The Right Honourable
The Earl of Ancaster
PC
"A great officer of State". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1881.
Member of Parliament
for Boston
In office
1852–1856
Serving with Benjamin Cabbell
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Member of Parliament
for Rutland
In office
1856–1867
Serving with Hon. Gerard Noel
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born(1830-10-01)1 October 1830
Died24 December 1910(1910-12-24) (aged 80)
Resting placeChurch of St. Michael and All Angels, Edenham, Lincolnshire, England
Political partyLiberal
Children
Parents

Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster, PC (1 October 1830 – 24 December 1910), known as 2nd Baron Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as 25th Baron Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politician and court official.

Early life

Born Gilbert Henry Heathcote, he was the son of Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baron Aveland, and Clementina Elizabeth Drummond-Willoughby, 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1]

Career

In 1852, Ancaster was elected to the House of Commons for Boston, a seat he held until 1856, and then represented Rutland until he succeeded his father as second Baron Aveland in 1867. In 1872, he assumed by Royal licence the additional surnames of Willoughby and Drummond. He held the office of Deputy Lord Great Chamberlain from 1871 to 1901 and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1880.

In 1888, he succeeded his mother as twenty-fifth Baron Willoughby de Eresby and four years later he was created Earl of Ancaster, in the County of Lincoln. This was a revival of the title held by his maternal ancestors the Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven.

Personal life

Burial place, in the churchyard of the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Edenham, Lincolnshire

Lord Ancaster married Lady Evelyn Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly, in 1863. Together, they were the parents of ten children:[2]

Lord Ancaster died on 24 December 1910, aged 80, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son. His tomb stands alongside that of his uncle in the churchyard at Edenham in Lincolnshire; together the tombs constitute a Grade II listed building.[3]

He owned 31,000 acres.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Willoughby, Gilbert Henry Heathcote (WLHY849GH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ↑ Burke's
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Pair of tombs at east end of Church of St. Michael (Alberic Drummond Willoughby and Earl of Ancaster) (Grade II) (1360078)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Bateman, John (1883). The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison. Retrieved 23 November 2023.

References

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