Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden SA (22 January 1761 – 13 July 1836), styled The Honourable Henry Agar between 1776 and 1789, was an Irish politician.

Background

Born Henry Welbore Agar at Gowran Castle,

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is in the centre of Gowran, close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course are one kilometre from the centre of ...

, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, he was the eldest son of

James Agar, 1st Viscount Clifden James Agar, 1st Viscount Clifden (25 March 1734 – 1 January 1789), was an Peerage of Ireland, Irish peer and politician and held the office of one of the joint Postmasters General of Ireland. Family He was the second son of Henry Agar, a f ...

, son of Henry Agar and Anne, daughter of Welbore Ellis,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

, and sister of

Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, PC, FRS (15 December 1713 – 2 February 1802) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons for 53 years from 1741 to 1794 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Mendip. He held a number of po ...

. His mother was Lucia, daughter of Colonel John Martin, of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He was the nephew of Charles Agar, 1st Earl of Normanton.thepeerage.com Henry Welbore Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden of Gowran
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Political career

Agar was returned to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for both

and

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

in 1783, but chose to sit for the latter, a seat he held until 1789, when he succeeded his father in the Irish viscountcy and entered the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

. In 1785 he became the final

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

holder of the office of Clerk of the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...

, which title after his death was given to his deputies. In 1793 he was elected to the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as one of two representatives for

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small nei ...

. He succeeded his great-uncle Lord Mendip as second Baron Mendip in 1802 according to a special remainder in the

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

. This was an English peerage and forced him to resign from the House of Commons and enter 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 ...

. Two years later he assumed by Royal licence the surname of Ellis in lieu of Agar.

Family

Lord Clifden married Lady Caroline, daughter of

George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, (26 January 1739 – 29 January 1817), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Chamberlain between 1762 a ...

, in 1792. His only son

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 ...

became a successful politician and was created Baron Dover in his father's lifetime, but predeceased his father. Lady Clifden died at

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

in November 1813, aged 50. Lord Clifden remained a widower until his death at Hanover Square,

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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in July 1836, aged 75. He was succeeded in his titles by his grandson

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, the eldest son of Lord Dover.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifden, Henry Ellis, 2nd Viscount 1761 births 1836 deaths British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Agar, Henry Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Agar, Henry Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs who inherited peerages Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Agar-Robartes family People from Gowran Politicians from County Kilkenny