Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield
The Earl of Lichfield | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Master of the Buckhounds | |
| In office 24 November 1830 – 14 November 1834 | |
| Monarch | William IV |
| Prime Minister | The Earl Grey The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | The Lord Maryborough |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Chesterfield |
| Postmaster General | |
| In office 22 May 1835 – 30 August 1841 | |
| Monarch | William IV Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | The Marquess Conyngham |
| Succeeded by | Viscount Lowther |
| Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth | |
| In office 1818–1819 Serving with Charles Edmund Rumbold | |
| Preceded by | William Loftus |
| Succeeded by | Charles Rumbold Hon. George Anson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 October 1795 |
| Died | 18 March 1854 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Louisa Philips (d. 1879) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield PC (20 October 1795 – 18 March 1854), previously known as The Viscount Anson from 1818 to 1831, was a British Whig politician from the Anson family. He served under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne as Master of the Buckhounds between 1830 and 1834 and under Melbourne Postmaster General between 1835 and 1841. His gambling and lavish entertaining got him heavily into debt and he was forced to sell off the entire contents of his Shugborough Hall estate.
Early life[]
Anson was the eldest son of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson, and his wife Anne Margaret, daughter of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. Major-General the Hon. George Anson was his younger brother. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.[1]
Career[]
Anson was elected to the House of Commons for Great Yarmouth in June 1818, but had to resign the seat already the following month on the death of his father and his succession to viscountcy of Anson.[1][2] Anson later served under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne as Master of the Buckhounds from 1830 to 1834[citation needed] and under Melbourne as Postmaster General from 1835 to 1841.[1] He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1830[3] and in 1831 he was created Earl of Lichfield, of Lichfield in the County of Stafford, in William IV's coronation honours.[4]
Gambling[]
Anson was also known for his excessive gambling and lavish entertaining at his Shugborough Hall seat. He also purchased the estate at nearby Ranton, Staffordshire, where he built Abbey House and developed the estate into a great sporting centre. However, his extravagant lifestyle and gambling put him and the family into debts of £600,000 and led to Anson's financial collapse in 1842. The entire contents of Shugborough Hall were sold off to pay for the debts.[5][6][7] Abbey House at Ranton burned down in 1942. The ivy-covered ruins can still be seen.
Personal life[]
Lord Lichfield married Louisa Catherine, daughter of Nathaniel Philips, in 1819. They had four sons and four daughters. His second son the Honourable Augustus Anson was a soldier who received the Victoria Cross, and his fourth son the Right Reverend the Honourable Adelbert John Robert Anson was a clergyman who served as Bishop of Qu'Apelle in Canada. Together, they were the parents of:[8]
- Lady Louisa Mary Ann Anson (1819–1882), who married Lt.-Col. Edward King-Tenison (d. 1878) of Kilronan Castle, in 1838 and had issue.[8]
- Lady Anne Frederica Anson (1823–1896), who married Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss, in 1843 and had issue.[8]
- Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (1825–1892)[8]
- Lady Harriet Frances Maria Anson (1827–1898), who married Augustus Venables-Vernon, 6th Baron Vernon, in 1851 and had issue.[8]
- Hon. William Victor Leopold Horatio Anson (1833–1856)[8]
- Lt.-Col. Hon. Augustus Henry Archibald Anson (1835–1877), a Member of Parliament for Lichfield who married Amelia Maria Claughton (1844–1894), the eldest daughter of Rt. Rev. Thomas Legh Claughton, Bishop of St Albans, by the former Hon. Julia Susanna Ward (eldest daughter of William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward) and sister of Sir Gilbert Henry Claughton, 1st Baronet, in 1863. After his death, she married, as his second wife, George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll in 1881.[8]
- Lady Gwendoline Isabella Anna Maria Anson (1837–1912), who married 19 Apr 1865 Nicholas Power O'Shee, of Gardenmorris, co. Waterford (d. 30 Mar 1902), and had issue.[8]
- Rt. Rev. Hon. Adelbert John Robert Anson, Bishop of Qu'Appelle in Canada (1840–1909).[8]
Lord Lichfield died in March 1854, aged 58, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Thomas. Lady Lichfield died in August 1879.[1] Lord Lichfield is buried at St Michael and All Angels Church in Colwich, a short distance from Shugborough Hall.[8]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d thepeerage.com Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield
- ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Yardley to Youghal
- ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1679-1835
- ^ "No. 18847". The London Gazette. 10 September 1831. p. 1857.
- ^ Michael Raven, A Guide to Staffordshire and the Black Country, 2004, ISBN 0-906114-33-0, p.253
- ^ History of Shugborough
- ^ Thomas Anson's Library and Art Collection
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Lichfield, Earl of (UK, 1831)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
External links[]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Lichfield
- 1795 births
- 1854 deaths
- Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
- Earls of Lichfield (1831)
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1818–1820
- UK MPs who inherited peerages
- UK MPs who were granted peerages
- Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth
- Anson family
- Masters of the Buckhounds
- People educated at Eton College
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV