Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Winchilsea FSA (1657 – 30 September 1726) was an English peer and

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politician, who was styled Hon. Heneage Finch until 1712.

Biography

He was the son of

Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea ( – 28 September 1689) was an English peer and diplomat who served as the English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1660 to 1669. Early life Finch was the only surviving son of Thomas Finch, 2nd Ear ...

and Lady Mary Seymour, daughter of

William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wife ...

(grandson of

Lady Katherine Grey Katherine Seymour, Countess of Hertford ( Lady Katherine Grey; 25 August 1540 – 26 January 1568) was a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she emerged as a prospective successor to her cousin, Eliz ...

). He was born on 3 January 1657 and baptised on 11 January in the same year. The Finch family were traditional royalists. At the Restoration, King Charles II recommended Winchelsea to be ambassador to the Porte. He arrived at Constantinople on 17 January 1661. He was eventually recalled by letter on 19 December 1667. He did not leave Turkey until early 1669. In 1683, he was appointed a

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

to the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

and a captain in the Duke's Halberdiers, and was created a D.C.L of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In 1685, he retained his appointment as Groom of the Bedchamber when York succeeded as James II, was commissioned a colonel, and appointed a deputy lieutenant for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He represented

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

in James' only Parliament. He lost his posts upon the deposition of James but remained close friends with his 'brother of the bedchamber' Captain David Lloyd until the latter's death in 1723. In April 1690, Heneage Finch was arrested and charged with Jacobitism for attempting to join the exiled James II in France. It was a difficult time for Jacobites and Nonjurors (those who had refused to take the oath of allegiance, such as the Finches), as their arrests and punishments were abusive. Because of his arrest, Heneage and his wife Anne Finch remained separated from April until November of that year. Much of her poetry from this period reflects the pain of this period of separation. The charge against him was later dismissed, but Heneage would refer to this period as 'a great escape'. Finch's work as editor of his wife's poems has yet to be fully studied. Certainly, a significant proportion of the two extant manuscript copies of Anne Finch's work are in Heneage's hand, with further errata noted in his own diaries. He inherited 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 ...

from his nephew

Charles Finch, 4th Earl of Winchilsea Charles Finch, 4th Earl of Winchilsea PC (26 September 1672 – 16 August 1712) was a British peer and Member of Parliament, styled Viscount Maidstone until 1689. He was the son of William Finch, Lord Maidstone (son of Heneage Finch, 3rd Ea ...

in 1712. He refused to take the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

and declined his seat in the House of Lords. The titles came with a further cost. The Finches had to assume Charles Finch's financial and legal burdens. Years of trials began in July 1713, with the first being held before Lord Harcourt. The issues were eventually settled in the Finches' favour in 1720, but not before the couple had endured nearly seven years of emotional strain. During this period, Heneage and Anne Finch faced renewed strains resulting from court politics. When Queen Anne died in 1714, she was succeeded by George I. Subsequently, a Whig government, which was hostile to the Jacobite cause, rose to power. The Jacobite rebellion, which took place in Scotland in 1715, further aggravated the tense political situation. The Finches became greatly concerned about their safety, especially after a friend, Matthew Prior, who shared their political sympathies, was sent to prison. Chosen a FSA in 1724, he died in 1726, having suffered from large gallstones and pain for many years. Having had no children by his wife, Anne Kingsmill (1661–1720), he was succeeded by his half-brother John Finch, 6th Earl of Winchilsea, but he also died childless 3 years later, the title and the estate then passed to their second cousin

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory politician and peer who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Known as Lord Nottingham until 1729, then as Lord Winchilsea. ...

and then 7th Earl of Winchilsea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winchilsea, Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of 1657 births 1726 deaths *03 Deputy lieutenants of Kent *05 Finch, Heneage Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Heneage Alumni of Wye College