William Barrington, 6th Viscount Barrington

William Keppel Barrington, 6th Viscount Barrington (6 October 1793 – 9 February 1867), styled The Honourable from 1814 until 1829, was a British businessman and politician.

The Viscount Barrington
Member of Parliament for Berkshire
In office
1837–1857
Preceded byRobert Palmer
John Walter
Philip Pusey
Succeeded byRobert Palmer
George Henry Vansittart
Hon. Philip Pleydell-Bouverie
Personal details
Born(1793-10-06)6 October 1793
London, England
Died9 February 1867(1867-02-09) (aged 73)
Spouse
Hon. Jane Elizabeth Liddell
(m. 1823)
RelationsJohn Barrington (grandfather)
Parent(s)George Barrington, 5th Viscount Barrington
Elizabeth Adair
ResidenceBeckett Hall
EducationWestminster School
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford

Early life

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Born in London on 6 October 1793, Barrington was the eldest son of fifteen children born to the Reverend George Barrington, 5th Viscount Barrington, by his wife Elizabeth, second daughter of Robert Adair and Lady Caroline Keppel (the second daughter of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle),[1] a descendant of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond.

Like his father, he was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1814.

Career

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Barrington succeeded in the viscountcy on the death of his father in 1829. However, as this was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords. In 1837 he was instead elected to the House of Commons as one of three representatives for Berkshire, a seat he held until 1857. He was also Chairman of the Great Western Railway between 1856 and 1857.

Personal life

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On 21 April 1823, Lord Barrington married the Hon. Jane Elizabeth Liddell (1804–1883),[2] fourth daughter of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth and the former Maria Susannah Simpson (daughter and co-heiress of John Simpson of Bradley Hall and Lady Anne Lyon, the second daughter of Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne).[1] His wife served as a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Dowager Queen Adelaide. They lived at Beckett Hall, Shrivenham, Berkshire which he had built in 1830–1831.[3]

They were the parents of five sons and five daughters:

Lord Barrington died at Shrivenham in February 1867, aged 73, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, George. He was buried in St. Andrews Church, Shrivenham. Lady Barrington died 22 March 1883, aged 78.[4]

Descendants

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Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of three girls: Hon. Constance Mary Barrington (1847–1926), who married Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baron Haldon, Hon. Evelyn Laura Barrington (1848–1924), who married George Craven, 3rd Earl of Craven, and Hon. Florence Isabel Barrington, a Sister of the Community of St Mary the Virgin.

Through his daughter Adelaide, he was a grandfather of Charles Barrington Balfour (a first cousin of Arthur Balfour, who served as Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905), an army officer and MP for Hornsey who later served as the Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire. He married Lady Helena McDonnell, daughter of Alexander MacDonnell, 5th Earl of Antrim.

References

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  1. ^ a b Dod, Robert P. (1860). The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Whitaker and Co. p. 105.
  2. ^ "Jane Elizabeth (née Liddell), Viscountess Barrington". National Portrait Gallery, London.
  3. ^ Page, William; Ditchfield, P. H., eds. (1924). "Parishes: Shrivenham". A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 531–543. Retrieved 19 June 2022 – via British History Online.
  4. ^ Walford, Edward (1919). The County Families of the United Kingdom. London: Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd. p. 75.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Berkshire
18371857
With: Robert Palmer 1837–1857
Philip Pusey 1837–1852
George Henry Vansittart 1852–1857
Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Viscount Barrington
1829–1867
Succeeded by