John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (30 June 1767 – 17 March 1831), styled Lord Clifton until 1781,

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of the

Manor of Cobham, Kent Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

, was a British peer and cricketer.

Early life

He was the son of

John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley (1 October 1719 – 31 July 1781), styled ''The Hon. John Bligh'' between 1721 and 1747, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British parliamentarian. Background Bligh was the son of John Bligh, 1st Earl ...

, and succeeded his father as earl on the latter's death in 1781. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 16 November 1784. On 3 July 1793, he was made a DCL.

Career

He resided at

Cobham Hall Cobham Hall is an English country house in the county of Kent, England. The grade I listed building is one of the largest and most important houses in Kent, re-built as an Elizabethan prodigy house by William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham (1527� ...

, near

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

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 ...

, and was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the Chatham and Dartford Regiment of Local Militia in 1809. John Bligh was a noted amateur

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who made 27 known appearances in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

matches between 1789 and 1796. He and his brother, the Honourable (later General) Edward Bligh, were staunch supporters of Kent cricket.

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted English amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as wel ...

, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862 The Bligh brothers, who originated from

Athboy Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of Dublin. T ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, have been called "the first Irish first-class cricketers".

Personal life

On 26 August 1791, he married Elizabeth Brownlow (d. 22 December 1831), daughter of William Brownlow and his second wife Catherine Hall, by whom he had seven children: * Lady Catherine Bligh (1792–1812) * John Bligh, Lord Clifton (1793–1793) *

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley, FRS (25 February 1795 – 12 February 1835), styled Lord Clifton until 1831, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and politician. Background Darnley was the second but eldest surviving son ...

(1795–1835) * Lady Mary Bligh (1796–1823), who married her half-first cousin,

Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan PC (17 April 1795 – 30 April 1847), was an Anglo-Irish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1818 to 1832, during which time he recanted his Orange Order opposition to Catholic emancipation. He was ...

in 1822. * Hon. William Bligh (1797–1807) * Hon. Sir

John Duncan Bligh The Hon. Sir John Duncan Bligh KCB, DL (11 October 1798 – 8 May 1872) was a British diplomat. Early life Born in London, he was the second son of John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley and his wife, Elizabeth Brownlow, the third daughter of Anglo ...

(1798–1872), a diplomat in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. * Lady Elizabeth Bligh (d. 1872), who married her first cousin Rev. John Brownlow in 1833. Lord Darnley died at Cobham Hall on 17 March 1831 and was succeeded in the earldom by his son

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

Legacy

Darnley Bay Darnley Bay is a large inlet in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is a southern arm of the Amundsen Gulf. The bay measures long, and wide at its mouth. The Parry Peninsula is to the west and Halcro Point is to the east. The Canadian Shi ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, Canada was named for him by John Richardson.Gazetteer of the Northwest Territories

Notes

References

External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnley, John Bligh, 4th Earl of 1767 births 1831 deaths John 04 Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Kent Militia officers English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 Kent cricketers People educated at Eton College Irish cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Fellows of the Royal Society Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Old Etonians cricketers Non-international England cricketers John 04 Barons Clifton Hampshire and Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers