Monarch Victoria Nationality British Died 28 October 1921 | Succeeded by The Earl Cadogan Preceded by The Lord de Ros Name Henry 3rd | |
 | ||
Prime Minister The Viscount PalmerstonThe Earl Russell | ||
Henry John Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie (25 June 1827 – 28 October 1921), styled Lord Moreton between 1840 and 1853, was a British courtier and Liberal Party politician. He notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1859 to 1866. A member of the House of Lords for 68 years, he was Father of the House of Lords between 1913 and his death in 1921.
Contents
Background and education
Moreton was the eldest son of Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie and his wife, Elizabeth Dutton, daughter of John Dutton, 2nd Baron Sherborne. He was educated at Eton.
Political career
In 1852, Moreton entered Parliament as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud. The following year he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. In 1859 he was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under Lord Palmerston, a post he held until the government fell in 1866, the last year under the premiership of Lord Russell. In 1913 he became Father of the House of Lords as the longest-serving member of that body.
Apart from his political career, Lord Ducie was Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire between 1857 and 1911 and Lord Warden of the Stannaries between 1888 and 1908. In 1906 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
Family
Lord Ducie married his first cousin, Julia Langston, daughter of James Langston, MP, on 24 May 1849. They had two children:
The Countess of Ducie died in February 1895 and Lord Ducie remained a widower until his death in October 1921, aged 94. As his only son had predeceased him, Lord Ducie's titles passed to his younger brother, Berkeley Moreton, 4th Earl of Ducie.
Tortworth Court
Between 1848 and 1853 he had Tortworth Court built where he then lived. During his long life he spent much time acquiring unusual and exotic plants from around the world to plant in the grounds of Tortworth Court. Many of the plants remain and the grounds now comprises one of the great arboretums of England.
Literary efforts
In 1872, a short article by the third earl entitled Crocodile shooting was published in Land and Water. It is available online through the Open Library.