George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham (19 May 1791 – 8 January 1858) was an English politician known for duelling with the then Prime Minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
George William, the elder son, was educated at Westminster School and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he proceeded B.A. in 1812.[1] On 13 October 1809 he became a captain in the Ashford regiment of Kentish local militia, on 14 December 1819 commenced acting as a lieutenant of the Northamptonshire regiment of yeomanry, and on 7 September 1820 was named a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Kent. His cousin, George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea and fourth earl of Nottingham, having died on 2 August 1826, succeeded to these peerages.
House of Lords
He presided at a very large and influential meeting held on Penenden Heath, Kent, on 10 October 1828, when strongly worded resolutions in favour of Protestant principles were carried. In his place in the House of Lords, he violently opposed almost every liberal measure which was brought forward. He was particularly noted as being almost the only English nobleman who was willing to identify himself with the Orange party in Ireland, and he was accustomed to denouncing in frantic terms Daniel O'Connell and the system of education carried out in St Patrick's College, Maynooth.
Occasionally he took the chair at May meetings at Exeter Hall, but his intemperate language prevented him from becoming a leader in evangelical politics. The Catholic Relief Bill of 1829 encountered his most vehement hostility, and ultimately led to a duel with the Duke of Wellington. Lord Winchilsea, in a letter to the secretary of King's College London, wrote that the duke, "under the cloak of some coloured show of zeal for the Protestant religion, carried on an insidious design for the infringement of our liberties and the introduction of popery into every department of the state". The duke replied with a challenge. The meeting took place in Battersea Fields on 21 March 1829, the duke being attended by Sir Henry Hardinge, and his opponent by Edward Boscawen, 4th Viscount Falmouth. The duke fired and missed; he claimed he did so on purpose. However, the duke was known as a poor shot and accounts differ as to whether he purposefully missed. Winchilsea kept his arm by his side at the command to "fire" then quite deliberately raised his arm in the air and fired. He then apologised for the language of his letter. It is almost certain that Winchilsea and Falmouth had agreed on their course of action, as the letter of apology was already prepared.[2][3][4][5]
He was a very frequent speaker in the Lords, and strenuously opposed the Reform Bill and other Whig measures. He was gazetted lieutenant-colonel commandant of the East Kent Yeomanry on 20 December 1830, named a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Lincoln on 26 September 1831, and created a D.C.L. at Oxford on 10 June 1834.
Fanny Margaretta, on 17 October 1849, eldest daughter of Edward Royd Rice of Dane Court, Kent and his wife Elizabeth Austen. She died on 26 April 1909. She is a great-niece of Jane Austen through Elizabeth Austen, daughter of Edward Austen Knight. Together they had:
He was the writer of a pamphlet entitled Earl of Winchilsea's Letter to the "Times", calling upon the Protestants of Great Britain to unite heart and soul in addressing the Throne for a Dissolution of Parliament, 1851.
He was responsible for the phrase Kentish Fire meaning prolonged derisive cheering.
References
^"Finch (or Finch-Hatton), George William (FNC808GW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
george, finch, hatton, 10th, earl, winchilsea, george, william, finch, hatton, 10th, earl, winchilsea, earl, nottingham, 1791, january, 1858, english, politician, known, duelling, with, then, prime, minister, arthur, wellesley, duke, wellington, right, honoura. George William Finch Hatton 10th Earl of Winchilsea 5th Earl of Nottingham 19 May 1791 8 January 1858 was an English politician known for duelling with the then Prime Minister Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington The Right HonourableThe Earl of WinchilseaPredecessorGeorge FinchSuccessorGeorge Finch HattonBornGeorge William Finch Hatton 1791 05 19 19 May 1791Kirby Hall Northamptonshire Great BritainDied8 January 1858 1858 01 08 aged 66 Haverholme Priory Lincolnshire UKSpouse s Lady Georgiana Graham m 1814 died 1835 wbr Emily Bagot m 1837 died 1848 wbr Fanny Royd Rice m 1849 wbr Issue6 including George Murray Henry and HaroldParentsGeorge Finch HattonLady Elizabeth MurrayArms of Finch Argent a chevron between three griffins passant sable Contents 1 Early life 2 House of Lords 3 Personal life 3 1 Influence 4 ReferencesEarly life EditHatton born at Kirby Hall Northamptonshire on 19 May 1791 was grandson of Edward Finch Hatton and son of George Finch Hatton 1747 1823 of Eastwell Park near Ashford Kent M P for Rochester 1772 84 by his wife whom he married in 1785 Lady Elizabeth Murray eldest daughter of David Murray 2nd Earl of Mansfield She died on 1 June 1825 George William the elder son was educated at Westminster School and Christ s College Cambridge where he proceeded B A in 1812 1 On 13 October 1809 he became a captain in the Ashford regiment of Kentish local militia on 14 December 1819 commenced acting as a lieutenant of the Northamptonshire regiment of yeomanry and on 7 September 1820 was named a deputy lieutenant for the county of Kent His cousin George Finch 9th Earl of Winchilsea and fourth earl of Nottingham having died on 2 August 1826 succeeded to these peerages House of Lords EditHe presided at a very large and influential meeting held on Penenden Heath Kent on 10 October 1828 when strongly worded resolutions in favour of Protestant principles were carried In his place in the House of Lords he violently opposed almost every liberal measure which was brought forward He was particularly noted as being almost the only English nobleman who was willing to identify himself with the Orange party in Ireland and he was accustomed to denouncing in frantic terms Daniel O Connell and the system of education carried out in St Patrick s College Maynooth Occasionally he took the chair at May meetings at Exeter Hall but his intemperate language prevented him from becoming a leader in evangelical politics The Catholic Relief Bill of 1829 encountered his most vehement hostility and ultimately led to a duel with the Duke of Wellington Lord Winchilsea in a letter to the secretary of King s College London wrote that the duke under the cloak of some coloured show of zeal for the Protestant religion carried on an insidious design for the infringement of our liberties and the introduction of popery into every department of the state The duke replied with a challenge The meeting took place in Battersea Fields on 21 March 1829 the duke being attended by Sir Henry Hardinge and his opponent by Edward Boscawen 4th Viscount Falmouth The duke fired and missed he claimed he did so on purpose However the duke was known as a poor shot and accounts differ as to whether he purposefully missed Winchilsea kept his arm by his side at the command to fire then quite deliberately raised his arm in the air and fired He then apologised for the language of his letter It is almost certain that Winchilsea and Falmouth had agreed on their course of action as the letter of apology was already prepared 2 3 4 5 He was a very frequent speaker in the Lords and strenuously opposed the Reform Bill and other Whig measures He was gazetted lieutenant colonel commandant of the East Kent Yeomanry on 20 December 1830 named a deputy lieutenant for the county of Lincoln on 26 September 1831 and created a D C L at Oxford on 10 June 1834 Personal life EditWinchilsea was married three times Georgiana Charlotte on 26 July 1814 eldest daughter of James Graham 3rd Duke of Montrose she died at Haverholme Priory on 13 February 1835 Together they had George Finch Hatton 11th Earl of Winchilsea 1815 1887 Lady Caroline Finch Hatton c1817 1888 Emily Georgiana on 15 February 1837 second daughter of Sir Charles Bagot G C B she died at Haverholme Priory on 10 July 1848 Fanny Margaretta on 17 October 1849 eldest daughter of Edward Royd Rice of Dane Court Kent and his wife Elizabeth Austen She died on 26 April 1909 She is a great niece of Jane Austen through Elizabeth Austen daughter of Edward Austen Knight Together they had Lady Evelyn Georgiana Finch Hatton 1932 Murray Finch Hatton 12th Earl of Winchilsea 1851 1898 Henry Finch Hatton 13th Earl of Winchilsea 1852 1927 Harold Finch Hatton 1856 1904 He died at Haverholme Priory near Sleaford Lincolnshire 8 January 1858 Influence Edit He was the writer of a pamphlet entitled Earl of Winchilsea s Letter to the Times calling upon the Protestants of Great Britain to unite heart and soul in addressing the Throne for a Dissolution of Parliament 1851 He was responsible for the phrase Kentish Fire meaning prolonged derisive cheering References Edit Finch or Finch Hatton George William FNC808GW A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge Annual Register London 1829 pp 58 63 Stocqueler Joachim Hayward 1853 The Life of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington London Ingram Cooke amp Co pp 147 148 Steinmetz Andrew 1868 The Romance of Duelling London Chapman and Hall pp 336 343 The Duel The Duke of Wellington King s College London Archive Exhibitions Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Finch Hatton George William Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 Peerage of EnglandPreceded byGeorge Finch Earl of Winchilsea1826 1858 Succeeded byGeorge Finch HattonEarl of Nottingham7th creation1826 1858 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Finch Hatton 10th Earl of Winchilsea amp oldid 1137325620, wikipedia, 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