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Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg

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The Earl Fauconberg
Earl Fauconberg in the uniform of the North York Militia, painted by John Singleton Copley ca 1794[1]
Personal details
Born(1742-04-13)13 April 1742
Died23 March 1802(1802-03-23) (aged 59)
NationalityBritish
Political partyWhig
SpouseCharlotte Lamb Jane Cheshyre

Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg (13 April 1742 – 23 March 1802) was a British politician and peer.

Family

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Fauconberg was the son of Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg and Catherine Betham.[2]

Career

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He served as the Member of Parliament for Peterborough between 1768 and 1774, sitting for the Whig party. Following his succession to his father's title in 1774, Fauconberg assumed his seat in the House of Lords. He was a Lord of the Bedchamber from 1777 until his death in 1802, and was Custos Rotulorum and Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire over the same period.[2] In 1779 he raised a Yorkshire regiment of fencible infantry, 'Lord Fauconberg's Regiment' or 'Fauconberg's Fencibles' of which he was Colonel. They were disbanded in 1783.[3] He was also commissioned as colonel of the North York Militia on 18 November 1779 and remained in command until he resigned on grounds of ill health 25 May 1797.[4]

Marriages and issue

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On 29 May 1766, he married the Hon. Charlotte Lamb, the daughter of Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet and sister of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. Together they had four daughters:

On 5 January 1791 he married Jane Cheshyre, daughter of John Cheshyre, Esq., of Bennington co. Hertford. She died 4 April 1820 and they had no children.[5]

As Fauconberg had no sons, his earldom became extinct upon his death. He was succeeded by his cousin, Rowland Belasyse, in his viscountcy and barony.[5] Through his wife he was the uncle of the Whig Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.

References

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  1. ^ 'North Yorkshire Militia 1759–1820' at Richard A. Warren, This Re-illuminated School of Mars: Auxiliary forces and other aspects of Albion under Arms in the Great War against France.
  2. ^ a b Arthur Collins, The peerage of England (1779), p. 364.
  3. ^ "Preferments". The Scots Magazine. 2 August 1779. p. 56.
  4. ^ Major Robert Bell Turton, The History of the North York Militia, now known as the Fourth Battalion Alexandra Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment), Leeds: Whitehead, 1907/Stockton-on-Tees: Patrick & Shotton, 1973, ISBN 0-903169-07-X, pp. 52, 56, 70–1, Appendix S.
  5. ^ a b "Fauconberg, Earl (GB, 1756 - 1802)". Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Peterborough
1768 – 1774
With: Matthew Wyldbore
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Earl Fauconberg
2nd creation
1774–1802
Extinct
Peerage of England
Preceded by Viscount Fauconberg
1st creation
1774–1802
Succeeded by
Rowland Belasyse