SOMERSET, Lord Granville Charles Henry (1792-1848), of Troy, Mon.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

20 May 1816 - 23 Feb. 1848

Family and Education

b. 27 Dec. 1792, 2nd s. of Henry Charles Somerset*, 6th Duke of Beaufort, by Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson Gower, da. of Granville Leveson Gower, 1st Mq. of Stafford; bro. of Henry Somerset, Mq. of Worcester*. educ. Christ Church, Oxf. 1811. m. 27 July 1822, Hon. Emily Smith, da. of Robert Smith*, 1st Baron Carrington, 3s. 2da.

Offices Held

Ld. of Treasury Mar. 1819-Apr. 1827, Jan. 1828-Nov. 1830; PC 20 Dec. 1834; commr. of woods, forests and land revenues Dec. 1834-May 1835; chancellor of duchy of Lancaster Sept. 1841-July 1846.

Biography

Lord Granville Somerset succeeded his late uncle Lord Arthur to the family seat for Monmouthshire unopposed in 1816 and held it until his death.1 His elder brother Henry already had a seat for Monmouth Boroughs. Lord Granville (a member of Grillion’s Club from 1815) was a ministerialist like the rest of his family and all his known votes before 1820 were in favour of the Liverpool administration. He voted against Catholic relief, 9 May 1817. On 26 Feb. 1819 in his first known speech he opposed any alteration in the coal duties. He was subsequently a conservative politician, having accepted junior office under Lord Liverpool in March 1819, when his elder brother resigned his place. He died 23 Feb. 1848, regarded as ‘a very useful man’.2

Ref Volumes: 1790-1820

Author: R. G. Thorne

Notes

  • 1. R. D. Rees, ‘Parl. Rep. S. Wales 1790-1830’ (Reading Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1962), ii. 504; DNB. Gent. Mag. (1848), i. 432.
  • 2. Gent. Mag. (1848), i. 432.