Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland

British aristocrat and Tory politician

His Grace

The Duke of Northumberland

KG PC

Portrait by Thomas Phillips, c. 1817

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
22 January 1829 – 4 December 1830
Monarchs| George IV
William IV
Prime Minister| The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by| The Marquess of Anglesey
Succeeded by| The Marquess of Anglesey
Personal details
Born| (1785-04-20)20 April 1785
Died| 11 February 1847(1847-02-11) (aged 61)
Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Nationality| British
Political party| Tory
Spouse|

Lady Charlotte Clive

(m. 1817)​

Parent(s)| Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland
Frances Julia Burrell
Alma mater| Eton
St John's College, Cambridge

Quartered arms of Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC

Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland KG, PC (20 April 1785 - 11 February 1847), styled Earl Percy until 1817, was a British aristocrat and Tory politician who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under the Duke of Wellington from 1829 to 1830.

## Background and education

[edit]

Northumberland was the son of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and Frances Julia, daughter of Peter Burrell. He was educated at Eton and the University of Cambridge (St John's College).[1]

## Political career

[edit]

Northumberland entered parliament as the member for Buckingham in July 1806. In September of that year he was elected member for the City of Westminster, on the death of Charles James Fox. He declined to fight the seat at the general election two months later, instead being returned for Launceston. In 1807, he offered himself as a candidate for the county of Northumberland in opposition to Charles, Lord Howick (afterwards the 2nd Earl Grey), who declined to contest the seat. Percy was returned unopposed, and continued to sit until 1812, when he was called to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration by the title Baron Percy.[2]

In 1817, he succeeded his father as Duke of Northumberland. He served as Ambassador Extraordinary at the coronation of Charles X of France in 1825, defraying the expenses thereof himself, and he "astonished the continental nobility of the magnitude of his retinue, the gorgeousness of his equippage, and the profuseness of his liberality".

In March 1829, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, a post he held until the following year. He was thus in office when the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed, and was pronounced by Robert Peel "the best chief governor that ever presided over the affairs of Ireland."[3]

## Other public positions

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In November 1834, Northumberland was elected high Steward of the university of Cambridge, holding that honour until 1840 when he was made chancellor of the university.[2]

He played a prominent role in the establishment of the Church Building Society responsible for building the so-called "Waterloo churches" during the early 19th century. He proposed the CBS's formation at a meeting in the Freemasons' Hall, London on 6 February 1818, chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Society lobbied parliament to provide funding for a church building programme, and parliament subsequently passed the Church Building Act, voting £l,000,000 to the cause.[citation needed]

He also played a part in the development of football in a time when it was a controversial game by providing a field for the annual Alnwick Shrove Tuesday game and presenting the ball before the match—a ritual that continues to this day. Between 1817 and 1847 he held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland.[citation needed]

## Family

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Northumberland married Lady Charlotte Clive, daughter of Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis, and the mineral collector Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis on 29 April 1817 at Northumberland House. They had no children.

Alnwick Castle

Northumberland died at Alnwick in February 1847, aged 61. His remains were interred in the Northumberland Vault within Westminster Abbey on 23 February.[4]

He was succeeded by his younger brother, Lord Prudhoe. In August 1851, an altar monument to the Duke was placed in St Paul's Church, Alnwick.[2]

## See also

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* Syon House

## References

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This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1. ^ "Percy, Hugh Earl (PRCY802HE)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. ^ a b c John Latimer. Local Records, or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events (1857)
3. ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Northumberland, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 788.
4. ^ Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland, westminster-abbey.org. Accessed 29 December 2022.

## External links

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* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Northumberland

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

Thomas Grenville
Lord John Proby

|  Member of Parliament for Buckingham
1806
With:  Thomas Grenville | Succeeded by

Thomas Grenville
Sir William Young, 2nd Bt

Preceded by

James Brogden
Richard Bennet

|  Member of Parliament for Launceston
1806–1807
With:  James Brogden | Succeeded by

James Brogden
Richard Bennet

Preceded by

Charles Grey
Thomas Beaumont

|  Member of Parliament for Northumberland
1807–1812
With:  Thomas Beaumont | Succeeded by

Thomas Beaumont
Sir Charles Monck, Bt

Political offices
Preceded by

The Marquess of Anglesey

|  Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1829–1830  | Succeeded by

The Marquess of Anglesey

Academic offices
Preceded by

The Marquess Camden

|  Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
1840–1847  | Succeeded by

The Prince Consort

Honorary titles
Preceded by

The Duke of Northumberland

|  Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland
1817–1847  | Succeeded by

The Earl Grey

Vacant

Title last held by

The Duke of Northumberland |  Vice-Admiral of Northumberland
1822–1847  | Vacant
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by

Hugh Percy

|  Duke of Northumberland
1817–1847  | Succeeded by

Algernon Percy

Baron Percy
(writ in acceleration)
1812–1847

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

Artists|

* RKD Artists

People|

* Archaeology Data Service
* Ireland
* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* SNAC

*[c.]: circa
*[m.]: married