George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (10 February 1797 – 20 October 1883), styled Viscount Chichester until 1799 and Earl of Belfast between 1799 and 1844, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

landowner, courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1830 to 1834, as well as from 1838 to 1841, and as

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Government of the United Kingdom, UK Government post usually held by the Government Whip (politics), Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is Margaret Whe ...

between 1848 and 1852. Ennobled in his own right in 1841, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Antrim from 1841 to 1883 and was made a Knight of St Patrick in 1857.

Background and education

Lord Donegall was born at Great Cumberland Place, London, the eldest son of Viscount Chichester (who became the 2nd Marquess of Donegall in 1799) by his wife Anna May, daughter of Sir Edward May, 2nd Baronet. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, before serving for a time as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

with the 11th Hussars. He was 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 ...

Viscount Chichester from birth until 1799 and as Earl of Belfast from 1799 to 1844.thepeerage.com Sir George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall
/ref>

Political career

In 1818, Lord Belfast (as he was from 1799 until 1844) was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

, and two years later became representative for

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. In July 1830 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in the Duke of Wellington's Tory administration. In August he was returned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Antrim. He continued as Vice-Chamberlain after Lord Grey formed his Whig government in November 1830. In 1831 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Kingdom of Hanover, Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name from the House ...

. He remained as Vice-Chamberlain until 1834, the last months under the premiership of Lord Melbourne. In 1837 he was once again returned to Parliament for Belfast. He did not initially serve in Melbourne's second administration, but in 1838 he once again became Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. He resigned when the government fell in 1841, and during the same year he unsuccessfully contested Belfast as a Liberal candidate. He was instead raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus, of Ennishowen in the County of Donegal and of

in the County of Antrim. He sat in 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 ...

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for three years under this title before succeeding his father in the marquessate in 1844. Lord Donegall did not serve initially in Lord John Russell's first administration, but in 1848 he returned to the government as

. He resigned along with the rest of the Whig government in early 1852. Apart from his political career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Antrim from 1841 to 1883. In 1857 he was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick. At the time of his death in 1883 he was the senior member of the Privy Council.

Family

Lord Donegall married

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Harriet Anne Butler (d. 1860), daughter of the 1st Earl of Glengall, in 1822. They had three children: *Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester (d. 14 April 1898); married the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury. *George Augustus Chichester, Viscount Chichester (26 May 1826 – 18 June 1827) *Frederick Richard Chichester, Earl of Belfast (25 November 1827 – 11 February 1853); died in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, unmarried. After his first wife's death in September 1860, he married as his second wife Harriett Graham (d. 1884), daughter of Sir Bellingham Reginald Graham, 7th Baronet, and widow of Sir Frederick Ashworth, in 1862. There were no children from this marriage. Lord Donegall died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, in October 1883, aged 86, and was buried in

. As both his sons had predeceased him, the larger part of the Donegall estates was inherited by his only daughter, Harriet Ashley-Cooper, Lady Ashley (later Countess of Shaftesbury and previously Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester), wife of the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury. He owned 23,000 acres, mostly in Donegal and Antrim.The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
/ref> The Ennishowen and Carrickfergus barony died with him, while he was succeeded in his other peerages by his younger brother, Lord Edward Chichester. The Marchioness of Donegall died in March 1884.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegall, George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of 1797 births 1883 deaths 11th Hussars officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights of St Patrick Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George Chichester, George UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Eton College Lord-lieutenants of Antrim George Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) 3 Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Tory MPs (pre-1834) Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies