George Harry Grey, 5th Earl of Stamford (1 October 1737 – 28 May 1819), styled Lord Grey from 1739–68, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

who succeeded his father as the

Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...

. In 1796, his maternal grandfather's

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

titles Earl of Warrington and Baron Delamer were revived for him.

Early life and education

Grey was born in 1737, the eldest son and heir of

Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford (18 June 1715 – 30 May 1768) was an English peer, styled Lord Grey from 1720 to 1739. Biography Harry Grey was born at Enville Hall, the eldest son of Henry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford. He was educated at R ...

by his wife, Lady Mary, only daughter and heiress of

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (2 May 1675 – 2 August 1758) was an English peer and landowner, who amassed a fine collection of silver. Life Born at Mere Hall, Cheshire, on 2 May 1675, the second son of Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warri ...

. He was baptised on 21 October at

Newtown Linford Newtown Linford is a linear village in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,000 at the 2001 census, including Ulverscroft, increasing to 1,103 at the 2011 census, and 1,136 at the 2021 census. The village lies in a ...

, Leicestershire. Educated at Leicester School, he went up to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

. where he matriculated in the Michaelmas term 1755, graduating MA in 1758.

Career

On 22 September 1761, Lord Grey was a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

at coronation of George III. Lord Grey served as Whig MP for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

from 1761 until 1768, when succeeded to his father's

earldom 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 ...

and took his seat 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 ...

. He was Colonel of the Royal Chester Regiment of Militia from 1764, and Lord Lieutenant from 1783. His brother-in-law,

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig and then a Tories (British political party), Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He s ...

, while

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, suggested that Stamford should also become a peer of Great Britain in addition to being an

English peer The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

. He accepted an earldom in 1796 from Portland's successor

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

, rather than the reported previous offer of a

marquessate A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

; in the absence of there being another

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

dom in keeping with Grey family tradition (cf

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days Queen". Origins He was born on 17 ...

), Stamford deemed it better to preserve the memory of his grandmother's whose estates he had inherited. Thus he received the additional titles of Baron Delamer and

Earl of Warrington The Earldom of Warrington is a title which has been created twice in British history, in 1690 and 1796. For information on the 1690 creation, see Booth baronets. For information on the 1796 creation, see Earl of Stamford. See also * Dunham M ...

(in the

peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

) in recognition of the

Booth family The Booth family was an English American theatrical family of the 19th century. Its most known members were brothers Edwin Booth, one of the leading actors of his day, and John Wilkes Booth, also a fellow actor most remembered for assassinating ...

Estates

Stamford modernised the family's Staffordshire

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

at Enville Hall to the design of Thomas Hope. He promoted the development of the town of

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

(where he had appointed his cousin, George Booth as Rector) near

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, on land inherited from the Earls of Warrington.Enville and stalybridge estates
The Grey family owned large tracts of land at Enville in Staffordshire and

Bradgate Park Bradgate Park () is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Leicestershire, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithla ...

in Leicestershire, and his mother had inherited

Dunham Massey Hall Dunham Massey Hall, usually known simply as Dunham Massey, is an English country house in the parish of Dunham Massey, in the district of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. During World War I, it was temporarily used as the Stamford Milita ...

and land in Stalybridge.

Marriage and issue

On 28 May 1763, Grey married Lady Henrietta, second daughter of

William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1 March 1709 – 1 May 1762), styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1716 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1716 to 1726, was a British peer and politician. Early life Portland was the son of Henry ...

and the art collector

Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (11 February 1715 – 17 July 1785) was the richest woman in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain of her time, styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her ...

, only daughter and heiress of

Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (2 June 1689 – 16 June 1741) was an English Tories (British political party), Tory politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1711 to 1724. Early life Edwa ...

at Stamford House, Whitehall, and registry office, Westminster, having nine children including: * Lady Henrietta Grey (1764–1826), married John Chetwode *

George Grey, 6th Earl of Stamford George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

(1765–1845), his successor in the family titles; married Lady Henrietta Charteris, daughter of Francis, Lord Elcho * Hon. Marie Booth Grey (2 November 1767 – 21 November 1767), died in infancy * Lady Maria Grey (1769–1838), married John Cotes MP * Lady Louisa Booth Grey (1771–1830), died unmarried * Hon. William Booth Grey (1773–1852), married first Frances Anne Pryce, heiress of

Duffryn Duffryn () is a large housing estate in the southwest of the city of Newport, south Wales comprising a large portion of the Tredegar Park electoral district (ward). Built on land belonging to Tredegar House, it was completed in 1978 and at th ...

; married second Hon. Frances Somerville, sister of 16th

Lord Somerville Lord Somerville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland which is subject to a number of ambiguities. The date of creation is not known with certainty but it was probably created about 1435 for Thomas Somerville, Justiciar of Scotia, Justiciar of ...

* Hon. Rev. Anchitel Grey (1774–1833), a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Durham, died unmarried * Capt. Hon. Henry Grey RN (1776–1799), died after being shipwrecked on board in Barnstaple Bay * Lady Sophia Grey (1777–1849), married her cousin,

Booth Grey Booth Grey (15 August 1740 – 4 March 1802) was an English politician who served in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1784. Grey was the son of Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford, and his wife Lady Mary Booth daughter of George Booth, 2nd Earl ...

MP, of

Ashton Hayes Ashton Hayes is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located about 8 miles east of Che ...

* Lady Amelia Grey (1779–1849), married John Lister Kaye On his death in 1819 at Enville Hall, he was succeeded by his eldest son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamford, George Grey, 5th Earl of 1737 births 1819 deaths 18th-century English nobility 19th-century English nobility Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Grey, George Grey, Lord Grey, George Grey, Lord Lord-lieutenants of Cheshire

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

Earls of Stamford Earls of Warrington Barons Grey of Groby