Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick

Francis Richard Charles Guy Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick (9 February 1853 – 15 January 1924), styled Lord Brooke until 1893, was a British Conservative politician.

The Earl of Warwick
The 5th Earl of Warwick wearing masonic regalia in 1889
Earl of Warwick
In office
1893–1924
Preceded byGeorge Greville
Succeeded byLeopold Greville
Member of Parliament for
Somerset East
with:
Sir Philip Miles
In office
1879–1885
Preceded byRalph Shuttleworth Allen
Sir Philip Miles
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament for
Colchester
In office
1888–1892
Preceded byHenry John Trotter
Succeeded bySir Herbert Naylor-Leyland
Lord-Lieutenant of Essex
In office
1901–1919
Preceded byThe Lord Rayleigh
Succeeded byThe Lord Lambourne
Personal details
Born
Francis Richard Charles Guy Greville, Lord Brooke

9 February 1853
Died15 January 1924(1924-01-15) (aged 70)
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 1881)
Children
Parents
Alma materEton College
Christ Church, Oxford
OccupationPolitician

Early life

edit

Greville was the son of George Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick, and his wife, Lady Anne, daughter of Francis Wemyss-Charteris, 9th Earl of Wemyss, and was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.[1]

On 28 February 1874, he was appointed a supernumerary sub-lieutenant in the Warwickshire Yeomanry.[2] Brooke was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Warwickshire on 3 March 1875[3] and promoted to captain in the Yeomanry on 26 August 1876.[4]

Career

edit
 
Francis Greville Vanity Fair 3 May 1890

He entered Parliament for Somerset East in an 1879 by-election, a seat he held until 1885, and later represented Colchester from 1888 to 1892. The following year, Greville succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords.

In August 1901, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Essex,[5] serving as such until 1919. He was appointed deputy lieutenant of the county on 8 July 1919.[6] In November 1901 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the new Essex Imperial Yeomanry Regiment,[7] and in late 1901 he was elected Mayor of Warwick for the following year.[8]

He was a senior Freemason under the United Grand Lodge of England, and rose to the office of Deputy Grand Master under the Grand Mastership of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of Druids (AOD); in August 1905 he was one of the British aristocrat members of the Order who participated in the first ceremony organized by the AOD at Stonehenge.[9]

Personal life

edit

Lord Warwick married Frances Evelyn Maynard (10 December 1861 – 26 July 1938), daughter of Charles Henry Maynard, in 1881. They had five children:

The youngest two children were reputedly fathered by one of the countess' lovers, millionaire bachelor Joseph Laycock.[11]

Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick died in January 1924, aged 70, and is buried in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Leopold. The Countess of Warwick died in July 1938, aged 76.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Warwick, Earl of (GB, 1759)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ "No. 24069". The London Gazette. 27 February 1874. p. 892.
  3. ^ "No. 24189". The London Gazette. 12 March 1875. p. 1583.
  4. ^ "No. 24357". The London Gazette. 25 August 1876. p. 4733.
  5. ^ "No. 27340". The London Gazette. 2 August 1901. p. 5125.
  6. ^ "No. 31458". The London Gazette. 15 July 1919. p. 9002.
  7. ^ "No. 27377". The London Gazette. 15 November 1901. p. 7398.
  8. ^ "Election of Mayors". The Times. No. 36609. London. 11 November 1901. p. 7.
  9. ^ Ronald Hutton, Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2009, p.321.
  10. ^ "Equestrian portrait of Lady Mercy Marter". Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  11. ^ Holland, Evangeline (25 January 2011). "Society and Scandal in Edwardian England". Edwardian Promenade.

Further reading

edit
edit
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Somerset East
1879–1885
With: Sir Philip Miles
Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Colchester
1888–1892
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord-Lieutenant of Essex
1901–1919
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Earl Brooke
Earl of Warwick

1893–1924
Succeeded by