George Herbert, 7th Earl of Powis

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George William Herbert, 7th Earl of Powis (4 June 1925 – 13 August 1993), was a British peer who sat in the House of Lords between 1988 and 1993.

Family and background[edit]

Herbert was born on 4 June 1925. He was the eldest son of the Hon. Elaine Letitia Algitha Orde-Powlett and Rt. Rev. Percy Mark Herbert, Bishop of Norwich, Kingston, and Blackburn who served as Clerk of the Closet.[1] Among his younger siblings (who were granted the rank of earl's children in 1991) were Hon. David Mark Herbert (chief executive of Studio Vista),[2] Lady Elizabeth Barbarina Herbert (wife of Maj. Hubert Robert Holden of Sibdon Castle, the High Sheriff of Shropshire),[3] and the Hon. Andrew Clive Herbert.[4][5]

His paternal grandparents were Sybella Augusta Herbert (née Milbank) and Maj.-Gen. The Hon. William Henry Herbert, Mayor of Shrewsbury (and younger son of Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis and Lucy Herbert, Countess of Powis).[6] His maternal grandparents were William Orde-Powlett, 5th Baron Bolton and Elizabeth née Gibson, a daughter of the 1st Baron Ashbourne).[7]

He was educated at Eton College before attending Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1949.[1]

Career[edit]

Between school and university, Herbert served in the Rifle Brigade from 1943, during the Second World War, until demobilised in 1947.[8] Herbert was appointed a Fellow of the Land Agents' Society[1] and of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and worked as a land agent on estates in Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk before returning to Shropshire in 1970 to farm his estate in Chirbury,[8] described as "straddling the Welsh border" and "let his cottages in Chirbury at low rents, safeguarding the village school, and led an appeal to restore the parish church."[9]

Upon the death of his bachelor cousin, Christian Herbert (both great-grandchildren of the 2nd Earl), on 7 October 1988,[10] he succeeded as the 7th Earl of Powis, in addition to a number of subsidiary titles including the Baron Clive of Plassey, Baron Clive of Walcot, Baron Herbert of Chirbury, Viscount Clive of Ludlow and the Baron Powis of Powis Castle.[1]

Personal life[edit]

On 26 July 1949, Herbert was married to the Hon. Katharine Odeyne de Grey, daughter of Lt.-Col. George de Grey, 8th Baron Walsingham and the former Hyacinth Lambart Bouwens.[4] Together, they lived at Marrington Hall in Chirbury, Shropshire, and were the parents of:[1]

  • John George Herbert, 8th Earl of Powis (b. 1952), who married Marijke Sofia Guther, daughter of Maarten Nanne Guther, in 1977.[5]They have four children.
  • Hon. Michael Clive Herbert (b. 1954), who married Susan Mary Baker, daughter of Guy Baker, in 1978.[1]They have three children.
  • Hon. Peter James Herbert (b. 1955), who married Terri McBride, daughter of Sean McBride, in 1978.[1]They had two daughters and a son, he then remarried and had another two children.
  • Hon. Edward David Herbert (1958–2008), who married Diana Christine Shore, daughter of Cedric Shore, in 1985.[1]They have two children.
  • Lady Lorraine Elizabeth Herbert (b. 1961), who married Roger Samuel Jones in 1981.[1]They have two children.
  • Lady Nicola Wendy Herbert (b. 1962), who married Robert Thomas Buxton in 1985.[1]They have one daughter, Kim.

After being ill with cancer for eleven months,[8] Lord Powis died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Shropshire on 13 August 1993 at age 68.[11][12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 3205-3207.
  2. ^ "Obituary: David Herbert". The Independent. 22 November 1996. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Tributes as Shropshire artwork expert dies, aged 58". Shropshire Star. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Kidd, Charles; Shaw, Christine (24 June 2008). Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2008. Debrett's. pp. 1453, 1154–1155. ISBN 978-1-870520-80-5. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b Morris, Susan (20 April 2020). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019. eBook Partnership. p. 4031. ISBN 978-1-9997670-5-1. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  6. ^ "HERBERT family, (earls of POWIS)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  7. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1910). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour. T.C. & E.C. Jack. p. 1126. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Earl of Powis dies after battle with cancer". Shropshire Star. 16 August 1993. p. 13.
  9. ^ "Villages in mourning for 'George'". The Birmingham Post. 16 August 1993. p. 5. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Earl of Powis". The Daily Telegraph. 8 October 1988. p. 13. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Earl dies". The Observer. 15 August 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Benefactor earl dies". Birmingham Evening Mail. 16 August 1993. p. 11. Retrieved 23 June 2022.

External links[edit]

Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl of Powis
1988–1993
Succeeded by