Richard Henry Piers Butler, 17th Viscount Mountgarret (8 November 1936 – 7 February 2004), was an Anglo-Irish

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, landowner and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

Early life

Born at

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

, the son of Piers Butler, 16th Viscount Mountgarret and Elizabeth Christie, he was educated at Eton and the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

Career

Commissioned into the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

in 1957, Butler served in Aden and Cyprus, retiring with the

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1964. Succeeding in 1966 to his family

viscountcy 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 s ...

(created in 1550), he served as President of Yorkshire Cricket Club between 1984 and 1989. In the words of his ''Guardian'' obituary, Yorkshire CCC was "a snakepit of competing egos, ruinously split over irGeoffrey Boycott's role, taking iscountMountgarret's large and entirely unapologetic personality to thump them all back together". Lord Mountgarret was also a member of MCC. Disposing of

Nidd Hall Nidd Hall was a 19th-century country house, now a hotel, in the village of Nidd, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building. It is constructed of coursed squared gritstone and ashlar with grey slate roofs. It is built in 3 storey ...

in the late 1960s to pay off

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

es, Mountgarret removed to the estate in South Stainley, near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

, later selling the lordship of the manor of

Stanbury Stanbury is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Haworth and Stanbury, in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 453. The name Stanbury translates ...

. In 1997, Viscount Mountgarret succeeded his kinsman

Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde James Hubert Theobald Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde, MBE (19 April 1899 – 25 October 1997) was the son of Reverend Lord Theobald Butler and Lady Annabella Brydon Gordon. He was the 7th and last holder of the title ''Marquess of Orm ...

, as Chief Butler and Chief of the Butlers of Ireland remaining

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the now dormant earldoms of Ormond (created 1328) and Ossory (created 1528).

Controversies

In 1982, Mountgarret fired a shotgun at a hot-air balloon manned by tourists which floated low over his Yorkshire grouse moor: he was fined £1,800 by Skipton magistrates. In the 1990s he was found to have mistreated his domestic staff, cowing them with "unpredictable, irrational and intolerable rages", according to the industrial tribunal which awarded £20,000 to his former

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

. As a

member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...

from 1966 until

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, his views included calls for the return of the

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, execution by lethal injection and the castration of rapists.

Marriages and children

Lord Mountgarret married three times. His first wife was Gillian Margaret Buckley (later Lady Howard de Walden), daughter of Cyril Francis Stewart Buckley and Audrey Burmester, on 20 May 1960 but divorced in 1970. Lord and Lady Mountgarret had two sons and a daughter: Earl of Carrick COA

* Piers James Richard Butler, 18th Viscount Mountgarret (b. 15 April 1961), married firstly Laura Brown Gary Williams (daughter of Albert Dickins Williams Jr, of Lake Forest, Ill., U.S.A.), in 1995 and divorced in 2000. :* Hon. Alexa Sterling Hadley Butler (b. 16 February 1997), married William Mortimer, son of

Jill Mortimer Jillian Wendy Mortimer (; born 20 March 1965) is a British Conservative Party politician, who as Member of Parliament (MP) represented Hartlepool from 2021 to 2024. Early and personal life Born on 20 March 1965 in Leeds, Jillian Sowerby's fat ...

:* Hon. Morgan Dickins Somerset Butler (b. 14 May 1999) :Piers James Richard Butler, 18th Viscount Mountgarret, married secondly Fenella Mary Fawcus, daughter of Mr and Mrs David Fawcus, on 30 December 2006. :* Hon. Venetia Ellice Cara Butler (b. 25 September 2013) :* Hon. Theo Oliver Stafford Butler (b. 11 October 2015),

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

. * Hon. Edmund Henry Richard Butler (b. 1 September 1962), married Adella I Lloyd, daughter of M. Lloyd, of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in 1988 and divorced in 1989. ** Hon. Tara Sequoia Butler (b. 2 June 1997) * Hon. Henrietta Elizabeth Alexandra Butler (b. 1964), married Robert Cluer, son of Henry Cluer, in 1991. Mountgarret later married Jennifer Susan Wills, a member of the Wills tobacco family, daughter of Capt. Douglas M Wills

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, on 29 April 1970, divorcing in 1983. He finally married Angela Ruth Porter, eldest daughter of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Thomas Porter, on 25 May 1983.

Death

Lord Mountgarret was found dead at the wheel of his car near

Ripley, North Yorkshire Ripley is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire in England, a few miles north of Harrogate on the A61 road towards Ripon. The village name derives from Old English and is believed to mean wood of the ''Hrype'' or Ripon people. Until 1 ...

, in 2004 at the age of 67. His elder son, Piers Butler, succeeded him in the family titles.www.parliament.uk
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountgarret, Richard Butler, 17th Viscount 1936 births 2004 deaths

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

People from Knaresborough Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Irish Guards officers People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Presidents of Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Mountgarret Mountgarret (or Mountgarrett, Mount Garrett; ) is a townland in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. It is known for the ruins of a medieval tower house that was built by the Bishop of Ferns in 1408. Location Mountgarrett is in the Electoral Div ...