William Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst

William Archer Amherst
3rd Earl Amherst

The Earl Amherst by Leslie Ward, 1904.
Born (1836-03-26)26 March 1836
Mayfair, London, England.
Died 14 August 1910(1910-08-14) (aged 74)
Montreal Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England
Nationality United Kingdom British
Education Eton College
Occupation Politician
Title 3rd Earl Amherst
Predecessor 2nd Earl Amherst
Successor 4th Earl Amherst
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Julia (née Mann)
Alice (née Vaughan)

William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst (26 March 1836 – 14 August 1910) was a British peer, politician and notable Freemason, known as Viscount Holmesdale from 1857 to 1886.[1]

He was born in Mayfair, London, the son of Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at Eton and went on to serve with the Coldstream Guards, rising to the rank of Captain and fighting in the Battle of Balaclava, the Battle of Inkerman (where he was severely wounded) and the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.

On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale became Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kent in 1859 and on 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the 5th Earl Cornwallis) in Linton, Kent.

In 1868 Holmesdale became MP for Mid Kent until 1880. He served as Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations in 1868.[2] On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883 and on 25 April 1889, he married Alice Vaughan, the widow of the 5th Earl of Lisburne in London.

He died in 1910, aged 74, at his home of Montreal Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent as a result of an operation he received three months prior for a throat infection. He was cremated on 16 August 1910 and his ashes buried two days later in nearby Riverhead. Despite having married twice, the earl died childless and his titles passed to his brother, Hugh.

References

  1. The 3rd Earl Amherst 1836–1910
  2. Cook & Keith, 'British Historical Facts 1830–1900', 1975 P.93
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
James Whatman
Charles Wykeham Martin
Member of Parliament for West Kent
1859–1868
With: Sir Edmund Filmer to 1865
William Hart Dyke from 1865
Succeeded by
Charles Mills
John Gilbert Talbot
New constituency Member of Parliament for Mid Kent
18681880
With: William Hart Dyke
Succeeded by
William Hart Dyke
Edmund Filmer
Party political offices
Preceded by
John Eldon Gorst
Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations
1868
Succeeded by
Henry Cecil Raikes
Masonic offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Lathom
Pro Grand Master of the
United Grand Lodge of England

1898–1908
Succeeded by
The Lord Ampthill
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Amherst
Earl Amherst
1886–1910
Succeeded by
Hugh Amherst
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
William Amherst
Baron Amherst
(writ in acceleration)

1880–1910
Succeeded by
Hugh Amherst
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