Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baron Stalbridge
Encyclopedia
Richard de Aquila Grosvenor, 1st Baron Stalbridge PC (28 January 1837 – 18 May 1912), styled Lord Richard Grosvenor between 1845 and 1886, was a British politician and businessman. Initially a Liberal
, he served under William Ewart Gladstone
as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
between 1872 and 1874 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
between 1880 and 1885. However, he broke with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule in 1886 and joined the Liberal Unionists
.
, and Lady Elizabeth Mary, daughter of George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
. Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
, was his elder brother. He was educated at Westminster School
and Trinity College, Cambridge
. During an adventurous youth, he toured the western United States and was present at the sack of the Summer Palace
during the Second Opium War
.
Member of Parliament
for Flintshire
from 1861 until 1886. In 1872 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
by William Ewart Gladstone
, a post he held until the government fell in 1874. When the Liberals returned to power in 1880 under Gladstone, Grosvenor was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
. He remained in this post until 1885. He disagreed with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule
and resigned his seat in protest (by accepting appointment as a Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds) in 1886. He was subsequently raised to the peerage as Baron Stalbridge, of Stalbridge in the County of Dorset, and became a leader of the Liberal Unionist Party
from the House of Lords
.
, of which he had been a director since 1870 and had eagerly promoted. In 1867 he was the head of an international committee to promote the Channel Tunnel
, which contemplated a submarine railroad between England and France.
He inherited Motcombe House in 1891. The house was demolished after he contracted typhoid fever
in 1894 and a new house built in 1895. However, much of the estate was sold off in 1905 to raise money, and the family moved to London. Lord Stalbridge had, in 1887, agreed to pay off some of the debts of his fellow Liberal, Lord Sudeley
, and the resulting financial entanglement severely reduced his wealth.
, on 5 November 1874. She died of pleurisy
in 1876, shortly after the birth of their only child:
Stalbridge married his second wife, Eleanor Frances Beatrice Stubber (d. 1911), daughter of Robert Hamilton-Stubber, on 3 April 1879. They had five children:
Lady Stalbridge died in March 1911. Lord Stalbridge survived her by a year and died at his London
home in May 1912, aged 75. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Hugh.
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, he served under William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...
between 1872 and 1874 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial position in the British Government. The holder is usually the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons. However, the office is no longer attached to the Treasury...
between 1880 and 1885. However, he broke with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule in 1886 and joined the Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
.
Background and education
Grosvenor was the third and youngest son of Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of WestminsterRichard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster KG, PC , styled Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Belgrave from 1831 to 1845, was an English politician, landowner, property developer and benefactor....
, and Lady Elizabeth Mary, daughter of George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts. He is estimated to have been the...
. Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster KG, PC, JP , styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845 and Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869 and known as the 3rd Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner.He inherited the estate of...
, was his elder brother. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. During an adventurous youth, he toured the western United States and was present at the sack of the Summer Palace
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water....
during the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
.
Political career
Grosvenor was Liberal PartyLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Flintshire
Flintshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Flintshire was a parliamentary constituency in North-East Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election.- Boundaries :...
from 1861 until 1886. In 1872 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...
by William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, a post he held until the government fell in 1874. When the Liberals returned to power in 1880 under Gladstone, Grosvenor was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial position in the British Government. The holder is usually the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons. However, the office is no longer attached to the Treasury...
. He remained in this post until 1885. He disagreed with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule
Irish Government Bill 1886
The Government of Ireland Bill 1886, commonly known as the First Home Rule Bill, was the first major attempt made by a British government to enact a law creating home rule for part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and resigned his seat in protest (by accepting appointment as a Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds) in 1886. He was subsequently raised to the peerage as Baron Stalbridge, of Stalbridge in the County of Dorset, and became a leader of the Liberal Unionist Party
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
from the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Later life
On 15 April 1882, Grosvenor was appointed honorary colonel of the Dorset Yeomanry (Queen's Own), a post he held until 1895. In 1891, he was appointed chairman of the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
, of which he had been a director since 1870 and had eagerly promoted. In 1867 he was the head of an international committee to promote the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, which contemplated a submarine railroad between England and France.
He inherited Motcombe House in 1891. The house was demolished after he contracted typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1894 and a new house built in 1895. However, much of the estate was sold off in 1905 to raise money, and the family moved to London. Lord Stalbridge had, in 1887, agreed to pay off some of the debts of his fellow Liberal, Lord Sudeley
Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 4th Baron Sudeley
Charles Douglas Richard Hanbury-Tracy, 4th Baron Sudeley PC FRS , styled The Honourable Charles Hanbury-Tracy from 1858 to 1877, was a British Liberal politician...
, and the resulting financial entanglement severely reduced his wealth.
Family
Lord Stalbridge married as his first wife the Hon. Beatrice Charlotte Elizabeth Vesey, daughter of Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de VesciThomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci , was an Irish peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
, on 5 November 1874. She died of pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
in 1876, shortly after the birth of their only child:
- Hon. Elizabeth Emma Beatrice Grosvenor (1875–1931), married Admiral Sir Aubrey Clare Hugh Smith.
Stalbridge married his second wife, Eleanor Frances Beatrice Stubber (d. 1911), daughter of Robert Hamilton-Stubber, on 3 April 1879. They had five children:
- Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Stalbridge (1880–1949), twin
- Hon. Blanche Grosvenor (1880–1964), twin, married Lieutenant-Colonel James Holford
- Hon. Gilbert Grosvenor (1881–1939), married Effie E. Cree; no issue
- Captain Hon. Richard Eustace Grosvenor, MCMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(1883–1915), killed in the First World War - Hon. Eleanor Lilian Grosvenor (1885–1977), married Major Josceline Grant; mother of Elspeth HuxleyElspeth HuxleyElspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE was a polymath, writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government advisor. She wrote 30 books; but she is best known for her lyrical books The Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard which were based on her experiences growing up...
Lady Stalbridge died in March 1911. Lord Stalbridge survived her by a year and died at his London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
home in May 1912, aged 75. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Hugh.