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 Right Honourable The Earl of Warwick
The 5th Earl of Warwick wearing masonic regalia in 1889
Earl of Warwick
In office 1893–1924
Preceded by	George Greville
Succeeded by	Leopold Greville
Member of Parliament for Somerset East with: Sir Philip Miles
In office 1879–1885
Preceded by	Ralph Shuttleworth Allen Sir Philip Miles
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Colchester
In office 1888–1892
Preceded by	Henry John Trotter
Succeeded by	Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland
Lord-Lieutenant of Essex
In office 1901–1919
Preceded by	The Lord Rayleigh
Succeeded by	The Lord Lambourne
Personal details
Born	Francis Richard Charles Guy Greville, Lord Brooke 9 February 1853
Died	15 January 1924(1924-01-15) (aged 70)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Maynard ​ ( m. 1881)
Children	Leopold Greville, 6th Earl of Warwick Marjorie Duncombe, Countess of Feversham Hon. Charles Greville Hon. Maynard Greville Lady Mercy Gamble
Parents	George Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick Lady Anne Wemyss-Charteris
Alma mater	Eton College Christ Church, Oxford
Occupation	Politician

"He sits for Colchester"
Lord Brooke as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, May 1890

Francis Greville monument in St Mary's Church, Little Easton

Early life

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

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

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

• Leopold Guy Francis Maynard Greville, 6th Earl of Warwick (10 September 1882 – 31 January 1928)
• Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville (25 October 1884 – 25 July 1964); Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham
• Hon. Charles Algernon Cromartie Greville (22 November 1885 – 28 March 1887)
• Hon. Maynard Greville (21 March 1898 – 21 February 1960)
• Lady Mercy Greville (3 April 1904 – 21 November 1968). She married first Basil Dean and later, in 1936, Patrick Gamble.[10]

The youngest two children were reputedly fathered by one of the countess' lovers, millionaire bachelor Joseph Frederick (Joe) 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

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 (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".
11. Holland, Evangeline. "Society and Scandal in Edwardian England". Edwardian Promenade.

Further reading

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.

External links

• Media related to Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick at Wikimedia Commons
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Warwick

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Ralph Shuttleworth Allen Sir Philip Miles	Member of Parliament for Somerset East 1879–1885 With: Sir Philip Miles	Constituency abolished
Preceded by Henry John Trotter	Member of Parliament for Colchester 1888–1892	Succeeded by Herbert Naylor-Leyland
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Lord Rayleigh	Lord-Lieutenant of Essex 1901–1919	Succeeded by The Lord Lambourne
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by George Guy Greville	Earl of Warwick 1893–1924	Succeeded by Leopold Greville