Charles Fane, 3rd Earl of Westmorland

Charles Fane, 3rd Earl of Westmorland (6 January 1635 – 18 September 1691), styled Lord le Despenser between 1626 and 1666,[2] of Apethorpe Hall, Northamptonshire was a British peer and twice Member of Parliament for Peterborough.[3]

Apethorpe Hall, Northamptonshire, the Fane family seat

The Right Honourable The Earl of Westmorland
Coat of arms of Charles Fane, 3rd Earl of Westmorland: Azure, three dexter gauntlets back affrontée or
Member of Parliament for Peterborough
In office 26 May 1660 – 29 December 1660 Serving with Sir Humphrey Orme
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	None (3rd Long Parliament dissolved)
Succeeded by	Himself (in the Cavalier Parliament
In office 1661 – 12 February 1666 Serving with Sir Humphrey Orme
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	Himself (in the Convention Parliament
Succeeded by	Edward Palmer
Personal details
Born	Charles Fane (1635-01-06)6 January 1635
Died	18 September 1691(1691-09-18) (aged 56)
Resting place	Apethorpe Hall, Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England 52.5472°N 0.4922°E / 52.5472; 0.4922
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Nodes (1665) Dorothy Brudenell (before 1691)
Relations	Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland (brother)
Parents	Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland Grace Thornhurst
[1][2]

Life

Fane was the eldest son of Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland and his first wife Grace Thornhurst, daughter of Sir William Thornhurst of Agnes Court, Kent. He was a student at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1649, and travelled abroad from 1652 to 1654 to France and the Netherlands.[3] In 1660 he was elected Member of Parliament for Peterborough[2] in the Convention Parliament. He appears to have been rather inactive in his period as Member of Parliament, having been a member of a total of five committees concerned with, amongst others, the drainage of the fens.[3] He was re-elected MP for Peterborough in 1661[2] for the Cavalier Parliament, but was again inactive.[3]

When his father died on 12 February 1666, Charles Fane inherited the earldom of Westmorland, as well as his father's further titles Baron Burghersh and Baron le Despencer. Due to his status as peer, he had to give up his seat in the House of Commons of England and instead entered the House of Lords. Though apparently an opponent of James II in 1684, he refused to take up arms against the King the year after. He died at the age of 56 and was buried at Apethorpe Hall.[3]

Family

Fane married twice: first, to Elizabeth Nodes, daughter of Charles Nodes of Shephalbury, Hertfordshire on 15 June 1665.[2] When she died, he remarried, this time to Lady Dorothy Brudenell, daughter to Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan and his wife Lady Frances Savile.[4] As he had no children by either wife, he was succeeded by his younger half-brother, Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland.

References

1. Debrett 1820, p. 1148.
2. Mosley 2003, p. 4314.
3. Helms & Edwards 2002.
4. Mosley 1999, p. 38.

Literature

• Debrett, John, ed. (1820). Debrett's Correct Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 1 (13th ed.). London: Printed G. Woodall, Angel Court, Skinner Street.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Henning, Basil Duke, ed. (2006). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons, 1660-1690 (Hardcover)|format= requires |url= (help). London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 978-0436192746.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Helms, M. W.; Edwards, E. R. (2002). "FANE, Charles, Lord le Despenser (1635-91), of Apethorpe, Northants". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament. Retrieved 21 August 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. 1 (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. 3 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)