Henry Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis PC (c. 1703 – 10 September 1772), known as Henry Herbert until 1743 and as The Lord Herbert of Chirbury between 1743 and 1748, was a British peer and politician.
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A member of the Herbert family, he was the son of Francis Herbert, son of Richard Herbert by his wife and second cousin once removed, the Honourable Florence, daughter of Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury. His mother was Dorothy, daughter of John Oldbury, of London. In 1751 he married the fifteen-year-old Barbara Herbert, posthumous daughter and heiress of Lord Edward Herbert, younger son of William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis and brother of William Herbert, 3rd Marquess of Powis.[1]
Herbert was returned to parliament for Bletchingley in 1724, a seat he held until 1727,[2] and then represented Ludlow until 1743.[3] In 1735 he became Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire and Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire. In 1743 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Herbert of Chirbury, in the County of Shropshire,[4] a revival of the title which had become extinct on his great-grandfather's death in 1655. Five years later he was created Baron Powis, of Powis Castle in the County of Montgomery, Viscount Ludlow, in the County of Shropshire, and Earl of Powis, in the County of Montgomery,[5] a revival of the Powis title which had become extinct on the death of the third Marquess of Powis the same year. The following year he was also made Baron Herbert of Chirbury and Ludlow, with remainder to firstly his brother Richard Herbert and secondly to his kinsman Francis Herbert, of Ludlow.[6]
In 1761 Lord Powis relinquished his position as Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire and was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire instead,[7] a post he would hold until his death. The same year he was also appointed Comptroller of the Household and sworn of the Privy Council.[8] He was promoted to Treasurer of the Household later the same year, a post he held until 1765.[9] He once again became Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire in 1764, and remained in this post until his death eight years later.
Lord Powis died in September 1772 and was succeeded by his son, George (who also succeeded in the barony of Herbert of Chirbury and Ludlow as the persons in special remainder to that peerage had died before Lord Powis). The earldom became extinct on the latter's death in 1801. Lady Henrietta Antonia, daughter of the first Earl, married Edward Clive, son of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive ("Clive of India"). In 1804 the earldom of Powis was revived in favour of Edward Clive. Barbara, Countess of Powis, died in March 1786, aged 50.[1]