Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg (27 April 1699 – 8 February 1774) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

peer. Fauconberg was the son and heir of Thomas Belasyse, 3rd Viscount Fauconberg, by his wife Bridget Gage, a daughter of Sir John Gage, 4th Baronet. He was raised as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, but made a public abjuration of the faith and converted to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Fauconberg succeeded to his father's viscountcy on 26 November 1718. He served as a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household, the term being fir ...

to George II between 1738 and 1760, and was made a member of the Privy Council. On 16 June 1756, he was created Earl Fauconberg in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. He married Catherine Betham, the daughter of John Betham, on 5 August 1726. He was succeeded in his titles 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 ...

.George Kearsley, ''Kearsley's Complete peerage, of England, Scotland and Ireland'', Volume 1 (1799), 126.

References

} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fauconberg, Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl 1699 births 1774 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Viscounts Fauconberg