George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis

George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis DL JP (24 June 1862 – 9 November 1952), known as George Herbert until 1891, was a British peer.

The Right Honourable The Earl of Powis DL JP
The 4th Earl inspects the troops at Royal Welch Fusiliers parade, Newtown (1939)
Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
In office 1896–1951
Preceded by	The Earl of Bradford
Succeeded by	The Viscount Bridgeman
Personal details
Born	George Charles Herbert (1864-06-24)24 June 1864 Mayfair, London
Died	9 November 1952(1952-11-09) (aged 88)
Spouse(s)	Violet, Baroness Darcy de Knayth ​ ( m. 1890; died 1929)
Relations	Edward Herbert, 3rd Earl of Powis (uncle) William Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry (grandfather)
Parents	Sir Percy Herbert Lady Mary Petty-FitzMaurice
Residence	Powis Castle
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge

Early life

Herbert was born at Number 26, Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, and baptised at St George's, Hanover Square.[1] He was the son of The Hon. Sir Percy Egerton Herbert and Lady Mary Caroline Louisa Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, daughter of the Earl of Kerry (the eldest son of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne).[2] He succeeded his uncle the 3rd Earl in the peerage in 1891.

He was educated at Eton College and at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1885 and MA in 1905.[3]

Career

After gaining of his first degree, he was employed as a civil servant in the administrative branch of the General Post Office (the GPO) in London, but resigned after succeeding to his peerage.[4]

He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire in 1896,[5] a post he held until 1951.[6] He was also a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Montgomeryshire and JP for the counties of Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, and Alderman of Shropshire County Council. He was Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.[7]

In 1897 he served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury.[8] In 1898 he was made Honorary Colonel of the 4th (Militia) Battalion of the South Wales Borderers.[9]

Personal life

In 1890, six months before inheriting the earldom, Herbert was married to The Hon. Violet Ida Evelyn Lane-Fox (1865–1929), the second daughter of The 15th Baron Darcy de Knayth.[10] Violet's older sister, Hon. Marcia Lane-Fox was married Charles Pelham, 4th Earl of Yarborough.[11] Together, George and Violet were the parents of two sons and one daughter:[12]

• Percy Robert, Viscount Clive (1892–1916), who died of wounds received in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme in World War I.[12]
• Lady Hermione Gwladys (1900–1995), who married Roberto Lucchesi-Palli, 11th Duke della Grazia and 13th Prince di Campofranco.[12]
• Mervyn Herbert, Viscount Clive (1904–1943), who was killed while on active service in World War II in 1943.[12]

In 1903, Violet succeeded her father in the barony of Darcy de Knayth. Lady Powis died in April 1929, aged 63, and was succeeded in the barony by their younger, and only surviving, son Mervyn (his daughter and only child Davina Ingrams, 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth inherited the barony).[13] Lord Powis died in November 1952, aged 90, and was buried in the churchyard at Christ Church, Welshpool. He bequeathed his family seat, Powis Castle near Welshpool, to The National Trust. He was succeeded in the earldom by his cousin, Edward Robert Henry Herbert.[12]

References

1. The Complete Peerage, Volume X. St Catherine's Press. 1947. p. 655.
2. thepeerage.com George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis
3. Venn, J. A. (1947). Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part II, Volume III. Cambridge University Press. p. 337.
4. "Salopians of Note, No.XI. The Earl of Powis". The Shrewsbury Chronicle. 11 June 1926. p. 6.Newspaper profile. The employment was not mentioned in biographical reference books e.g. Burke's Peerage, Who's Who.
5. "No. 26761". The London Gazette. 24 July 1896. p. 4207.
6. "No. 39302". The London Gazette. 3 August 1951. p. 4167.
7. Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1951. Kelly's. p. 1682.
8. Keeling-Roberts, Margaret (1981). In Retrospect: A Short History of the Royal Salop Infirmary. p. xiii. ISBN 0-9507849-0-7.
9. Mate, Charles H. (editor) (1907). Shropshire, Historical, Descriptive, Biographical. Part II – Biographical. Mate, Bournemouth. p. 7.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
10. "Conyers, Baron (E, 1509)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
11. "Yarborough, Earl of (UK, 1837)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
12. "Powis, Earl of (UK, 1804)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
13. "Darcy de Knayth, Baron (E, 1332)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Bradford	Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire 1896–1951	Succeeded by The Viscount Bridgeman
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edward Herbert	Earl of Powis 1891–1952	Succeeded by Edward Herbert