Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore

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Somerset Richard Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore GCMG PC (April 9, 1835 – April 6, 1913) was an Irish nobleman and politician.

He was born in Bruton Street, London and was the eldest son of Armar Lowry-Corry, 3rd Earl Belmore and Emily Louise Shepherd and succeeded his father in the earldom in 1845.

Educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated in 1856, he married Anne Elizabeth Honoria Gladstone, daughter of Capt. John Neilson Gladstone RN MP, the son of Sir John Gladstone, 1st Bt. and Elizabeth Honoria Bateson, the daughter of Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Bt. and sister of Sir Thomas Bateson, 1st Baron Deramore, on 22 August, 1861 in St. George's, Hanover Square, London, and had issue:

Armar Lowry-Corry, 5th Earl Belmore
Cecil Lowry-Corry, 6th Earl Belmore
The Hon. Ernest Lowry-Corry (November 23, 1874 - March 11, 1912), who was educated at Wellington College and died unmarried aged 37
Lady Theresa Lowry-Corry (October 24, 1862 - March 18, 1938), who was unmarried
Lady Florence Lowry-Corry (March 31, 1864 - May 10, 1943), who was married on October 12, 1893 to Lt. Col. John Henry Eden (who d. 1931), formerly one of HM Inspectors of Schools and a former major in the Yorkshire Regiment, and had issue
Lady Madeline Lowry-Corry (November 6, 1865 - March 30, 1898), who was unmarried
Lady Mary Lowry-Corry (August 5, 1867 - October 5, 1928), who was unmarried
Lady Winifred Lowry-Corry (August 19, 1876-?), who was unmarried
Lady Edith Lowry-Corry (August 26, 1878 - October 25, 1918), who was unmarried
Lady Violet Lowry-Corry (June 15, 1881-?), who was unmarried
Lady Margaret Lowry-Corry (July 15, 1883 - 1975), who was unmarried
Lady Dorothy Lowry-Corry (June 6, 1885-?), who was unmarried
Lady Kathleen Lowry-Corry (July 28, 1887 - October 13, 1972), who was married on May 7, 1919 to Brig. Gen. Thomas Ward CMG, of Brynhir, Criccieth, Caernarvonshire, formerly of the Queen's Bays, and had issue: (i) Honoria Kathleen Ward (b. March 15, 1920) and (ii) Lt. Richard Thomas Ward MC (b. December 10, 1921 - September 20, 1944) and was killed in action aged 22

He was elected as a Representative Peer for Ireland and sat in the House of Lords from January 1857 until his death and was made Under-Secretary of State at the Home Department in July 1866 and was then appointed Governor of New South Wales on August 22, 1867. He was sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland on September 17, 1867. His term of office as governor ended in February 1872, and he was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) on March 22, 1872, later being promoted to Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1890.

He was also a Justice of the Peace in County Fermanagh, County Tyrone and Kent. He served as a Lord Justice for Ireland on many occasions between 1885 and 1893 and was made Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone in 1892. He was also a captain in the Fermanagh Militia and a major in the London Irish Royal Volunteers.

He died on April 6, 1913 aged 77 at Castle Coole, Enniskillen and was buried on April 9, 1913 in Derryvullen, County Fermanagh.

[edit] Obituary Extract

An interesting, more lively picture of the 4th Earl is given in this extract from his obituary in 1913:

The Rt Hon. the Earl of Belmore ..., senior representative peer of Ireland, was born on the 9th of April 1835, and succeeded his father in 1845 .... [He] was a man of much intellectuality and was a ripe scholar. He received his education first at Eton and then at Cambridge. In 1861 he married a daughter of Capt. John Neilson Gladstone, RN, of Bowden Park, Chippenham, who was MP for Ipswich and Devizes. Capt. Gladstone was brother to William Ewart Gladstone, who, like the late Earl of Belmore, was in early life brought up in the principles of Evangelicalism, and whose strong Tory opinions gained him his first seat in parliament.

Unlike the distinguished statesman and scholar, Lord Belmore through the whole of his long life remained a consistent Conservative. For a short time, 1866-1867, he was Under Secretary for the Home Department, and so highly did he account this honour that he hardly ever spoke in public, whether on a religious or political platform, without a reference to the fact that he had been an Under Secretary. In 1867 he was made a member of the Privy Council, and was for four years Governor of New South Wales. In 1877 the Earl of Belmore acted as President of the Commission appointed to enquire into the affairs of Dublin University. A more admirable choice could not have been made.

Lord Belmore will also be remembered for the part that he took in defending the Irish landlords as a class than any other English statesman. He was for years a leader in the Irish Landowners' Convention. A man of deep religious convictions, he opposed the disestablishment of the Irish Church. At what were formerly the largely attended gatherings, known as the April meetings, Lord Belmore was a regular speaker. His religious sympathies were, however, far from being confined to the Episcopalian body. Protestants of all denominations had a friend and supporter in him, and in this respect the relatives, Lord James Butler, the late Earl of Carrick and Lord Belmore were conspicuous.

The late Earl was a literary man of some mark. His Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone is a book that was the result of much research, and is highly thought about [sic]. The History of the Corry Family is a standard genealogical work, and was also written by the Earl of Belmore. On the fascinating subject of archaeology, Lord Belmore was an authority, and contributed many learned and instructive articles from time to time to the Ulster Journal of Archaeology.

His life was a stirring one, and he was successively a major in the London Irish RV and a captain in the Fermanagh Militia. He was Lord Lieutenant for the County of Tyrone, and took an active part in discharging his duties as a magistrate of that county. He acted on many occasions as one of the Lords Justices for Ireland, and in everything connected with Ireland he was deeply interested. The Royal Irish Academy elected him a member in recognition of his contributions to literature, and there was no man in Ireland who was more thoroughly respected by all classes. ...'^[1]

Government Offices
Preceded by Sir John Young, Bt	Governor of New South Wales 1868–1872	Succeeded by Hercules Robinson
Honorary Titles
Preceded by The Earl of Charlemont	Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone 1892–1913	Succeeded by Unknown
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Bandon	Representative Peer for Ireland 1857–1913	Succeeded by The Earl of Lanesborough
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Armar Lowry-Corry	Earl Belmore 1845–1913	Succeeded by Armar Lowry-Corry