Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington

Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington FRS (22 January 1752 – 18 September 1838) was a British Member of Parliament and banker.

Smith was the third son of Abel Smith and his wife Mary (née Bird). His grandfather Abel Smith was the third son of Thomas Smith, the founder of Smith's Bank of Nottingham. Smith was elected to the House of Commons for Nottingham in 1779, a seat he held until 1797. In 1796 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Carrington, of Bulcot Lodge. The following year he was made Baron Carrington, of Upton in the County of Nottingham, in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1819 he was admitted as Nobleman to Magdalene College, Cambridge.^[1]

Lord Carrington married, firstly, Anne, daughter of Lewyns Boldero-Barnard, in 1780. They had one son and five daughters. After her death in 1827 he married, secondly, Charlotte, daughter of John Hudson, in 1836. Carrington died in September 1838, aged 86, and was succeeded in his titles by his only son Robert John, who later assumed the surname of Carington. Lady Carrington died in 1849. Two of Carrington's descendants gained particular political prominence. His grandson Robert Wynn Carington, 3rd Baron Carrington, was a Liberal politician and was created Earl Carrington in 1895 and Marquess of Lincolnshire in 1912, while his great-great-grandson Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, is a Conservative politician and served as Foreign Secretary between 1979 and 1982.

References

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• www.thepeerage.com