Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Ducie
GCVO PC JP FRS
Ducie in 1866
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
In office
28 June 1859 – 26 June 1866
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
The Earl Russell
Preceded byThe Lord de Ros
Succeeded byThe Earl Cadogan
Personal details
Born25 June 1827
Died28 October 1921 (1921-10-29) (aged 94)
NationalityBritish
Political partyLiberal Party
SpouseJulia Langston (d. 1895)

Henry John Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie GCVO PC JP FRS (25 June 1827 – 28 October 1921), styled Lord Moreton between 1840 and 1853, was a British courtier and Liberal Party politician. He notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1859 to 1866, and Lord Warden of the Stannaries from 1888 to 1908.[1]

Background and education

Moreton was born on 25 June 1827 at Sherborne, Dorset,[2] the eldest son of Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie, and his wife, Elizabeth Dutton, daughter of John Dutton, 2nd Baron Sherborne. He was educated at Eton.[1][3]

Political career

In 1852, Moreton entered Parliament as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud.[1][4] The following year he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. In 1859 he was admitted to the Privy Council[5] and appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under Lord Palmerston,[6] a post he held until the government fell in 1866, the last year under the premiership of Lord Russell.[7]

Other honours

Apart from his political career, Lord Ducie was Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire between 1857 and 1911 and Lord Warden of the Stannaries in Cornwall and member of the Council of the Prince of Wales between 1888 and 1908.[1][3] In 1906 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.[8]

The earl was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Administrative Battalion, Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps on 16 June 1868 and held the position for 40 years. The battalion later became the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment.[1][9]

Family

Lord Ducie married his first cousin, Julia Langston, daughter of James Langston, MP, on 24 May 1849. They had two children:[1]

The Countess of Ducie died in February 1895 and Lord Ducie remained a widower until his death at Gloucester in October 1921, aged 94.[2] As his only son had predeceased him, Lord Ducie's titles passed to his younger brother, Berkeley Moreton, 4th Earl of Ducie.[3]

Tortworth Court

Between 1848 and 1853 he had Tortworth Court built where he then lived. During his long life he spent much time acquiring unusual and exotic plants from around the world to plant in the grounds of Tortworth Court. Many of the plants remain and the grounds now comprises one of the great arboretums of England.

Literary efforts

In 1872, a short article by the third earl entitled Crocodile shooting was published in Land and Water. It is available online through the Open Library.[12]

Sport

The Earl was a minor cricketer. He played one match at county level for Shropshire in 1862, making 5 runs, while playing at club level for Shrewsbury.[13] Knightley William Horlock, who sometimes wrote under the pen name, "Scurator", dedicated his book Letters on the Management of Hounds, a treatise on venery, to the Earl, who was his Patron.

Arms

Coat of arms of Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie
Coronet
A Coronet of an Earl
Crest
A Moorcock's Head Or combed and wattled Gules between two Wings displayed Azure
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Argent a Chevron Gules between three Square Buckles Sable (Moreton); 2nd and 3rd, Or two Lions passant guardant Gules (Ducie)
Supporters
On either side a Unicorn Argent armed unguled maned and tufted Or, each gorged with a Ducal Coronet per pale Gold and Gules
Motto
Perseverando (By persevering)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 100th Edn, London, 1953.
  2. ^ a b Percival, Tony (1999). Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998. A.C.S. Publications, Nottingham. p. 21. ISBN 1-902171-17-9.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
  3. ^ a b c thepeerage.com Henry John Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 5)
  5. ^ "No. 22283". The London Gazette. 8 July 1859. p. 2628.
  6. ^ "No. 22281". The London Gazette. 1 July 1859. p. 2550.
  7. ^ "No. 23137". The London Gazette. 13 July 1866. p. 3984.
  8. ^ "No. 27913". The London Gazette. 15 May 1906. p. 3325.
  9. ^ Army List, various dates.
  10. ^ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1919
  11. ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
  12. ^ Ducie, Henry John Moreton Earl of (1800), Crocodile shooting, [London s.n, retrieved 3 October 2013
  13. ^ Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998, pages 21, 48.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Stroud
1852 – 1853
With: George Julius Poulett Scrope 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
1859–1866 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire
1857–1911 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Warden of the Stannaries
1888–1908 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Senior Privy Counsellor
1906–1921
With: The Earl Spencer (1906–1910) 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl of Ducie
1853–1921 		Succeeded by