Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, (30 January 180524 December 1875), styled Viscount Mahon between 1816 and 1855, was an English
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
and
Tory
A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
politician. He held political office under Sir
Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s but is best remembered for his contributions to cultural causes and for his historical writings.
Background and education
Born at
Walmer, Kent,
[royalsociety.org Mahon; Philip Henry (1805–1875); 5th Earl Stanhope](_blank)
Stanhope was the son of
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope, and the Hon. Catherine Stanhope, daughter of
Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington.
[ cites ] He was educated 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 ...
, graduating in 1827.
Political career
Stanhope entered
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1830, representing the
rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...
of
Wootton Basset in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
until the seat was disenfranchised in 1832. He was then re-elected to Parliament representing
Hertford
Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census.
The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
. He served under
Sir Robert Peel as
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between December 1834 and April 1835, and
Secretary to the Board of Control in 1845, but though he remained in 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 ...
till 1852, he made no special mark in politics.
He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1854.
Contributions to culture
Stanhope's chief achievements were in the fields of literature and antiquities. In 1842 took a prominent part in passing the
Literary Copyright Act 1842. From 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 ...
he was mainly responsible for proposing and organising the foundation of the
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
in 1856. A sculpted bust of Stanhope holds the central place over the entrance of the building, flanked by fellow historians and supporters
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...
and
Lord Macaulay. It was mainly due to him that in 1869 the
Historical Manuscripts Commission
The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (widely known as the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and abbreviated as the HMC to distinguish it from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England), was a United Kingdom Royal Co ...
was started. As president of the
Society of Antiquaries (from 1846 onwards), he called attention in England to the need of supporting the excavations at
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
. He was also president of the
Royal Literary Fund from 1863 until his death, a trustee of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and founded the
Stanhope essay prize at Oxford in 1855. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1827.
Writings
Of Lord Stanhope's own works, the most important were:
* ''Life of
Belisarius
BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...
'' (1829);
* ''History of the War of the Succession in Spain'' (1832), largely based on the
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope's papers;
*''History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles, 1713–1783'' (7 vols.) (1836–1853);
*''Life of the Right Honourable William Pitt'' (4 vols.) (1861–1862);
*''The Reign of
Queen Anne until the
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
, 1701–1713'' (1870, reprinted 1908);
*''Notes of Conversation with the
Duke of Wellington
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
, 1831–1851'' (1886, reprinted 1998)
A further little work was ''The Forty-Five'' a narrative of the
Jacobite rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
extracted from his "History of England." A new edition of this work was published in London by John Murray, Albemarle St., in 1869, which includes some letters of Prince
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
.
The two histories and the ''Life of William Pitt'' were considered of great importance on account of Stanhope's unique access to manuscript authorities on Pitt the Elder's life. His records of the Duke of Wellington's remarks during his frequent visits were also considered of great use to the historian as a substitute for Wellington's never-written memoirs. They were secretly transcribed because of Wellington's famous antagonism to the "truth" of recollected history. He also edited the letters that his distant cousin,
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, had written to his
natural son,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
. They were published between 1845 and 1853.
Stanhope's position as an historian was already established when he succeeded to the earldom in 1855, and in 1872 he was made an honorary associate of the
Institute of France
The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately 1 ...
.
Family
Lord Stanhope married Emily Harriet Kerrison, daughter of General
Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet, in 1834. She died in December 1873.
They had four sons and one daughter:
*
Arthur Stanhope, 6th Earl Stanhope (1838–1905)
*Hon.
Edward Stanhope (1840–1893), a well-known
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
politician
*Lady Mary Catharine Stanhope (3 February 184430 June 1876), married
Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, and had issue
*Hon. Henry Augustus Stanhope (4 December 184517 June 1933), married Hon. Mildred Vernon (died 1915) and had issue
*
Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale
Philip James Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale (8 December 1847 – 1 March 1923), was a British Liberal Party politician and philanthropist.
Background and early life
Stanhope was born in Marylebone, London. A member of an important political famil ...
(1847–1923)
Stanhope survived her by two years and died at Merivale,
Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
, Hampshire,
in December 1875, aged 70. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son,
Arthur
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur.
A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
.
References
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Notes
Attribution
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl
1805 births
1875 deaths
People from Walmer
19th-century English historians
Earls Stanhope
Stanhope, Philip Henry
People associated with the National Portrait Gallery
Trustees of the British Museum
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, Philip Henry
Stanhope, E5
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Presidents of the Oxford Union
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wootton Bassett
Rectors of the University of Aberdeen
International members of the American Philosophical Society