Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, PC (c. 1705 – 6 March 1758), known as Lord Barnard between 1753 and 1754, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1726 to 1753 when he succeeded to a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Baron Barnard Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle in the Bishopric of Durham, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1698 for Christopher Vane, who had previously served as a member of parliament for County Durham and Boroughbridge. Vane w ...

Life

Vane was the eldest son of Gilbert Vane, 2nd Baron Barnard, of

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...

Staindrop Staindrop is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately north east of Barnard Castle, on the A688 road. According to the 2011 UK census the population was 1,310, this includes the hamlets of Cleatlam ...

, county Durham, and his wife, Mary Randyll, daughter of Morgan Randyll of Chilworth, Surrey. His sister

Anne Vane Anne Vane (17 September 1710 – 27 March 1736), also known as "the Hon. Mrs. Vane," was a maid of honour to Caroline of Ansbach and mistress to Caroline's son Frederick, Prince of Wales. Life Vane was the first daughter of Gilbert Vane, second ...

was a mistress to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

. He was educated privately. He married Lady Grace Fitzroy, daughter of

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland Charles Palmer, later Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, Chief Butler of England (18 June 16629 September 1730) was an English nobleman and illegitimate son of Charles II. He was styled Baron Limerick before 1670 ...

, on 2 September 1725.

Career

Vane contested

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

as a Whig on his family's interest at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

, but was unsuccessful. He was brought in by the ministry as Member of Parliament for Launceston at a by-election on 31 May 1726. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he planned to stand for county Durham, but stood down to avoid splitting the Whig vote, and the ministry found him another seat at

St Mawes St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

where he was returned as MP unopposed. He went into opposition, and attached himself to his wife's first cousin William Pulteney. He never spoke in the House, which was said to be because of 'a monstrous tongue which lolled out of his mouth'. He was returned again in a contest for St Mawes at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

, on the Boscawen interest, and, at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

, was returned unopposed as MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

on the Aislabie interest. After Walpole's fall in 1742, Pulteney procured for Vane a lucrative sinecure as Vice-Treasurer and

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. History The post was ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and he also became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

(Ireland) in 1742. Vane lost his Irish post when Pulteney and his adherents were turned out in December 1744. He was finally returned for county Durham at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...

as a government supporter. He became a follower of his kinsman, the Duke of Newcastle, cultivating him so assiduously that in 1749 he was appointed a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second L ...

which he retained to 1755. On 27 April 1753 he succeeded to the peerage as 3rd

on the death of his father and became

Lord Lieutenant of Durham This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Durham. Lord lieutenants *Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland 1552–? * Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon 2 August 1586 – 1595 *''vacant'' * Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Som ...

from 1753 to 1758. He was rewarded by Newcastle with an earldom, as 1st

Earl of Darlington Earl of Darlington is a title that has been created twice, each time in the Peerage of Great Britain. Baroness von Kielmansegg, half-sister of King George I, was made countess of Darlington in 1722. This creation was for life only, and so the t ...

and 1st Viscount Barnard on 3 April 1754 and held the post of Joint

Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to Charles II of England, and was responsible for part of the financin ...

between 1755 and 1756.

Death and legacy

Vane died on 6 March 1758. He was succeeded in his titles by his son

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 ...

. With his wife Grace, he had seven children: # Lady Mary Vane # Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington, (17268 Sep 1792) # Lady Anne Vane, a botanist (25 June 172618 February 1776) # Hon. Frederick Vane, b. 26 June 1732 #Hon. Charles Vane # Hon. Raby Vane (2 January 1736 – 23 October 1769) #Lady Harriet Vane (27 January 1739January 1759)''The Register Book of Burials in the Parish of St James in Westminster in the County of Middlesex. Volume IV. 1754–1812''. 23 January 1759.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darlington, Henry Vane, 1st Earl of 1700s births 1758 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of Durham Vane, Henry Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Paymasters of the Forces Whig (British political party) MPs British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1747–1754

Barons Barnard People from Staindrop Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Launceston Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for St Mawes