William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

politician and an elder brother of 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 ...

. His surname changed twice: he was born with the name Wesley, which he changed to Wesley-Pole following an inheritance in 1781. In 1789 the spelling was updated to Wellesley-Pole, just as other members of the family had changed Wesley to Wellesley.

Origins

He was born as William Wesley, at Dangan Castle, the second son of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, by his marriage to Annie Hill, a daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon. He was the younger brother of Richard Wesley, later

Marquess Wellesley A marquess (; ) is a Nobility, nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife ...

, and the elder brother of

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 ...

, who became

, and of Henry, who became Lord Cowley.

Early life

Wesley was educated at Eton (1774–1776) before entering the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

, serving in the Navy between 1777 and 1783; most notably aboard HMS ''Lion'', a new ship launched in 1777, at the Battle of Grenada of 1779.

Pole inheritance

Due to the debts of their father, the Wesley family entered into financial stringency. This was partially alleviated following the death in 1781 of the childless William Pole, of Ballyfin in Ireland, his godfather and the husband of his great-aunt Ann Colley, who bequeathed his estates to Wesley, on the condition which was usual in such situations that he should adopt the surname "Pole". Pole was descended from Peryam Pole, third son of the antiquary Sir William Pole (1561–1635) of Shute House, Devon, a brother of Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet. He had married Ann Colley, the sister of Wesley's grandfather Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington (1690–1758). This Wesley had been born Richard Colley, but had changed his name in 1728, following an inheritance, to Wesley. Thus it was that in 1781, in accordance with the Will of his great-uncle William Pole, Wesley changed his name to Wesley-Pole.

Political career

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 ...

, Mornington was a Member of the Irish Parliament for Trim from 1783 to 1790, and of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

for East Looe from 1790 to 1795, and Queen's County from 1801 to 1821. He served as Secretary of the Admiralty under the Duke of Portland between 1807 and 1809, and as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

under

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been as ...

between 1809 and 1812, and was also a Lord of the Irish Treasury between 1809 and 1811 and Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer between 1811 and 1812. Mornington was sworn of both the British Privy Council and the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...

in 1809. He served in Lord Liverpool's government from 1814 to 1823 as

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between the 16th ...

. In 1821, he was elevated to the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

as Baron Maryborough, of Maryborough in the Queen's County (now Portlaoise, County Laois). In 1823, he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County for life. From 1823 to 1830 he was Master of the Buckhounds and from 1834 to 1835 Postmaster General. From 1838 he held the honorary position of Captain of Deal Castle.

Succession to earldom

On the death in 1842 of his elder brother Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, he succeeded as 3rd Earl of Mornington.

Marriage and progeny

On 24 June 1784, Lord Mornington married Katherine Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of Admiral John Forbes and granddaughter of George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard, and of William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex. It was said that among the 1st Earl's sons, they had the only happy marriage. They had the following progeny, one son and three daughters: * William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington, (1788–1857), who married the wealthiest heiress in England, Catherine Tylney-Long, "The Wiltshire Heiress". William was a notable rake, and their marriage was fraught with difficulties. *Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley (1786–1845), who married Sir Charles Bagot, Bart., G.C.B., on 22 July 1806. The couple had four sons and six daughters. The family accompanied their parents to Canada on the appointment of Sir Charles Bagot as Governor-General of British North America, on 12 January 1842. As the wife of a Governor-General in Canada, Lady Bagot assumed the title of 'Her Excellency', in Montreal in August 1842. After her husband's death at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

on 18 May 1843, she accompanied the remains to England. She died in London on 2 February 1845. * Lady Emily Harriet (1792–1881), who in 1814 married Lord FitzRoy Somerset, later 1st Baron Raglan. * Lady Priscilla Anne (1793–1879), who married John Fane, Lord Burghersh, later 11th Earl of Westmorland.Christie's
Lotnotes by a drawing of the Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence. Url visited on 21 March 2012 File:Portrait of Lady Bagot born Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesly-Pole, daughter of 4th Earl of Mornington by John Hoppner.png, Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley-Pole "Lady Bagot" by

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Joshua Reynolds, who achieved fame as a colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his mother w ...

, 1807 File:Portrait of Emily Harriet Wellesley-Pole (Lady Raglan).jpg, Lady Emily Harriet Wellesley-Pole, Lady FitzRoy Somerset, portrait by

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

, c.1814) File:Priscilla lady burghesh sohn hi.jpg, Lady Priscilla Anne Wellesley, Lady burghesh, Countess of Westmorland File:William Pole of Ballyfin (d 1781), English School of the 18th Century.jpg, William Pole (died 1781), of Ballyfin, Ireland, who at his death bequeathed his estate to William Wesley File:The Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830).jpg, The Wellesley-Pole sisters, by Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830). From left to right: Lady Mary Charlotte Anne, Lady Emily Harriet and Lady Priscilla Anne

Death

He died on 22 February 1845.

References

royalmintmuseum.org.uk, ''William Wellesley-Pole, Master of the Mint''

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mornington, William Wellesleypole, 3rd Earl Of 1763 births 1845 deaths 19th-century Irish people British MPs 1790–1796 Captains of Deal Castle Chancellors of the Exchequer of Ireland Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington Irish MPs 1783–1790 Masters of the Mint Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Queen's County constituencies (1801–1922) People educated at Eton College People from County Meath Irish expatriates in England Royal Navy officers UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Mornington, E3 UK MPs who were granted peerages Postmasters general of the United Kingdom Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland Chief secretaries for Ireland Masters of the Buckhounds Earls of Mornington