Giles Stephen Holland Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl of Ilchester (31 May 1874 – 29 October 1959), styled Lord Stavordale until 1905, was a British peer and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Background and education

Fox-Strangways was the eldest child of Henry Fox-Strangways, 5th Earl of Ilchester, by Lady Mary Eleanor Anne Dawson, daughter of

Richard Dawson, 1st Earl of Dartrey Richard Dawson, 1st Earl of Dartrey Order of St. Patrick, KP (7 September 1817 – 12 May 1897), styled the Hon. Richard Dawson until 1827 and the Lord Cremorne from 1827 to 1866, was an Anglo-Irish Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, and later Libera ...

. 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 ...

and was an officer in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, 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 ...

5 March 1902.

Career

For

Dorsetshire Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to th ...

Giles was justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant; he also received a

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1919. From 1922 to 1959, Lord Ilchester was a Trustee of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

(and Chairman from 1941–59) and of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

from 1931–59. He was also a Member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

from 1939–59 (and Chairman from 1943–59), President of the

London Library The London Library is an Subscription library, independent lending library in London, established in 1841. Membership is open to all, on payment of an annual subscription, with life and corporate memberships also available. As of December 2023 ...

from 1940–52, President of the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

from 1941–51, President of the

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a Bibliophilia, bibliophilic and Text publication society, publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe ...

in 1940 and a Steward of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

from 1937–40. Lord Ilchester was awarded for his work by being appointed a GBE in 1950.

Holland House

The family's London home,

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, situated in a country estate that is now Holland Park. It was built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope. The b ...

, was built in 1605 and burnt down during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. The building remained a burned-out ruin until 1952, when he sold the house and fifty-two acres to

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

for £250,000. The land and its gardens became

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

, a substantial public green space in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

. He wrote various works on the history of the house, including: *Fox-Strangways, Giles (6th Earl of Ilchester), ''The House of the Hollands 1605–1820'', London, 1937 *Fox-Strangways, Giles (6th Earl of Ilchester), ''Chronicles of Holland House'', 1820–1900, London, 1937 *Fox-Strangways, Giles (6th Earl of Ilchester), ''Catalogue of pictures belonging to the Earl of Ilchester at Holland House,'' London, 1904

Marriage and children

Lord Ilchester married Lady Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, only daughter of

Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry, (16 July 1852 – 8 February 1915), styled Viscount Castlereagh between 1872 and 1884, was a British Conservative politician, landowner and benefactor, who served in various ca ...

. The society wedding took place at

St Peter's Church, Eaton Square St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, is a Church of England parish church at the east end of Eaton Square, Belgravia, London. It is a neoclassical building designed by the architect Henry Hakewill with a hexastyle portico with Ionic columns and ...

, London, on 25 January 1902, and was conducted by the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

(Primate of All Ireland). It was attended by

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942) was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gove ...

, his daughter

Princess Margaret of Connaught Princess Margaret of Connaught (Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah; 15 January 1882 – 1 May 1920) was Crown Princess of Sweden as the first wife of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf. She was the elder daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of C ...

and

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...

. The couple had four children: * Lady Mary Theresa Fox-Strangways (1903–1948), married Sir John Herbert. * Edward Henry Charles James "Harry" Fox-Strangways, 7th Earl of Ilchester (1905–1964). *

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

John Denzil Fox-Strangways (1908–1961) * Lady (Mabel) Edith Fox-Strangways (1918-1995), married Ivor Grosvenor Guest, 2nd Viscount Wimborne. The Countess of Ilchester died in January 1956, aged 79. Lord Ilchester survived her by three years and died in October 1959, aged 85. His elder son

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

(known as "Harry") succeeded in the earldom.

Arms

The arms of the head of the Fox-Strangways family are

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed "Quarterly of four: 1st & 4th: Sable, two lions passant paly of six argent and gules" (Strangways); "2nd & 3rd: Ermine, on a chevron azure three foxes' heads and necks erased or on a canton of the second a fleur-de-lys of the third" (Fox).

References

Work cited

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilchester, Giles Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl Of 06 English philanthropists Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire 1874 births 1959 deaths People educated at Eton College Giles 06 Knights of the Legion of Honour Deputy lieutenants of Dorset People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England