The Earl of Powis | |
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 Powis in 1845, portrait byFrancis Grant | |
| Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire[1] | |
| In office 1830–1848 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Powis |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Sudeley |
| Member of Parliament forLudlow | |
| In office 1806–1839 Serving with
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| Preceded by |
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| Succeeded by | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1785-03-22)22 March 1785 |
| Died | 17 January 1848(1848-01-17) (aged 62) |
| Party | Tory |
| Spouse | Lady Lucy Graham |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis,KG (22 March 1785 – 17 January 1848), styledViscount Clive between 1804 and 1839, was a British peer andTory politician. He was the grandson ofClive of India.
Edward was born on 22 March 1785, the son ofEdward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis, and his wife,the former Henrietta Herbert. He was one of four children. His younger brother,Robert Henry Clive, was a noted politician. His elder sister, Henrietta, was the wife ofSir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet. His younger sister,Charlotte, was the wife ofHugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, and she was famously the governess of the futureQueen Victoria.
Edward was educated atEton andSt John's College, Cambridge, graduating asM.A. in 1806 and being awardedLL.D. by the same university in 1835. He also became an honoraryD.C.L. fromOxford University in 1844, the year he also became aKnight of the Garter[2]
After 1804, when his father was createdEarl of Powis, he was known by thecourtesy title ofViscount Clive, his father's second title. In 1806, he became aMember of Parliament forLudlow, retaining the seat until he inherited the earldom and entered theHouse of Lords. He was also heir to his uncleGeorge Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, who had died unmarried in 1801, and inherited thePowis Castle estates on condition that he assume the name and arms of Herbert only in lieu of those of Clive, which he did by Royal licence on 9 March 1807; other conditions were that he should settle his uncle's large gambling debts and that his father should leave the Clive estates to his younger son,Robert Henry Clive.[3]
On 29 November 1808 he was appointedLieutenant-Colonel Commandant of theEastern Montgomeryshire Local Militia, which existed until 1816.[4] Powis also had long service in what became theShropshire Yeomanry. In 1807 he was appointed major in command of a troop raised fromLudlow andBishop's Castle towns, which merged into a larger South Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry regiment in 1814.[5] He continued under command within the new regiment, to which he succeeded as lieutenant-colonel in 1827.[6] Succeeding his father as Lord-Lieutenant ofMontgomeryshire in 1830, Powis played a leading role in the suppression of theChartist riots of 1839, himself deploying four troops of his own regiment to disperse rioters fromNewtown and apprehend some ringleaders while theMontgomeryshire Yeomanry were deployed in other parts of the same county.[7] In addition to his yeomanry regiment, he wasColonel commanding theRoyal Montgomeryshire Militia from 1846 to his death.[3][8]
In 1812, as Viscount Clive, he served as treasurer of theSalop Infirmary inShrewsbury.[9]
The Earl was abibliophile who built up by 1816 a book collection in Powis Castle sourced from travels in France, purchased partly from booksellers and partly from an auction ofEmpress Joséphine's library atMalmaison.[10] He was elected to theRoxburghe Club in 1828 and became President in 1835, the year he sponsored their publication ofThe Lyvys of Seyntys (i.e. The Lives of Saints).[3]
A defender ofChurch of England interests in Wales, in the Lords he led a successful opposition over 1843 to 1847 to a proposal to unite thesees of Bangor andSt Asaph. He was ultimately appointed to a Royal Commission on English and Welsh bishoprics. A sum of £5,000 raised in testimonial to him was devoted to found the Powis Exhibitions to assist Welsh students at Oxford and Cambridge Universities intending to take holy orders.[3]
In 1847, he stood forelection as Chancellor of theUniversity of Cambridge, but was defeated by only 117 votes byAlbert, Prince Consort.
An encourager of canal building in Shropshire and into Montgomeryshire, he was at the time of his death Chairman of theShropshire Union Railways and Canal Company.[11]
_-_Lady_Lucy_Graham_(1793%25E2%2580%25931875)%2c_Countess_of_Powis_-_1180949_-_National_Trust.jpg)
On 9 February 1818, Powis marriedLady Lucy Graham, the daughter ofJames Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, and they had seven children, five boys and two girls:
The Earl of Powis died on 17 January 1848 at Powis Castle after being accidentally shot during a pheasant hunt by one of his sons, the Hon. George Herbert, later a clergyman andDean of Hereford. He was buried at St Mary's Parish Church,Welshpool.[3]
Through his second son Percy, he was a grandfather ofGeorge Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, who marriedViolet Lane-Fox (youngest daughter ofSackville Lane-Fox, 12th Baron Conyers).
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLudlow 1806–1839 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire 1830–1848 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Powis 1839–1848 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
