The Lord Carpenter of Killaghy | |
|---|---|
 St Andrews, Owlesbury, where Carpenter was buried | |
| Member of Parliament forWeobley | |
| In office 1741–1747 | |
| Member of Parliament forMorpeth | |
| In office 1717–1727 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1695 Ocle Pychard, Herefordshire, England |
| Died | 12 August 1749(1749-08-12) (aged 54) |
| Resting place | Owslebury |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | |
| Children | George;Alicia |
| Parent(s) | George Carpenter, 1st Baron Carpenter Alice Caulfield |
| Occupation | Politician and landowner |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain |
| Rank | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Unit | Life Guards |
Lieutenant-Colonel George Carpenter, 2nd Baron CarpenterFRS (c. 1695 – 12 July 1749) of the Homme, Dilwyn, Herefordshire was an English landowner andMember of Parliament at different periods between 1717 and 1747.
George Carpenter was born sometime in 1695 atOcle Pychard, only son ofGeorge Carpenter, 1st Baron Carpenter and Alice Caulfield.[1]
In August 1722, Carpenter married Elizabeth Petty (1707?–1791); they had two surviving children,George (1723–1762) andAlicia (c.1726–died 1794). Both made extremely beneficial marriages; George becameEarl of Tyrconnell, while Alicia wasLady of the Bedchamber toQueen Charlotte and married theEarl of Egremont, who wasSecretary of State from 1761 to 1763.
Carpenter held a number of commissions in his father's regiment, the3rd The King's Own Hussars, includingLieutenant in 1708 when he was 13 andCaptain in 1712, but does not appear to have served.[2] Regiments and commissions were then considered private assets, that could be used as an investment or to provide an income; their award to children was later discouraged, but drawing pay and delegating duties to a substitute remained a common practice.[3]
In August 1715, he was made captain in the1st Foot Guards, thenLieutenant-Colonel in theLife Guards in January 1730.[4] Again, this did not require active service; although Guards regiments theoretically contained up to 24 companies, actual numbers were far lower and commissions often nominal.[5]
He was returned asWhigMP forMorpeth from 1717 to 1727; after inheriting his cousin's estate at Homme in 1733, he later sat for the nearby seat ofWeobley between 1741 and 1747.[1] In June 1729, he was invested as aFellow of the Royal Society.[6] In 1737, he submitted to the Society an account of a wound received by his father at theBattle of Brihuega in 1710, when a musket ball remained lodged in his throat for nearly a year.[7]
In 1732, he was named one of theGeorgia Trustees, a committee set up to establish theProvince of Georgia, last of theThirteen Colonies inBritish North America. The brainchild ofJames Oglethorpe, it was an ambitious, philanthropic venture, which began life as a private enterprise but struggled to attract financial support and was eventually taken over by the Crown in 1752.[8] Carpenter played a secondary role; he resigned in 1738, was re-elected in 1739, apparently against his will, before resigning again in 1740.[1] When the town ofBrunswick, Georgia was established in 1738, "Carpenter Street" was named after him.[9]
He succeeded his father in the barony on 10 February 1731. This was anIrish peerage which allowed him to remain a member of theHouse of Commons. On 23 May 1733, he inherited the estate of The Homme (or Holme) in Dilwyn, Herefordshire from his second cousin, Thomas Carpenter. He died 12 July 1749 atGrosvenor Square, London and was buried in the family vault at St Andrews, Owlesbury. His will, dated 31 December 1748, was probated on 24 July 1749.[1]
Lord Carpenter'sArms appear to be of French or Norman origin, "Paly of six, argent and gules, on a chevron azure, 3 cross crosslets or." Crest, on a wreath a globe in a frame all or. Supporters, two horses, party-perfess, embattled argent and gules. Motto: "Per Acuta Belli" (Through the Asperities of War). These arms descend fromJohn Carpenter, the younger (abt. 1372 – 1442) who was the notedTown Clerk of London during the reigns ofKing Henry V &King Henry VI.[10]
These arms are often referred to as the Hereford arms, named for the later ancestral home of the Carpenter Family in Hereford, England. The Crest, supporters and motto apparently have changed several times over the centuries.[11]
SirWilliam Boyd Carpenter (1841–1918),Bishop of Ripon, afterwards a Canon of Westminster and Chaplain to the reigning sovereign of England, wrote in a letter dated 7 August 1907 that his family bore the Hereford Arms. SirNoel Paton, upon painting the family arms, informed him that the supporters were originally a round-handled sword, which in drawing over time became shortened, until nothing but the cross and globe were left beneath it. Those Hereford Arms were used by "John Carpenter, town clerk of London, who died 1442 A. D."[11] His grandsonJohn Boyd-Carpenter, Baron Boyd-Carpenter (1908–1998), continued the arms into the new century by passing it down to his son, Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, who was himself knighted after a military career as a Lieutenant-General and for public service.[11]
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMorpeth 1717–1727 With:Viscount Morpeth | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWeobly 1741–1747 With:The Viscount Palmerston | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Carpenter 1731–1749 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
