George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford

Updated on Jan 30, 2024

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Monarch William IV Victoria Party Whigs Monarch Victoria Died October 29, 1886		Name George 2nd Preceded by Earl of Surrey
Education Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Succeeded by Marcus Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys
Preceded by Hon. Henry Lowry-Corry Prime Minister The Viscount Melbourne Prime Minister The Viscount Melbourne

George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, was a British peer and Whig politician.

Background, education and military career

Byng was the eldest son of John Byng (later 1st Earl of Strafford) and his first wife, Mary (née Mackenzie). In 1822, after graduating from the Royal Military College, he joined the 29th Regiment of Foot as an ensign by purchase. In 1825, he transferred to the 85th Regiment of Foot as a Lieutenant and was promoted to Captain in 1826.

Political career

Byng's political career began in 1830 when he was elected as Member of Parliament for Milborne Port, a seat he briefly held before taking the post of Comptroller of the Household to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (his father-in-law, Lord Anglesey), less than a year later. When his former co-MP, William Sturges-Bourne, took the Chiltern Hundreds a few weeks after, Byng returned to his former seat and held it until the Great Reform Bill abolished the constituency a year later. From 1834 he was MP for the new constituency of Chatham, a seat he held until 1835 and again from 1837 to 1852. He served under Lord Melbourne as a Lord of the Treasury between June and November 1834. Between 1836 and 1837 he represented Poole in parliament. He again served under Lord Melbourne as Comptroller of the Household between 1835 and 1841 and as Treasurer of the Household between June and August 1841 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1835. When Lord John Russell became Prime Minister in 1846, Byng was appointed Joint Secretary to the Board of Control, a post he retained until 1847.

After losing his parliamentary seat in 1852, Byng was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's barony of Strafford a year later and inherited his father's earldom in 1860.

Family

Lord Strafford married firstly Lady Agnes, daughter of Field Marshal Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, on 7 March 1829. They had six children:

George Henry Charles, styled Viscount Enfield, later 3rd Earl of Strafford (22 Feb 1830–28 Mar 1898)

Hon. Henry William John, later 4th Earl of Strafford (21 Aug 1831–16 May 1899)

Lady Agnes Mary Georgiana (29 Oct 1833– 7 Apr 1878), married Hedworth Jolliffe, 2nd Baron Hylton.

Hon. Francis Edmund Cecil, later 5th Earl of Strafford (1835–1918)

Lady Mary Caroline Charlotte (1838–1933), married Richard Arkwright.

Lady Victoria Alexandrina Anna Maria (11 Mar 1842-1899), married Arthur Fuller.

After Lady Agnes's death in October 1845, Lord Strafford married secondly the Hon. Harriett, daughter of Charles Cavendish, 1st Baron Chesham, in 1848. They had seven children:

Hon. Charles Cavendish George (1849–1918).

Hon Alfred John George (1851–1887).

Lady Susan Catherine Harriet (19 Mar 1854-1936), married Thomas Trueman.

Lady Elizabeth Henrietta Alice (31 Dec 1855-1920).

Hon. Lionel Francis George (1858–1915); m. 1902 Lady Eleanor Mabel Howard (1873–1945), daughter of the 18th Earl of Suffolk; and had issue.

Lady Margaret Florence Lucy ( 6 Nov 1860-1945), married Hon. John Richard Boscawen.

Hon. Julian Hedworth George, later 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy (1862–1935).

Lord Strafford died in October 1886, aged 80, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, George. The Countess of Strafford died in June 1892.