Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst
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The Earl Gower | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | The Earl Camden |
Personal details | |
Born | 20 May 1714 |
Died | 6 August 1794 | (aged 80)
Spouses | Anne James
(m. 1754; died 1758)Tryphena Scawen (m. 1759) |
Children | Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst Apsley Bathurst[1] |
Parent(s) | Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst Catherine Apsley |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst
Background and education
Bathurst was the eldest son of
Political and judicial career
In April 1735 he was elected member of parliament for Cirencester, and was rewarded for his opposition to the government by being made solicitor-general in 1745 and, then attorney-general to Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1748.[2] Frederick died in 1751, but Bathurst was asked to carry on in the same office for Prince George.
Resigning his seat in parliament in April 1754 he was made a judge and bencher of the Court of Common Pleas in the following month.[2] Bathurst remained opposed to the Whigs, despite the ill-fated attempt by the Tories to capitalise from Walpole's fall.
He was admitted to the
In 1771 the construction of Apsley House was started. A neo-classical facade made of brick with five bays. It had large light and airy sash windows and in the centre of the house a large sweeping circular staircase of exquisite design. The house was remodelled by the Duke of Wellington when he was prime minister between 1828 and 1830, when it was encased in Bath stone. But Lord Bathurst sold the house to the south of Hyde Park, also known as no.1 London removing his estates to the country as befitted a fox-hunting Tory. Lord Bathurst used the proceeds to invest in more acreage at Cirencester Park which was planted with trees for landscaping and hunting.
King George III held faith with Bathurst as the Speaker of the House of Lords. A former treasury commissioner he had the sinecure of a tellership of the Exchequer. It entailed some duties but the job was worth £1,200 per annum. More importantly for the succession to the estates, he was able to secure a tellership for his son by 1790. He continued to plant a new garden into his retirement. Then in 1788, a sick King George decided he would take the waters at Cheltenham with Queen Charlotte. En route, the royal family stopped during July at Cirencester Park. Lord Bathurst developed the Sapperton tunnel the following year for a new canal dug to connect the Severn with the Thames. During the reign, hundreds of local acts of Parliament authorised the construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, and infrastructures.
Lord Bathurst's letters show he was a kindly man with a reserved temperament. He was a good patrician master taking care of his workers, he paid more than most employers, and ensured they saw a doctor if necessary. But Bathurst's moral philosophy earned enemies among the whigs, particularly Horatio Walpole, the journalist of Strawberry Hill, who bore a grudge for the attacks on the Walpole ministry.
Family
Lord Bathurst married firstly Anne James in 1754, but she died in 1758 without issue. He married secondly Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen, in 1759. He died at Oakley Grove near Cirencester on 6 August 1794,[2] aged 80, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his second marriage, Henry. Lady Bathurst died in 1807. Apsley House, in Hyde Park, known as "Number One London", was built for him by Robert Adam. It was sold in 1807 to the first Marquess of Wellesley, who sold it in 1817 to his younger brother, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Namesakes
See also
- Bathurst (surname)
- Earl Bathurst
- List of Lord Chancellors
Notes
- ^ "Bathurst, Hon. Apsley". Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886.
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bathurst, Earls". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 520. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the