George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall

The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Donegall
KP GCH PC
The Most Honourable The Marquess of Donegall KP GCH PC
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
	In office; 11 February 1848 – 21 February 1852
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Lord John Russell
Preceded by	The Viscount Falkland
Succeeded by	The Lord de Ros
Personal details
Born	10 February 1797; Great Cumberland Place, London
Died	20 October 1883 (aged 86); Brighton, Sussex
Nationality	British
Political party	Tory ; Whig
Spouses	; Harriet Butler (m. 1822; died 1860) ; Harriet Graham (m. 1862)
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall KP GCH PC (10 February 1797 – 20 October 1883), styled Viscount Chichester until 1799 and Earl of Belfast between 1799 and 1844, was an Anglo-Irish landowner, courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1830 to 1834, as well as from 1838 to 1841, and as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard between 1848 and 1852. Ennobled in his own right in 1841, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Antrim from 1841 to 1883 and was made a Knight of St Patrick in 1857.

Background and education[edit]

Lord Donegall was born at Great Cumberland Place, London, the eldest son of Viscount Chichester (who became The 2nd Marquess of Donegall in 1799) by his wife Anna May, daughter of Sir Edward May, 2nd Baronet. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, before serving for a time as a captain with the 11th Hussars. He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Chichester from birth until 1799 and as Earl of Belfast from 1799 to 1844.^[1]

Political career[edit]

In 1818, Lord Belfast (as he was from 1799 until 1844) was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Carrickfergus,^[2] and two years later became representative for Belfast.^[3] In July 1830 he was sworn of the Privy Council^[4] and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in The Duke of Wellington's Tory administration.^[5] In August he was returned to Parliament for Antrim.^[6] He continued as Vice-Chamberlain after Lord Grey formed his Whig government in November 1830. In 1831 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order. He remained as Vice-Chamberlain until 1834, the last months under the premiership of Lord Melbourne.^[7] In 1837 he was once again returned to Parliament for Belfast.^[3] He did not initially serve in Melbourne's second administration, but in 1838 he once again became Vice-Chamberlain of the Household.^[8] He resigned when the government fell in 1841,^[1] and during the same year he unsuccessfully contested Belfast as a Liberal candidate.^{[citation needed]} He was instead raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus, of Ennishowen in the County of Donegal and of Carrickfergus in the County of Antrim.^[9] He sat in the House of Lords at Westminster for three years under this title before succeeding his father in the marquessate in 1844.^[1]

Lord Donegall did not serve initially in Lord John Russell's first administration, but in 1848 he returned to the government as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard. He resigned along with the rest of the Whig government in early 1852. Apart from his political career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Antrim from 1841 to 1883.^[1] In 1857 he was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick.^[1]^[10] At the time of his death in 1883 he was the senior member of the Privy Council.

Family[edit]

Lord Donegall married Lady Harriet Anne Butler (d. 1860), daughter of The 1st Earl of Glengall, in 1822. They had three children:

Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester (d. 14 April 1898); married The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury.
George Augustus Chichester, Viscount Chichester (26 May 1826 – 18 June 1827)
Frederick Richard Chichester, Earl of Belfast (25 November 1827 – 11 February 1853); died in Naples, unmarried.

After his first wife's death in September 1860, he married as his second wife Harriett Graham (d. 1884), daughter of Sir Bellingham Reginald Graham, 7th Baronet, and widow of Sir Frederick Ashworth, in 1862. There were no children from this marriage. Lord Donegall died in Brighton, Sussex, in October 1883, aged 86, and was buried in Belfast.^[1]

As both his sons had predeceased him, the larger part of the Donegall estates was inherited by his only daughter, Harriet Ashley-Cooper, Lady Ashley (later Countess of Shaftesbury and previously Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester), wife of The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury.^{[citation needed]}

He owned 23,000 acres, mostly in Donegal and Antrim.^[11]

The Barony of Ennishowen and Carrickfergus died with him, while he was succeeded in the marquessate by his younger brother, Lord Edward Chichester. The Marchioness of Donegall died in March 1884.^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g thepeerage.com Sir George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
^ ^a ^b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)
^ "No. 18709". The London Gazette. 23 July 1830. p. 1533.
^ "No. 18711". The London Gazette. 27 July 1830. p. 1580.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)
^ "No. 19225". The London Gazette. 30 December 1834. p. 2348.
^ "No. 19614". The London Gazette. 4 May 1838. p. 1025.
^ "No. 20007". The London Gazette. 13 August 1841. p. 2072.
^ leighrayment.com Knights of St Patrick^[usurped]
^ The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland

External links[edit]

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Arthur Chichester	Member of Parliament for Carrickfergus 1818–1820	Succeeded by Sir Arthur Chichester, Bt
Preceded by Arthur Chichester	Member of Parliament for Belfast 1820–1830	Succeeded by Sir Arthur Chichester, Bt
Preceded by Edmond Alexander McNaghten Hon. John O'Neill	Member of Parliament for Antrim 1830–1837 With: Hon. John O'Neill	Succeeded by John Irving Hon. John O'Neill
Preceded by James Emerson Tennent George Dunbar	Member of Parliament for Belfast 1837–1838 With: James Gibson	Succeeded by James Emerson Tennent George Dunbar
Political offices
Preceded by Sir Samuel Hulse	Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1830–1834	Succeeded by Viscount Castlereagh
Preceded by Lord Charles FitzRoy	Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1838–1841	Succeeded by Lord Ernest Bruce
Preceded by The Viscount Falkland	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1848–1852	Succeeded by The Lord de Ros
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl O'Neill	Lord Lieutenant of Antrim 1841–1883	Succeeded by The Lord Waveney
Preceded by The Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe	Senior Privy Counsellor 1880–1883	Succeeded by The Lord Ebury
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by George Augustus Chichester	Marquess of Donegall 1844–1883	Succeeded by Edward Chichester
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus 1841–1883	Extinct

[thepeerage.com-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g thepeerage.com Sir George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall

[2] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)

[rayment-3] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)

[4] "No. 18709". The London Gazette. 23 July 1830. p. 1533.

[5] "No. 18711". The London Gazette. 27 July 1830. p. 1580.

[6] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)

[7] "No. 19225". The London Gazette. 30 December 1834. p. 2348.

[8] "No. 19614". The London Gazette. 4 May 1838. p. 1025.

[9] "No. 20007". The London Gazette. 13 August 1841. p. 2072.

[10] rayment.com Knights of St Patrick^[usurped]

[11] The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland

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