John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (27 October 1835 – 13 August 1910), known as Viscount Althorp from 1845 to 1857 (and also known as the "Red Earl" because of his distinctive long red beard), was a British
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
politician under, and close friend of, prime minister
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
. He was twice
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 ...
.
Background and education
Spencer was the son of
Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer, by his first wife Georgiana, daughter of
William Poyntz. The prominent Whig politician
John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, was his uncle and
Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer
Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, (30 October 185726 September 1922), styled The Honourable Charles Spencer until 1905 and known as Viscount Althorp between 1905 and 1910, was a British courtier and Liberal politician from the Spencer ...
, his half-brother. He was educated at
Harrow and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, from which he graduated in 1857.
Political career, 1857–1885
Almost immediately after leaving Cambridge Spencer was elected to parliament for
South Northamptonshire as a Liberal, before departing for a tour of North America. He returned in December 1857, and within a few days his father died, leaving him as the new Earl Spencer. He was sworn of the
Privy Council in 1859 and made a
Knight of the Garter in 1864. Spencer split from other whiggish aristocratic Liberals in 1866 on the issue of
Russell's reform bill, which he supported, and his loyalty was rewarded by his appointment as
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 ...
when Gladstone returned to power in 1868. Ireland came to be a major preoccupation of the remainder of Spencer's long political career. In this first tenure as Lord Lieutenant, he had to deal with implementation of the
disestablishment of the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
in 1869 and of the
Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870, both of which measures he strongly supported. Spencer, in fact, went further than most of his ministerial colleagues, including Gladstone himself, in arguing for the setting up of government tribunals to enforce fair rents on Irish landlords (a reform which would eventually be introduced by the
Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881
The Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 49) was the second Land Acts (Ireland), Irish land act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Background
The Liberal Party (UK), Liberal government of William Ewart Gladstone had previ ...
).
Spencer, along with the successive
Chief Secretaries for Ireland,
Chichester Fortescue and Spencer's own cousin,
Lord Hartington, supported coercive legislation to deal with the increase in agrarian crime, but at the same time supported a policy of releasing
Fenian
The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
prisoners when possible. Spencer also had to deal during his tenure with Gladstone's Irish Universities Bill. In spite of Spencer's efforts to secure the support of the Catholic hierarchy for the bill, they opposed it, and it went down to defeat in the commons in March 1873. The government lingered on for a further year, until the election defeat of February 1874, when Spencer found himself out of office. When Gladstone returned to power for his second government in 1880, Spencer joined the Cabinet as
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...
, having responsibility for education policy, and was partially responsible for several major educational reforms of the period. The increasingly tense situation in Ireland, however, commanded an increasing portion of Spencer's time. In May 1882, Gladstone's decision to release the Irish Nationalist leader
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...
from prison led to the resignation of the hardline Chief Secretary for Ireland,
W. E. Forster. As a result, Spencer, while retaining his seat in the cabinet and position as Lord President, was again appointed Lord Lieutenant to take charge of the government's Irish policy.
Ireland

Spencer and his new chief secretary, Gladstone's nephew and Hartington's brother
Lord Frederick Cavendish, crossed to Ireland on 5 May, but Cavendish and the permanent under-secretary,
Thomas Henry Burke, were
murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...
by extremist Irish nationalists the next day in
Phoenix Park
The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
, Dublin, while walking to the
Viceregal Lodge where Spencer was staying. Spencer, assisted by
George Trevelyan, his new secretary, was now faced with the difficult task of pacifying Ireland. Spencer acted quickly to reform the Irish police forces and destroy the secret societies which had been responsible for the murders.
He attracted heavy criticism for his poor handling of a group of
murders
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...
in
Maamtrasna – one of the supposed criminals,
Myles Joyce, had been hanged while still proclaiming his innocence, leading to a great deal of condemnation of Spencer from Irish Nationalist sources. The end of Spencer's second tenure as viceroy saw the successful visit of the
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...
to Ireland, but Spencer's efforts to get the
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
to agree to the creation of a royal residence in Ireland were unsuccessful.
Political career, 1885–1905
By 1885, Gladstone's second government was in a very weak position, largely as a result of the death of
Charles Gordon, and Spencer's efforts to renew the Irish Crimes Act and secure passage of a land purchase bill ran into opposition from the radicals in the Cabinet -
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
and
Sir Charles Dilke - who hoped to use the opportunity of the legislation to pass a greater measure of local self-government for Ireland. The issue remained up in the air when Gladstone's government fell in early June. During the interval between the fall of Gladstone's second government and the beginning of his third, in February 1886, Spencer became a convert to
Irish Home Rule, unlike most of the other leading Whigs, who deserted to
Liberal Unionism. Spencer would serve as Lord President in Gladstone's third government, and was instrumental in the formulation of Gladstone's home rule legislation. After the defeat of the bill, Spencer joined his chief in opposition. Spencer's position on home rule led to his social ostracism by other members of his class, including the Queen herself, and spent much of his period in opposition getting his personal finances in order. He also acted from 1888 as chairman of the
Northamptonshire County Council, and continued to work with Gladstone and other liberal leaders in determining the shape of a home rule bill in the next liberal government.

When the Liberals returned to power in August 1892, Spencer was appointed
First Lord of the Admiralty
First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
. Gladstone's opposition to Spencer's policy, following the recommendations of the
Sea Lords, of naval expansion, led to Gladstone's final resignation in March 1894. Gladstone himself nonetheless hoped that Spencer would be his successor, but the Queen did not seek his advice, and chose
Lord Rosebery instead. Spencer continued to serve under Rosebery, and went out when the Liberal government fell in June 1895. In his later years, Spencer remained active in politics. Spencer was a key support for the Liberal leader in the Commons,
Henry Campbell-Bannerman (who had previously been Spencer's Chief Secretary at the end of his second vice-regency) during the
Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
, holding to the Liberal leader's middle course between the active anti-war position of the Radicals and the pro-war position of Rosebery's Liberal Imperialists. Following
Lord Kimberley's death in 1902, Spencer was elected Liberal leader in 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 ...
. Despite health problems, he was rumoured as late as February 1905 to be a potential candidate for Liberal prime minister should the Liberals soon return to power, as by then seemed likely as a result of the Unionist split over tariff reform. However, on 11 October of that year he suffered a major stroke which ended his political career, only two months shy of the Liberals' return to power.
Rifle Volunteers
An
invasion scare in 1859 led to a War Office decision to call for
local Volunteer Corps to be established. The
War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
issued a Circular Letter on 12 May inviting volunteers, and within three days Spencer had offered to raise a company from his tenants at
Althorp. It became the
1st (Althorp Rifles) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps with Spencer appointed to command in the rank of captain on 29 August 1859.
The 1st Northampton RVC sang a song to the tune of
The British Grenadiers
"The British Grenadiers" is a traditional march (music), marching song of British and Commonwealth military units whose badge of identification features a grenade, the tune of which dates from the 17th century. It is the regimental quick march ...
:
::''Now every man of sense, Sir,
Should welcome with three cheers
And rally round Lord Spencer
and the Althorp Volunteers.''
After the separate Northamptonshire RVCs were formed into an administrative battalion the following year, Spencer was promoted to major on 2 April 1861. When the battalion held its annual camp at Althorp in 1864, Spencer's hospitality included providing his own cook to direct the officers' mess.
Also in 1859, Spencer was a leading member of the committee that established the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
, and hosted the committee's meetings at
Spencer House. The Association's first competitive meetings were held at
Wimbledon Common
Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Co ...
, part of Spencer's manor of Wimbledon. In 1867 he served on a War Office committee to investigate breech-loading rifles.
Lord Spencer was appointed to the
honorary colonelcy of the
Northamptonshire Imperial Yeomanry (later the Northamptonshire Yeomanry) on 21 May 1902.
Other public appointments
In 1865 Spencer chaired a royal commission on cattle plague, alongside
Lord Cranborne,
Robert Lowe and
Lyon Playfair.
Lord Spencer was
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of Manchester's
Victoria University.
During a visit to
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
on 12 July 1902, he was presented with the
Freedom of the Borough of Exeter.
Courtier
Spencer served, for most of the period from 1859 to 1866, in the
royal household, as a groom first to
Prince Albert and then to the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
. In 1876 he hosted
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...
who had come to Northamptonshire for a hunting party. The empress stayed at
Easton Neston, which she rented through her sister, ex-queen
Maria of the
Two Sicilies.
Personal life
Lord Spencer married
Charlotte Seymour, daughter of Frederick Charles William Seymour and granddaughter of
Lord Hugh Seymour, on 8 July 1858. The marriage was recorded as childless. Lady Spencer died in October 1903, aged 68. Spencer died at
Althorp in August 1910, aged 74, and was succeeded by his half-brother,
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
.
In 1864, Spencer, as
lord of the manor
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
of
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
through his ownership of
Wimbledon House
Wimbledon manor house; the residence of the lord of the manor, was an English country house at Wimbledon, Surrey, now part of Greater London. The manor house was over the centuries exploded, burnt and several times demolished. The first known man ...
, attempted to get a
private parliamentary bill to
enclose Wimbledon Common
Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Co ...
for the creation of a new park with a house and gardens and to sell part for building. In a landmark decision for English
common land
Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
, and following an enquiry, permission was refused and a board of conservators was established in 1871
to take ownership of the common and preserve it in its natural condition.
Coat of arms
Ancestry
Notes
References
* Ian F. W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, .
* Peter Gordon, "Spencer, John Poyntz, fifth Earl Spencer (1835–1910)," ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', 2004–2007.
* Peter Gordon (ed.), ''The Red Earl: The Papers of the Fifth Earl Spencer 1835-1910'', Northamptonshire Record Society, 1981 & 86 (2 vols.)
* Lt-Col Russell Gurney, ''History of the Northamptonshire Regiment 1742–1934'', Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1935.
* Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, John Spencer, 5th Earl
1835 births
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Althorp, John Spencer, Viscount
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Althorp, John Spencer, Viscount
Spencer, E5
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