George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, DL, JP (24 June 1862 – 9 November 1952), known as George Herbert until 1891, was a British peer.

Early life

Herbert was born at Number 26,

Bruton Street Bruton Street is a street in London's Mayfair district. Queen Elizabeth II was born there, and the fashion designer Norman Hartnell lived there for 44 years. It runs from Berkeley Square in the south-west to New Bond Street in the north-east, w ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, London, and baptised 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 ...

. He was the son of The Hon. Sir Percy Egerton Herbert and Lady Mary Caroline Louisa Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, daughter of the

Earl of Kerry Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland, named after County Kerry. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan. In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron Ke ...

(the eldest son of

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (2 July 178031 January 1863), known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809, was a British statesman. In a ministerial career spanning nearly half a century, he notably served as Home Secretary a ...

).thepeerage.com George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis
/ref> He succeeded his uncle the 3rd Earl in the peerage in 1891. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he graduated BA in 1885 and MA in 1905.

Career

After gaining of his first degree, he was employed as a civil servant in the administrative branch of the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

(the GPO) in London, but resigned after succeeding to his peerage.Newspaper profile. The employment was not mentioned in biographical reference books e.g. Burke's Peerage, Who's Who. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire in 1896, a post he held until 1951. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

and JP for the counties of Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, and Alderman of Shropshire

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. He was Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In 1897 he served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. In 1898 he was made Honorary Colonel of the

4th (Royal Montgomeryshire Militia) Battalion, South Wales Borderers The Montgomeryshire Militia, later the Royal Montgomeryshire Rifles, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised in the Welsh county of Montgomeryshire during the 18th Century from earlier precursor units. Primarily intended for home defence, it ser ...

Personal life

In 1890, six months before inheriting the earldom, Herbert was married to The Hon. Violet Ida Evelyn Lane-Fox (1865–1929), the second daughter of The 15th Baron Darcy de Knayth. Violet's older sister, Hon. Marcia Lane-Fox, was married Charles Pelham, 4th Earl of Yarborough. Together, George and Violet were the parents of two sons and one daughter: * Percy Robert, Viscount Clive (1892–1916), who died of wounds received at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. * Lady Hermione Gwladys (1900–1995), who married Roberto Lucchesi-Palli, 11th Duke della Grazia and 13th Prince di Campofranco. * Mervyn Herbert, Viscount Clive (1904–1943), who was killed while on active service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Lord Powis died at Powis Castle in November 1952, aged 90, and was buried in the churchyard at Christ Church, Welshpool. He was succeeded in the earldom by his first cousin's edest son, Edward Robert Henry Herbert.

Succession to titles and estates

The Earl was fated to survive both his sons, the elder of whom died during

and the younger during

. While the earldom passed to his first cousin's son, the barony which had been conferred on

Clive of India Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East ...

passed to the Earl's only grandchild, Davina, daughter of his younger son, Mervyn. Lord Powis bequeathed his family seat,

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

near

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

, to

The National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. The very high inheritance taxes which prevailed in the United Kingdom in the post-war years may have influenced his decision. His heir, the 5th Earl, came to an understanding with the National Trust and took up residence at Powis Castle. Since the death of the 6th Earl (Christian Victor Charles Herbert) in 1988, the Earl and his family no longer reside in Powis castle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, George Herbert, 4th Earl Of 1862 births 1952 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Earls of Powis Montgomeryshire Militia officers Lord-lieutenants of Shropshire George People from Mayfair Younger sons of earls