John Perceval, 4th Earl of Egmont (13 August 1767 – 31 December 1835), styled Viscount Perceval from 1770 to 1822, was a British peer and politician. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to enter 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 ...

in 1790, but entered 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 ...

when he succeeded to the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in February 1822.

Early life

Lord Egmont was the only son of

John Perceval, 3rd Earl of Egmont John James Perceval, 3rd Earl of Egmont (29 January 1737/38 – 25 February 1822), styled Viscount Perceval from 1748 to 1770, was a British politician.Charles Mosley, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes'' ...

and his wife, Isabella Powlett. His father served as MP for

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

from 1762 to 1768. His paternal grandparents were

John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont (24 or 25 February 17114 December 1770) was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. Of Anglo-Irish background, he sat in both the Irish and Briti ...

and, his first wife, Lady Catherine Cecil (a daughter of the 5th Earl of Salisbury). After his grandmother died in 1752, his grandfather married Catherine Compton (sister of the

7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

and 8th Earls of Northampton), with whom he had another three sons and six daughters. His maternal grandparents were

Lord Nassau Powlett Lord Nassau Powlett (23 June 1698 – 24 August 1741) was an English army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1720 to 1734 and in 1741. Early life Powlett was the only son of Charles Powlett, 2nd Duke of Bolton by his ...

(son of the 2nd Duke of Bolton and Henrietta Crofts, herself a granddaughter of King Charles II) and Lady Isabella Tufton (a daughter of the 6th Earl of Thanet).Charles Mosley, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes'' (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...

, 2003), volume 1, page 1287.

Career

With the support of his father, he contested

constituency, as

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Perceval, in the 1790 election in opposition to the Government. However, the interest of the 4th Earl Poulett carried the day, returning the Earl's brother Vere Poulett and John Langston with 186 and 161 votes, respectively, while Lord Perceval only drew 87. Lord Perceval succeeded his father as

Earl of Egmont Earl of Egmont was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created in 1733 for John Perceval, 1st Viscount Perceval. It became extinct with the death of the twelfth earl in 2011. History The Percevals claimed descent from an ancient Anglo-Norman ...

in 1822. As his father also held the British peerage of Baron Lovel and Holland, he entered the

British 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, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest extant institutions in the world, its origi ...

. He inherited the family seat,

Enmore Castle Enmore Castle is a historic building in the village of Enmore, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building. Construction Enmore was the seat of the family of William Malet who built a great house, although the original date of constr ...

, in Enmore,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. In 1833, he was forced to sell the castle to Nicholas Broadmead to pay off debts. Broadmead, a solicitor with shares in the Parrett Navigation Company and the

Ivelchester and Langport Navigation The Ivelchester and Langport Navigation was a scheme to make the River Ivel (now called the River Yeo) navigable from Langport to Ilchester, in Somerset, England. Work started in 1795, but the scheme was effectively bankrupt by 1797, and cons ...

, demolished a large portion of the building the following year, converting the remaining parts of the building into a three-storeyed house.

Personal life

On 10 March 1792, the then Viscount Perceval married Bridget Wynn, daughter of Lt.-Col.

Glyn Wynn Glyn Wynn ( 1739–1793) was a Welsh soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 22 years from 1768 to 1790. Early life and army Wynn was the son of Sir John Wynn, 2nd Baronet and his wife Sydney Williams-Wynn, daughter of Sir Watk ...

, MP for

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

, and Bridget Pugh (a daughter of Edward Philip Pugh of Penrhyn-Creuddyn). His father disapproved of the marriage, and did not attempt to put him up as a candidate again. They had one son: * Henry Frederick Joseph James Perceval, 5th Earl of Egmont (1796–1841), who was briefly MP for East Looe in 1826; he married Louisa Maria d'Orselet, the daughter of Comte d'Orselet in 1828. His wife Bridget,

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Egmont, died on 24 January 1826 and he, Lord Egmont, died on 31 December 1835 and was succeeded 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egmont, John Perceval, 4th Earl of 1767 births 1835 deaths Earls of Egmont John, 4th Earl