Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers
Earl Ferrers Vice-Admiral of the White | |
---|---|
Commands held | HMS Hawk HMS Fox HMS Dover HMS Gloucester HMS Fame HMS Bridgewater HMS Mermaid HMS Monmouth HMS Duc d'Aquitaine HMS Temple |
Battles/wars | Seven Years' War |
Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society |
Spouse(s) | Anne Elliot |
Early life
Ferrers was the second son of Hon Laurence Shirley (fourth son of Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers) and his wife, Anne.
Two weeks after the execution of his brother
In about 1738 he joined the Royal Navy and rose through the ranks as a
Later life
Ferrers was appointed a
Due to persistent financial problems, he sold the estates of Astwell (including Astwell Castle) and Falcutt to Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple between 1774 and 1777.[2]
Ferrers was keen on astronomy and owned his own orrery.[3] In 1761 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) for his work on the observations of the transit of Venus. Ferrers purchased Joseph Wright of Derby's painting entitled "A Philosopher giving a Lecture on the Orrery in which a lamp is put in place of the Sun". He has been credited as being the figure on the right. Ferrers had Peter Perez Burdett (the figure on the left) as a house guest and he had attended a talk by James Ferguson who had given lectures on the orrery.[3]
Death
Lord Ferrers died in 1778 at Chartley Manor Place, Staffordshire at the age of 56 and was buried at Staunton Harold. He and his wife, Anne Elliot, had no children and the earldom and estates therefore passed to his younger brother, Robert.[4]
References
- ^ Doyle, James William Edmund (1886). The Official Baronage of England. Vol. 1. London: Longmans, Green. p. 742.
- ^ Beckett, J. V. (1994). The Rise and Fall of the Grenvilles. Manchester University Press. pp. 51–52.
- ^ a b c A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery (1764-1766), Revolutionary Players, image from Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, accessed March 2011
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 13 November 2007