Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Harrowby
KG PC FRS
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
31 March 1855 – 7 December 1855
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
Preceded byThe Earl Granville
Succeeded byMatthew Talbot Baines
Lord Privy Seal
In office
7 December 1855 – 3 February 1858
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
Preceded byThe Duke of Argyll
Succeeded byThe Marquess of Clanricarde
Personal details
Born19 May 1798 (1798-05-19)
London, England
Died19 November 1882 (1882-11-20) (aged 84)
Sandon Hall, Sandon, Staffordshire, England
Spouse
Lady Frances Stuart
​
​
(m. 1823; died 1859)​
ChildrenDudley Ryder, 3rd Earl of Harrowby
Henry Ryder, 4th Earl of Harrowby
Parent(s)Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
Lady Susan Leveson-Gower
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford

Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby, KG, PC, FRS (19 May 1798 – 19 November 1882), styled Viscount Sandon between 1809 and 1847, was a British politician. He held office under Lord Palmerston as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1855 and as Lord Privy Seal between 1855 and 1858.

Background and education

Harrowby was born in London, the son of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby and his wife Lady Susanna Leveson-Gower (1772 - 1838), daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.

He was an officer of the Staffordshire Yeomanry, being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Stafford Troop on 20 December 1819 and being promoted to captain on 26 March 1826.[1] He resigned his commission in March 1831.[2]

Political career

Harrowby was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton in 1819, a seat he held until 1831[3] before switching to represent Liverpool until 1847.[4] He served as a Lord of the Admiralty in 1827[5] and as Secretary to the Board of Control under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831. He had a London home in Grosvenor Square.[6]

In 1847, he became Earl of Harrowby and took up a seat in the House of Lords. He remained out of office for a long time, but in 1855, eight years after he had succeeded his father as Earl of Harrowby, he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster[7] by Lord Palmerston, becoming a Privy Counsellor at the same time.[8] In a few months he was transferred to the office of Lord Privy Seal, a position which he resigned in 1858.

He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1859.[9] Harrowby was also three times President of the Royal Statistical Society (1840–1842, 1849–1851, 1855–1857), chairman of the Maynooth commission and a member of other important royal commissions. He was regarded as among the most stalwart and prominent defenders of the Church of England.[5]

Animal welfare

Harrowby campaigned for animal welfare and was president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) from 1861.[10][11] In 1864, he met Henry Bergh who had visited England and helped him with the formulation of ASPCA's policies.[11][12] Harrowby was President of the RSPCA until 1878; he was succeeded by Lord Aberdare.[13] Unlike Abderdare, Harrowby was sympathetic to the cause of anti-vivisection.[13][14]

Thomas Jackson's animal welfare book Our Dumb Companions (1864) was dedicated to Harrowby.[15]

Marriage and children

Frances Stuart

Lord Harrowby married Lady Frances Stuart, daughter of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, on 15 September 1823. They had two sons:[16]

Death

Lady Harrowby died in March 1859. Lord Harrowby remained a widower until his death at Sandon Hall on 19 November 1882, aged 84. He was succeeded in the earldom and other titles by his elder son, Dudley.

References

  1. ^ Capt P.C.G. Webster, The Records of the Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Staffordshire Yeomanry, Lichfield: Lomax, 1870; Appendix.
  2. ^ "No. 18787". The London Gazette. 25 March 1831. p. 573.
  3. ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Tipperary South to Tyrone West". Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  4. ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Lichfield and Tamworth to London and Westminster South". Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  5. ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Harrowby, Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 28.
  6. ^ "Grosvenor Square: Individual Houses built before 1926 Pages 117-166 Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings)". British History Online. LCC 1980. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. ^ "No. 21688". The London Gazette. 3 April 1855. p. 1334.
  8. ^ "No. 21688". The London Gazette. 3 April 1855. p. 1324.
  9. ^ "No. 22281". The London Gazette. 1 July 1859. p. 2549.
  10. ^ "The Earl of Harrowby". Grantham Journal. 25 November 1882. p. 3. (subscription required)
  11. ^ a b Ryder, Richard Dudley. (1998). The Political Animal: The Conquest of Speciesism. McFarland. p. 23. ISBN 978-0786405305
  12. ^ National Cyclopedia of American Biography: Volume 3. New York: James White and Co., 1893; p. 106.
  13. ^ a b Preece, Rod. (2011). Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw. p. 118. ISBN 978-0774821124
  14. ^ "R.S.P.C.A. and Vivisection". The Zoophilist. 12 (3): 65. 1892.
  15. ^ Preece, Rod. (2011). Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities. UBC Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0774842204
  16. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Tiverton
1819–1831
With: Richard Ryder 1819–1830
Granville Ryder 1830–1831 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Liverpool
1831–1847
With: William Ewart 1831–1837
Cresswell Cresswell 1837–1842
Sir Howard Douglas, Bt 1842–1847 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary to the Board of Control
1830–1831 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1855 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Privy Seal
1855–1858 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl of Harrowby
1847–1882 		Succeeded by