Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue (13 February 1783 – 14 September 1861), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1789 to 1841, was a British Whig politician. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

from 1839 to 1841.

Early life

Fortescue was the eldest son of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue and Hester Grenville, daughter of Prime Minister

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the young George III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solv ...

. He was educated at Eton and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

."Fortescue" in Rosemary Lauder, ''Devon Families'' (Tiverton, 2002), pp. 75–82

Career

Fortescue (as Ebrington) first became an MP for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, just after his 21st birthday; and he sat for various constituencies almost continuously until 1839, when he was summoned to 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 ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...

in his father's junior title of Baron Fortescue. Ebrington had entered Parliament in the 1800s as a

Grenvillite The Grenville Whigs (or Grenvillites) were a name given to several British political factions of the 18th and the early 19th centuries, all of which were associated with the important Grenville family of Buckinghamshire. Background The Grenvi ...

connection, belonging to that section of the Whig party that supported the war with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

; but in the following decade (in a generational shift) he broke away from them to join the Young Whigs. Fearing the corruptive effects of militarism on British society, the latter sympathised with the liberalising side of the French Revolution: Ebrington would later publish his conversations with Napoleon in his Elba exile. After the war, in 1817, Ebrington confirmed his breach with the bulk of his Grenville relatives,Fortescue, Hugh
/ref> and emerged as a prominent pro-Reform Whig—albeit one somewhat unusually rooted in a liberal, morally intense Anglicanism,—which he combined with an interest in political economy. Ebrington strongly condemned the

Six Acts Following the Peterloo Massacre on 16 August 1819, the government of the United Kingdom under Lord Liverpool acted to prevent any future disturbances by the introduction of new legislation, the so-called Six Acts aimed at suppressing any meetings ...

as ”the most alarming attack ever made by Parliament upon the liberties and constitution of the country”; and during the 1820s, he would repeatedly promote and vote for Parliamentary Reform. When the Whigs finally came to power in 1830, Ebrington played a significant part in the passing of the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. After the Commons passed the second bill, Ebrington convened a meeting of 100 reformist Whigs, urging strong measures should the Lords reject it, and acting as leader of a pressure group lobbying the Whig leadership: Ebrington himself appeared on a list of potential peer-creations that was drawn up to increase the pressure on the Lords. When the Government resigned in the face of Tory intransigence in the House of Lords, Ebrington took the lead, despite leadership hesitations, in moving that the House of Commons implore the King “to call to his councils such persons only as will carry into effect unimpaired in all its essential provisions that Bill for reforming the Representation of the people which has recently passed this House”. During the 1830s, Ebrington led a strong body of Reformist Whigs; and he played a prominent role in establishing Whig party organisation under the new electoral system. In 1839, as Baron Fortescue, he served under

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

, until in 1841 he succeeded his father in the earldom. He went on to serve under

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Household of the British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of the Court and he takes precedence over all other officers of the househ ...

from 1846 to 1850; was sworn of the Privy Council in 1839; and created a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

in 1856. Fortescue was also

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 1st Devon Militia, headquartered in Exeter Castle.

West Buckland School

HughFortescueEarlFortescueKGWestBuckland

In 1858, together with the Rev. Joseph Lloyd Brereton, a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

and Rector of West Buckland, Fortescue founded the Devon County School (now called

West Buckland School West Buckland School is a private co-educational day and boarding school in West Buckland, Devon in the English public school tradition. It comprises a senior school, preparatory school, and a nursery. It is a relatively high performing sch ...

), on land he donated between

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and East Buckland, previously part of his North Devon estate centred at

Filleigh Filleigh is a small village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, on the southern edge of Exmoor, west of South Molton. The village centre's street was, until the 1980s opening of the North Devon Link Road, the main highway between ...

. The school was intended to provide a top quality education to local boys, including therefore the sons of many of his tenant farmers; it continues today as an independent private school. A marble bust of Fortescue, wearing the Garter Star, sculpted in 1861 by Edward Bowring Stephens, stands on the staircase of the school's Memorial Hall.

Personal life

Fortescue married firstly in 1817 Susan Ryder (died 1827), a daughter of

Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, PC, FSA (22 December 176226 December 1847) was a prominent British politician of the Pittite faction and the Tory party. Background and education Born in London, Ryder was the eldest son of Nathaniel Ryd ...

. They had three sons: * Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue (1818–1905) *Hon. John Fortescue, MP *Hon.

Dudley Fortescue The Honourable Dudley Francis Fortescue (4 August 1820 – 2 March 1909) was a British Liberal politician. Background Fortescue was the third son of Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue, and Lady Susan, daughter of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Har ...

, MP In 1841, fourteen years after the death of his first wife, Fortescue married secondly Elizabeth Geale (died May 1896), a daughter of Piers Geale and the widow of

Sir Marcus Somerville, 4th Baronet Sir Marcus Somerville, 4th Baronet (1772 – 11 July 1831) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Somerville was the son of Sir James Quaile Somerville, 3rd Baronet and Catherine Crofton. He was the Member of Parliament for County Meath in the Irish Hous ...

(c. 1775–1831). Fortescue died in September 1861, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Hugh Fortescue.

Portraits

A statue of Fortescue stands in Exeter Castle Yard, and his marble bust is displayed on the staircase of the Memorial Hall in West Buckland School. 49 of the Fortescue family portraits were saved from the disastrous fire at Castle Hill of 9 March 1934 with minor smoke damage, but were shortly afterwards all destroyed by fire when the delivery lorry returning them from the restorer caught fire whilst parked overnight pending their return to Castle Hill.

Arms

Fortescue's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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 ''azure, a bend engrailled argent plain cottised or'', and the Motto is ''Forte Scutum Salus Ducum'' ("A Strong Shield is the Salvation of Leaders").Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.461

Gallery

File:Fortescue arms.svg, Arms of Fortescue File:FortescueStatueInauguration1863Exeter.jpg, From

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

: "Inauguration of the Fortescue Memorial in the Castle Yard, Exeter 1863" Image:wbs-foundation-stone.jpg, Foundation stone laid at West Buckland School by Earl Fortescue File:WestBuckland.jpg, "Devon County School, West Buckland, recently opened by Earl Fortescue", ''

'', 1861 File:Ebrington(d1861).jpg, Portrait of Hugh Fortescue when Viscount Ebrington, painted between 1826–1841 by Frederick Christian Lewis Sr, after Joseph Slater. National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG D20597

Sources

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, Hugh 2nd Earl Fortescue Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Fortescue, 2 Founders of English schools and colleges Knights of the Garter 1783 births 1861 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Barnstaple Lord-lieutenants of Devon Fellows of the Royal Society UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs who inherited peerages Hugh, 2 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Devon Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock Devon Militia officers Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge