Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue (12 March 1753 – 16 June 1841) was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...

, created

Earl Fortescue Earl Fortescue is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1789 for Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Baron Fortescue (1753–1841), a member of parliament for Beaumaris and Lord-Lieutenant of Devon. History The Earls Fortescue desce ...

in 1789. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from th ...

from 1784 to 1785.

Origins

He was the son of Matthew Fortescue, 2nd Baron Fortescue, younger half-brother of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clinton (1696–1751), 1st

Baron Fortescue Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and 14th

Baron Clinton Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. Created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, it is the seventh-oldest barony in England. Creation and early history The title was granted in 1298 to Sir John de Clinton, a knight who had served ...

Residences

Earl Fortescue's residences were as follows: * Castle Hill,

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 ...

, North Devon. * Ebrington Manor, Gloucestershire. *

Weare Giffard Weare Giffard is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district, in north Devon. The church and manor house are situated 2 1/2 miles NW of Great Torrington in Devon. Most of the houses within the parish are situated ...

Hall, Devon.

Marriage and progeny

Lord Fortescue married Hester Grenville (1767–1847), daughter of the Prime Minister

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an ...

, on 10 May 1782. They had nine children: * Lady Hester Fortescue (1784-1873), married

Peter King, 7th Baron King Peter King, 7th Baron King of Ockham, Surrey (1775–1833) was an English aristocrat, politician and economic writer. Life Born 31 August 1775, baptised 18 September 1789, he was eldest son of Peter King, 6th Baron King, by Charlotte, daughter ...

and had issue. *

Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue KG, PC (13 February 1783 – 14 September 1861), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1789 to 1841, was a British Whig politician. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1839 to 1841. Background and educa ...

(1783–1861) * Captain Hon. George Mathew Fortescue (1791–1877), married Lady Louisa Ryder, 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 Ryder ...

and had issue, including Louia Susan, who married William Westby Moore of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. * Lady Mary Fortescue (15 September 1792, Filleigh, Devon – 12 August 1874,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

). Married 15 February 1823 to Sir James Hamlyn Williams of Edwinsford, Carms., and Clovelly, Devon. Buried at Talley, Carms., in the family vault at her special request). * Rev. Hon. John Fortescue (1796–1869) * Lady Elizabeth Fortescue (1801–1867), married

William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon PC (14 April 1807 – 18 November 1888), styled Lord Courtenay between 1835 and 1859, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1866 to 1867 and as Presid ...

and had issue. * Lady Catherine Fortescue (1787 – 20 May 1854), said to have been deaf and dumb. She married in 1820 (as his second wife) her lifelong friend Hon. Newton Fellowes (1772 – January 1854), of Eggesford House, Devon, who became in the last year of his life 4th Earl of Portsmouth.Axe, Matthew, Chapman, Lesley & Miller, Sharon. The Lost Houses of Eggesford, Eggesford, 1995, pp. 18–21 They had issue, 1 son (the 5th Earl of Portsmouth b. 1825, from whom all later earls are descended) and three daughters. Her husband's two sons by his first wife both died young and/or unmarried before their father inherited the title. * Lady Anne Fortescue (died 1864), married

George Wilbraham George Wilbraham, FRS (8 March 1779 – 24 January 1852) of Delamere, Cheshire was an English Whig MP. He was the eldest surviving son of George Wilbraham, MP of Delamere Lodge (but previously of Nantwich, Cheshire) and educated at Rugby Schoo ...

and had issue. * Lady Eleanor Fortescue (1798–1847), chest tomb in

Church, Devon.

References

External links

* * http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/fortescue-hugh-1783-1861 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl 1753 births 1841 deaths Fortescue,1 Lord-Lieutenants of Devon Hugh,1 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 Devon Militia officers