George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick
George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, FRS, FSA (16 September 1746 – 1816), styled Lord Greville until 1773, was a British nobleman and politician.[1]
The eldest son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl Brooke (created Earl of Warwick in 1759), he was born on 16 September 1746 at Warwick Castle. He was baptised on 10 October 1746 at St. Mary's, Warwick, with King George I standing as his sponsor.[2]
Education
Lord Greville was educated from 1753 to 1754 at Eton College, and later matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford University, on 24 September 1764. He also matriculated at the University of Edinburgh.[3] The Royal Register records that,
a very great and singular attention was paid to the education of this nobleman by his late father, who, fearful of the corruption which disgrace our great seminaries of learning, consigned him to the care of the first historian of the age, to complete his moral as well as political character. From Scotland he returned so well informed, and such an amiable manliness about him, that the most flattering prognostications were made of his future eminence... His travels did not in any great degree either improve or corrupt him, and he has since remained a quiet inoffensive domestic character, little known but by persons of taste and virtue.[4]
Early career
He was invested as a Fellow of the Royal Society on 17 December 1767 and as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 14 February 1768. and he was Member of Parliament for Warwick between 1768 and 1773.[5] In 1770, Greville was appointed to the Board of Trade.
Marriages and children
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On 1 April 1771, he married Hon. Georgiana Peachey, the daughter of James Peachey, 1st Baron Selsey, at St George's, Hanover Square. The couple had one son:[4]
- George Greville, Lord Brooke (25 March 1772 – 2 May 1786)
Lady Greville died in childbirth at the age of 19.
On 14 July 1776, Greville married Henrietta Vernon, the daughter of Richard Vernon and Lady Evelyn Leveson-Gower, at the house of her uncle Earl Gower in Whitehall. They had four children:[4][6]
- Lady Augusta Sophia Greville (d. 2 March 1845), married Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford on 23 April 1821[6]
- Maj.-Gen. Sir Charles John Greville (d. 1836)[6]
- Henry Greville, 3rd Earl of Warwick (1779–1853)[6]
- Lady Henrietta Louisa Greville (1785 – 8 November 1838) married Thomas Scott, 2nd Earl of Clonmell on 9 February 1805[6]
As a peer
On 6 July 1773, Greville inherited his father's title of Earl of Warwick and left the House of Commons. He also left office on the Board of Trade in 1774, although he served as recorder of Warwick from 1773 to 1816.[5]
He became a colonel in the Warwickshire Fencibles in 1795, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire in that year, which office he held until his death on 2 May 1816 in London.[5] He was buried at Warwick on 12 May 1816.[2][4]
The Lives of Celebrated Persons records that "the latter part of the Earl's life was in penury, mortification and wretchedness." The Biographical Index to the House of Lords records that "this peer has evinced a predominant taste for chymistry, and if we mistake not greatly, a patent for soap for the navy that will not curdle in salt water was taken out in his name."[2]
Collector and Patron
George Greville was arguably one of the greatest contributors to the Greville Collection at Warwick Castle. His greatest purchase was the infamous Warwick Vase, acquired from his Uncle Sir William Hamilton by 1778. Although he furnished the Castle with several works from Classical Antiquity, his principle interest was in portraits. He amassed in his own words a "matchless collection of pictures by Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Anthony Van Dyck", several of which are still in the collection at Warwick Castle. The first in-depth inventory of pictures dates from 1809, and records the wide range of pictures amassed by the Earl. However, it is still unclear which paintings were already in his father's collection, and exactly where he sourced the major works from.
He was patron to John Higton, being introduced to Higton by his brother Charles Francis Greville, the friend of Higton's patron Lord Sedley (Henry Venables-Vernon, 3rd Baron Vernon). He was also the first aristocratic patron to George Romney, from whom he commissioned several portraits of his children and two wives. He was most likely to have been introduced to Romney through Richard Cumberland (dramatist), and both probably encouraged him to depart on his travels to Italy in 1772. Although Greville had commissioned Romney to purchase paintings on his behalf in Italy, lack of pictures of quality meant that he returned empty handed. His brother Charles Francis Greville also sat to Romney, and introduced the artist to the muse Emma Hamilton. The offer of a studio in one of the towers of Warwick Castle was later turned down by the artist, who wished to remain in London.
See also
References
- ↑ "Earl of Warwick". everything2.com. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 336.
- ↑ Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 115. Volume XIV.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, page 337
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 77.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "George Greville, 2nd earl of Warwick". geneall.net. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Warwick
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Archer Paul Methuen |
Member of Parliament for Warwick with Henry Archer 1768 Paul Methuen 1768–1773 1768–1773 |
Succeeded by Paul Methuen Charles Francis Greville |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The 1st Marquess of Hertford |
Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire 1795–1816 |
Succeeded by The 2nd Marquess of Hertford |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Francis Greville |
Earl of Warwick 1773–1816 |
Succeeded by Henry Greville |
|