George Harry Booth-Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and 3rd Earl of Warrington (7 January 1827 – 2 January 1883) was an English

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, landowner and peer, who sat on the Whig benches 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 ...

Early life

George Harry Booth-Grey was born at

Enville, Staffordshire Enville is a village and civil parish in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is in the South Staffordshire district. The largest village nearby is Kinver, with the smaller villages of Bobb ...

, the only son of

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

(1802–1835), who as Lord Grey of Groby had been summoned by writ 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 ...

in 1832. He succeeded to that title ( created 1603) as 9th Baron Grey of Groby at the death of his father on 24 October 1835. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

(1840–1843) before going up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

for one year. On the death of his grandfather George Harry Grey on 26 April 1845, he succeeded to the titles of Earl of Stamford, Earl of Warrington and Baron Delamer of

Dunham Massey Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly th ...

Activities

A member of

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC), Stamford played in eight

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

between 1851 and 1858, making 81 first-class runs at an average of 7.36, with a highest score of 17, and holding two catches. A prominent

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of The Turf, he was Master of the

Quorn Hunt The Quorn Hunt, usually called the Quorn, established in 1696, is one of the world's oldest fox hunting packs and claims to be the United Kingdom's most famous hunt. Its country is mostly in Leicestershire, together with some smaller areas of ...

between 1856 and 1863, and whilst he did not have many notable successes with his

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

s, his colt ''Diophantus'' won the Two Thousand Guineas in 1861. He served 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 ...

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 ...

(1845–56), before being appointed Honorary Colonel of the 7th Battalion, Lancashire Rifles (Volunteers) in 1871.

Marriage and legacy

Lord Stamford and Warrington married twice, producing no children; firstly in 1848 to Elizabeth King Billage (daughter of a shoemaker at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

) and secondly in 1855 to Catherine Cox the daughter of Henry Cox Esq. After inheriting his family's large estates at Enville in Staffordshire,

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 other Leicestershire estates (including the village of Groby),

in Cheshire, and

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

in Lancashire, he commissioned the building of St Margaret's Church at Dunham Massey in 1851. Built in honor of his sister, Lady Margaret

Milbank Milbank LLP (commonly known as Milbank) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Seoul, and Singapore. History Mi ...

, the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

was completed in 1855. He was patron of several advowsons in addition to lordships of manors. Following his second marriage to Catherine Cox, the Earl commissioned the architect, Mr. M.J. Dain of Dain and Parsons, London, to design a hall for him to replace the old hunting lodge the Grey's used in the village of Groby, Leicestershire during the hunting season, which was named

Bradgate House Bradgate House may refer to: * Bradgate House (16th century) * Bradgate House (19th century) Bradgate House is a 19th-century ruin in Groby, Leicestershire, England. Built in 1856 for the seventh Earl of Stamford, George Harry Grey, it was inte ...

. Built by local builder Thomas Rudkin, Bradgate House was completed in 1856 and was built in the Jacobean style. It has been referred to as the Calendar House because it had 365 windows, 52 rooms, and 12 main chimneys.

Groby Groby (pronounced "GROO-bee" ) is a village in the Hinckley and Bosworth borough Leicestershire, England. It is to the north west of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 6,796. The village saw a huge expansion during t ...

. In 1860, twelve farms of his land at Bradgate were submerged to form

Cropston Reservoir Cropston Reservoir (originally known as Bradgate Reservoir) lies in Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England. The dam and associated water works are in Cropston, while the bulk of the reservoir is in the neighbouring Newtown Linford parish. ...

. In 1879, he donated of his land at

to the local council as a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

(

Stamford Park Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

) and sold further land for housing development. On his death at Bradgate House in 1883, the

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 ...

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

(''cr.'' 1796) became extinct. His other two

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

passed to his third cousin once removed,

The Revd The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chu ...

Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford, who was living in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. He left his estates to his widow for life, who was then styled ''Dowager Countess of Stamford and Warrington'', and on her death in 1905 they were divided.''John Rylands Library, Manchester''
/ref> The

estate went with the

; the Leicestershire estates passed to his niece Mrs Arthur Duncombe (later Grey), and the Enville estate was inherited by the

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the n ...

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

's grandniece Catherine, wife of Sir Henry Foley Lambert. The land at

was left equally between Mrs Duncombe and the Earl of Stamford and Warrington's niece and Lady Lambert the grand niece of Catherine, Countess of Stamford and Warrington, whose descendants ( Deramore and Foley Grey respectively) settled its division in 1959. Mrs Duncombe sold the Leicestershire Estates in 1925, which included the village of Groby and also the Jacobean style hall the Earl of Stamford and Warrington commissioned at Groby and was completed in 1856. Bradgate House was demolished in 1926. Only the magnificent stable block survives, albeit in a ruinous and dilapidated condition, which had been built on a lavish scale (the bill is thought to have run to £30,000) for the 7th Earl of Stamford when he was made Master of the

in 1856.

Arms

References

External links

www.burkespeerage.com

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamford, George Harry, 7th Earl of 1827 births 1883 deaths 19th-century English nobility

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 ...