Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey

Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey PC, PC (Ire) (c. 1678 – 31 March 1737) was an Anglo-Irish politician. He was a Member of Parliament in both the British and Irish lower houses before succeeding as 6th Viscount Valentia and 5th Earl of Anglesey, joining both the upper houses. He served as Vice-Treasurer in Ireland from 1710 to 1716 and was a member of the regency commission upon the succession of George I.

Early life and family

Annesley was the third son of James Annesley, 2nd Earl of Anglesey and his wife Elizabeth (died 1700), daughter of John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland. He was appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to William III in 1689, and began studies at Eton College around 1693. He attained an MA from Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1699, and was elected a fellow the next year.^[1]

He married his cousin Mary (died 1719) on 6 January 1702, third daughter of John Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham and Frances, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey. They had no children and he was succeeded as 6th Earl of Anglesey by his cousin Richard Annesley, 5th Baron Altham.

Political life

As a Tory, Anglesey was elected in 1702 to represent Cambridge University in the English Parliament (succeeded by the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707). For the Irish Parliament, he was elected in 1703 to represent New Ross, near his family estate in County Wexford. He held both seats until the death of his brother John, when he succeeded as 6th Viscount Valentia and 5th Earl of Anglesey in the Irish and English peerages respectively. He was appointed to the British and Irish Privy Councils in 1710^[2] and 1711^[3] respectively.

He became Vice-Treasurer and Paymaster General in Ireland, but in 1711, after spending a period in Ireland, he had ambitions to succeed the Duke of Ormond as Viceroy of Ireland. When the Duke of Shrewsbury replaced Ormond, he opposed the parliamentary confirmation of the commercial treaty with France and undermined Shrewsbury in Ireland.

In July 1714 he was commissioned to remodel the Irish army, however following the death of Queen Anne in August he took his place on the regency commission for George I until his arrival from Hanover. Following the publication of plans to reduce the Irish army, he lost his position in court by 1715, and in 1716 he was removed from office, expressed in public as voluntary.

The death of George I in 1727 saw Anglesey encourage Irish Torys to come to court, however his appointment as Governor of County Wexford was one of only a few gains.

He served as High Steward of the University of Cambridge from 1722 to 1737.^[4]

Anglesey died from the effects of gout on 31 March 1737 in Farnborough, Hampshire, where he was buried.

Footnotes

References

• Hayton, D. W. (2004). "Annesley, Arthur, fifth earl of Anglesey (c.1678–1737)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63653. Retrieved 3 January 2011.  (subscription or UK public library membership required)