William Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst

William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst (26 March 1836 – 14 August 1910), styled Viscount Holmesdale from 1857 to 1886, was a British peer, politician and notable Freemason.[1]

The Earl Amherst
Caricature of Lord Amherst
"The Pro Grand Master", Lord Amherst as caricatured by Leslie Ward in Vanity Fair.
Born
William Archer Amherst

(1836-03-26)26 March 1836
Died14 August 1910(1910-08-14) (aged 74)
Montreal Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent
NationalityBritish
EducationEton College
TitleEarl Amherst
PredecessorWilliam Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst
SuccessorHugh Amherst, 4th Earl Amherst
Political partyConservative
Spouses
Julia Mann
(m. 1862; died 1883)
Alice Vaughan
(m. 1889)
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
RankCaptain
UnitColdstream Guards
Battles / warsCrimean War (specifically the Battle of Balaclava, the Battle of Inkerman and the Siege of Sevastopol)
Monochrome photograph of Amherst in military dress
Amherst during the period of his service in the Crimea

He was born in Mayfair, London, the son of William Amherst, Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at Eton and went on to serve with the Coldstream Guards, rising to the rank of captain and fighting in the Battle of Balaclava, the Battle of Inkerman (where he was severely wounded) and the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.

On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kent at the 1859 general election. On 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis) in Linton, Kent.

In 1868 Holmesdale became MP for the new Mid Kent constituency, which he represented until 1880. He served as chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations in 1868.[2] On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883, and on 25 April 1889 he married Alice Vaughan (née Proby), widow of Ernest Vaughan, 5th Earl of Lisburne in London.

He died in 1910, aged 74, at his home of Montreal Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent as a result of an operation he received three months prior for a throat infection. He was cremated on 16 August 1910 and his ashes buried two days later in nearby Riverhead. Despite having married twice, the earl died childless and his titles passed to his brother, Hugh.

References

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  1. ^ "The 3rd Earl Amherst 1836–1910". Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. ^ Cook, C. & Keith, B. (1975) British Historical Facts 1830–1900. London and Baisngstoke: The Macmillan Press, p. 93
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for West Kent
18591868
With: Sir Edmund Filmer, Bt to 1865
William Hart Dyke from 1865
Succeeded by
New constituency Member of Parliament for Mid Kent
18681880
With: Sir William Hart Dyke, Bt
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations
1868
Succeeded by
Masonic offices
Preceded by Pro Grand Master of the
United Grand Lodge of England

1898–1908
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl Amherst
1886–1910
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Baron Amherst
(writ in acceleration)

1880–1910
Succeeded by