Henry Beauclerk (1701 - 1761)

Born 11 Aug 1701 in Winkfield, Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Liz Martin [send private message]

Lord Henry Beauclerk was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Biography

Lord Henry Beauclerk, was born on 11 August 1701,^[1] the fourth son, and fifth child of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, and his wife Lady Diana de Vere, and grandson of Charles II Stuart, King of England & Scotland.

Like many younger sons of the English nobility, he entered the military and was appointed Ensign of the 1st Foot Guards in 1717. Successive promotions were as Captain in 3rd Foot in 1727; Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel of 1st Foot Guards 1735; Colonel 48th Foot 1743-1745; Colonel 31st Foot 25 April 1745 until his resignation 8 May 1749.^[2]

Apparently it was the enmity of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, that forced his resignation. Four years earlier Lord Henry had voted for acquittal in a court martial, and couldn't be persuaded to change his vote by the Duke, who wanted the man condemned.^[3]

He was also a Member of Parliament in Plymouth 26 November 1740 - 1741, and in the constituency of Thetford in Norfolk from 29 December 1741. He voted almost consistently with the Government.^[4]

Although he married a heiress (see below) who inherited the manors of Leckhampstead and Heyborne Fields in Buckinghamshire,^[5] they were never wealthy, particularly after Henry resigned his commission. Consequently both Henry and his wife, were constantly seeking to influence to gain a place at court or other position. Eventually Henry and his brother Lord George Beauclerk, shared in a pension of 800 pounds per annum on the Irish establishment.^[6]

Family

He married 24 or 25 June 1739,^[7] Hon. Martha Lovelace, daughter of John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace of Hurley, and his wife, Charlotte Clayton, and sister and heir of her brother Nevill Lovelace, 6th Baron Lovelace of Hurley (died 28 July 1736).

They had eight children:^[8]

1. George Beauclerk, born 1740 (?)^[9], died young;
2. Diana Beauclerk, born 24 June 1741;
3. Henrietta Beauclerk, born 26 November 1742;
4. Mary Beauclerk, born 25 November 1743, married Reverend Walter Williams, Rector of Harrow;^[10]
5. Henry Beauclerk, born 12 August 1745, died 1774, married 24 November 1769, Charlotte Drummond, and had issue;
6. Charlotte Beauclerk, born 24 October 1746;
7. Martha Beauclerk, born 12 December 1747;
8. Anne Beauclerk, born 5 October 1749.

Death and burial

Lord Henry Beauclerk, died on 6 January 1761,^[11] and was buried on 11 January at Whitchurch, near Edgeware.

After his death his widow continued to try to gain support for herself and her children, and was granted the 400 pounds per annum on the Irish establishment her husband had received. She also sought to further her son's career in the Church.^[12]

His wife, died 5 March 1788 in London, and was buried at Stanmore in Middlesex.^[13] Her son received the manor of Leckhampstead on her death, but she left old South Sea Company annuities worth L1050 to be divided equally between her unmarried daughters,^[14]

Sources

• Brydges, Sir Egerton, Collins's Peerage of England: genealogical, biographical and historical, vol. 1, London : FC & J. Rivington, 1812. Digitised by Google Books.

• Burkes Peerage 1921 A-Z, digitised and indexed by The Genealogist.co.uk, (http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/ : accessed 6 April 2015 members only)

• Chalus, E.H., ‘Beauclerk , Martha (bap. 1710, d. 1788)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008

• Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage: of a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times, 2nd ed., vol. 8, rev. by Hon. Vickary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday and Lord Howard de Walden; London : St Catherine Press, 1932.

• Lea, R.S., 'Beauclerk, Lord Henry (1701-61), of Foliejohn, Berks.', in The History of Parliement: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970. Digitised The History of Parliament Trust (http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/beauclerk-henry-1701-61 : accessed 6 April 2015).
• Fact: Burial (11 January 1761) Whitchurch Near Edgeware, England

Sources

1. ↑ All sources consulted agree on this date
2. ↑ Lea; extra details from Brydges, p. 248
3. ↑ Lea, quoting Letter from Horace Walpole, 18 May 1749
4. ↑ Lea
5. ↑ Chalus
6. ↑ Lea
7. ↑ Lea, has 24 June, Burkes, p. 1908 & Cokayne, have 25 June; Brydges has December 1738
8. ↑ Brydges, p. 248
9. ↑ Brydges, seems to indicate he is the eldest son and 1740 is the only year he can have been born
10. ↑ Burkes, p. 1908
11. ↑ all sources also agree on this date
12. ↑ Chalus
13. ↑ Burkes, p. 1908 (date); Chalus, (date and place)
14. ↑ Chalus

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 14 December 2020, 07:59), entry for Lord Colonel Henry Beauclerk (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LH11-2NJ ); contributed by various users.