife Emily Constantia, daughter of the Reverend Lord John Thynne. He became known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Earl of Bective in 1893 on the death of his half-brother. The following year, aged 16, he succeeded his father in the marquessate. Lord Headfort was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamate ...

on 4 January 1899, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 7 March 1900. He resigned from the regiment in May 1901. In June the following year he was appointed a lieutenant in the newly created

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

regiment, the 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons). He was justice of the peace and Deputy Lieutenant for county

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, Ireland; and a Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry. Headfort was an English

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, having been initiated in the Lodge of Assistance No 2773 (London, England) at Golden Square, London, in February 1901, aged 22 years. From 1922 to 1928, Headfort served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. Headfort was president of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland for thirty years from 1915 to 1945, winning the Society's Gold Medal of Honour for distinguished services to horticulture in Ireland in 1939.

Family

Rosie Boote, a young singer who appeared in '' The Messenger Boy'' in 1900 under her professional name of ''Miss Rosie Boote'', so charmed the young Marquess that he married her on 11 April 1901. Their marriage was unusual: Rose was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

from a humble background, while her husband was a Protestant aristocrat. He caused a sensation when he converted to Catholicism for their marriage. They lived at Headfort House in Ireland and had three children together: * Terence Taylour, 5th Marquess of Headfort * Lord William Desmond Taylour, British archaeologist * Lady Millicent Olivia Mary Taylour (9 Dec 1907 - 24 Dec 1975); married 28 April 1930 (div. 1936) to Henry Frederic Tiarks, a banker; Lady Millicent died 24 December 1975.''Burke's Peerage, 106th Edition.''

References

Work cited

External links

* *http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/archives/taylour-finding-aid * {{DEFAULTSORT:Headfort, Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of 1878 births 1943 deaths Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad British Life Guards officers Westminster Dragoons officers British Army personnel of World War I Deputy lieutenants of Meath Geoffrey People educated at Harrow School Marquesses of Headfort Independent members of Seanad Éireann Fellows_of_the_Zoological_Society_of_London