Later Stanleys

[Note the Lordship of the Isle of Man passed to the Atholls, however the Earldom passed to a cadet branch of the family - the following is taken from Aspden "Life of the Late Lord Derby and Historical Sketches of the House of Stanley" Preston 1873 which is a hagiographic portrait of the 14^th Earl with a brief notice of the 15^th - however as both these gentlemen were major figures in Victorian politics and are extensively treated elsewhere I have scanned in the section devoted to the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th Earls. They had some connection with the Island, a junior branch possessed Ballaceighen, Arbory, Charles Stanley (descended from Edward Stanley of Preston) was receiver-general, his sister Ann married into the Tyldesley family of the Friary]

The Eleventh Earl.

The eleventh earl was Sir Edward Stanley, Bart., of Bickerstaffe Hall, near Ormskirk, paternally descended from Sir John Stanley, who married "the fair Isabel" of Lathom, and likewise maternally descended from the Princess Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of Edward I. Sir Edward was the fifth baronet.

The baronetage was first conferred on a Sir Edward Stanley in the year 1627. His second son was named Henry, and was father of Edward Stanley, Esq., of Preston, who died in 1755, at the extraordinary age of 103 years. The second baronet was Sir Thomas Stanley, who married the widow of Henry Houghton, Esq., of Brimscolls, and whose fourth son, Peter, was the progenitor of the Stanleys, of Cross Hall. The third baronet was Sir Edward Stanley, who was born in 1664, and died of fever in October, 1671. The fourth baronet was Sir Thomas Stanley, who married, on the 16th of August, 1688, Elizabeth, only daughter of Thomas Patten, Esq., M.P., of Preston, by whom he had four sons. Sir Thomas himself was member for Preston in 1695, and died on the 17th May, 1713. His eldest son - Sir Edward -became the fifth Baronet and eleventh Earl of Derby.

Sir Edward Stanley was born on the 11th September, 1689, and married, in March, 1714, Elizabeth, only daughter of Robert Hesketh, Esq., of Rufford, by Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of the Honourable William Spencer, of Ashton Hall. Sir Edward had a residence in Preston, was an alderman of the borough served the office of Mayor in 1731-2, and gave to the Corporation the large silver punch bowl which is still filled with wine and "handed round " to the guests at important municipal gatherings. He was afterwards returned as member for the County of Lancaster, and succeeded to the Earldom of Derby in 1736. His eldest son, James, Lord Stanley (commonly but erroneously called Lord Strange) married Lucy, daughter and co. heir of Hugh Smith, Esq., of Weald Hall, Essex, of the ancient family of Smith, or Herriz, of Edmundthorpe, and thereafter assumed the additional surname of Smith. He was an active member of Parliament, and held the offices of Chancellor of the Duchy and Lord Lieutenant of the County Palatine of Lancaster. He died at Bath on the 14th of June, 1771. His father, the eleventh Earl, died on the 22nd of February, 1776, aged 87 years.

The Twelfth Earl of Derby.

Edward Smith-Stanley, the son of Lord Stanley, M.P., was born at Patten House, Preston, on the 12th September, 1752, and was educated partially at Trinity College, Oxford. Shortly after attaining his majority he was elected Knight of the Shire for the County of Lancaster, and continued to hold that office until the death of his grand father, when he succeeded to the earldom. He twice held the office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; but was best known as a liberal patron of the sports that were formerly considered essentially English He established the well-known racing festivals, the Derby, and the Oaks, the former deriving its name from himself, and- the latter from the valley of Lambert's Oaks attached to his racing residence at Banstead, Surrey. The "Derby" was instituted in 1780, and seven years later the noble earl won the stakes with his horse "Sir Peter Teazle." The "Oaks" was established in 1779, and the first race was won by Lord Derby's mare "Bridget." It was acknowledged by even those who were his competitors that he had the best stud of race horses, and the best breed of game cocks in the kingdom, . He was intimately connected with Preston, and was a liberal donor to the funds of the Old Dispensary, of which useful institution he was for some years patron. He also took a lively interest in the Preston races, and had frequent smart contests with the members of the Corporation, who then assumed control over the sports as well as the social and sanitary condition of the people. During the racing week he resided at his birthplace, Patten House, which came into the possession of the Derby family through the marriage of Sir Thomas Stanley, M.P., for Preston (and father to the eleventh earl), to the daughter and heiress of Thomas Patten, Esq., also M.P. for Preston. The mansion is supposed to have been built in 1688, and was re-fronted in 1721. It stood on the north side of Church-street, was built of brick, with a projecting pediment, immediately underneath which was a shield carved in stone, bearing the following heraldic design-three bucks' heads, cabossed, and mounted by an earl's coronet, with the motto, " Sans Changer" (" without changing.") The house was approached by a double flight of steps leading to a handsome terrace. Fronting Church-street was a fine ornamental gateway (erected in 1749), formed of malleable iron, with a crest of the Stanley family on each side, and square dentelled pillars, mounted by two urns. An area intervening between the gateway and the mansion was enclosed within pallisaded walls; and in immediate proximity were offices, very extensive gardens, &c. The mansion occupied the space now bounded on the west by Derby street and on the east by Pole-street; and the gardens extended considerably beyond the eastern part of the present "Lord's Walks." The stables were on the south side of Church-street, and stood between what is now known as Grimshaw-street and the Blue Bell Inn. Patten House possessed a large number of valuable paintings, which were occasionally open to the inspection of visitors ; and every year, during the race week, the Earl entertained in a princely style a large number of the nobility and gentry of England. After the conversion of the town from a fashionable into a manufacturing centre, there was not the same willingness on the part of those moving in the higher ranks of society to take up a residence in the town, and Patten House was closed in 1833. For a short period it was occupied as a barracks for the soldiers, but was finally demolished in IS' 35. Earl Edward was partially educated at the Preston Grammar School, then in Shepherd-street, adjoining the present St. Saviour's Ragged School, and also the Arkwright's Arms Inn; and be seems to have taken a lively interest in all the festivities of which our time-honoured town was once the centre. He took a very prominent part in the Guild proceedings of 1802 and 1822, and was the pride of the inhabitants. Cotton manufacture had been recently introduced when the Guild of 1802 was celebrated, and there was a singular scene in connection with the grand procession on the first morning of the festivities. Headed by a marshal and two trumpeters on horseback, came twenty-four "young, handsome, and blooming women" from the cotton mills of the town, "dressed in a uniform of peculiar beauty and chaste simplicity." Their dress consisted entirely of the manufacture of the town; the "ground petticoats" were formed of fine white calico, and the head-dress was composed of a kind of blue feathered wreath, ingeniously made of cotton, so as to resemble a garland. Each of these damsels carried a branch of an artificial cotton tree, made specially for the purpose by Mrs. Horrocks and a few lady friends. The nobility and gentry, to the number of 400, followed these representatives of the new branch of trade, and were headed by the Earl of Derby and the Hon. Thomas Erskine. His Lordship brought with him a brilliant company, and the proceedings connected with that Guild are still held to be unprecedented. In accordance with the customs of the times, his lordship patronised once a year the "sports" carried on at the old Cockpit, off Stonygate, which has since been changed in name to the "Lyceum" the "Old Temperance Hall," and the "Derby Assembly Rooms." In 1806 the Earl of Derby had the honour of entertaining at Knowsley Prince George (afterwards George IV.,) and the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.), 'and the Royal brothers, together with the Earl, paid a public visit to the town of Liverpool, where the freedom of the borough was presented to the two prospective Kings.

Whittle says that on October 7th, 1820, it was announced that "on the occasion of his grandson, the Hon. E, G. Stanley (afterwards 14th Earl) attaining the age of 21, Lord Derby made the following donations to the town of Preston -"-The Dispensary, £50 ; the National School, £50 ; the Methodist School, £25; the Roman Catholic School, £25; and the Ladies' Charity, £25.

The Earl was Lord Lieutenant of the county. The deputy lieutenants presented his lordship with a magnificent candelabrum, on the fulfilment of his 50th year of service in that important office. His lordship did not take a very active part in politics, but in 1783 he held the office of Chancellor of the Duchy, under the premiership of the Duke of Portland; and in 1806, at the request of Lord Grey and Holland, he accepted the same post, but retired from it in about twelve months time, and preferred to occupy himself afterwards in the duties of social life rather than enter the troublesome arena of politics. He died on the 21st of October, 1834, in the 73rd year of his age.

In 1774 he married Lady Elizabeth, only daughter of the sixth Duke of Hamilton and Bandon, by whom he had issue one son and two daughters. The son, Edward, Lord Stanley, succeeded his father as the 13th earl; the elder daughter, Charlotte, married her cousin, Edmund Hornby, Esq., of Dalton Hall; and the younger daughter, Elizabeth Henrietta, married Thomas Stephen Cole Esq., of Twickenham. The countess died in 17 97, and the Earl afterwards married Miss Elizabeth Farren, the celebrated actress, and daughter of Mr. George Farren, surgeon and apothecary, of Cork. Miss Farren first appeared on the stage at Liverpool in 1773, when she took the part of "Rosetta" in "Love in a Village,' and in 1777 performed at the Haymarket, where she represented " Miss Hardcastle " in Goldsmith's comedy, "She stoops to conquer." She soon became a favourite with the nobility, and was one of the most accomplished actresses of the time. A dramatic publication of that period makes the following comments :-

It might be sufficient praise to say of Miss Farren's performances, if she had never deviated from the walk for which art, as well as nature, designed her,- it might, perhaps, be sufficient praise to say that were we to collect every idea which has been suggested to us by books, or has been the result of our own observations on life, assisted by all that the imagination could conceive of a woman of fashion, we should find every idea realised and every conception embodied in the person and acting of Miss Farren. Her figure is considerably above the middle height, and is of that slight texture which allows and requires the use of full and flowing drapery, an advantage of which she well knows how to avail herself ; her face, though not regularly beautiful, is animated and prepossessing; her eye, which is blue and penetrating, is a powerful feature when she chooses to employ it on the public, and either flashes with spirit or melts with softness, as its mistress decides for the expression she wishes to convey; her voice we never thought to possess much sweetness, but it to refined and feminine; and her smiles, of which she is no niggard, fascinate the heart as much as her form delights the eye. in short, a more complete exhibition of graces and accomplishments never presented itself for admiration before the view of an audience. To this enumeration of personal charms we have to add the list of her talents. It is not wise, indeed, to separate them, they are mutually benefitted and improved by each other. "Dant simul et accipiunt." A rarer combination of nature and art to qualify their favourite for the assumption of the principal characters in the highest comedy has never been known ; she possesses ease, vivacity, spirit, and humour, and her performances are so little injured by effort, that we have often experienced a delusion of the senses, and imagined, whit in a theatre it is so difficult to imagine, that the scene of action to be identified, and Miss Farren really the character she was only at. tempting to sustain; we cannot admit the supposition even that St. James's ever displayed superior evidence of fine breeding than Miss Farren has often done in her own person.

The Earl of Derby is said to have received lessons in elocution from the celebrated actress, and seems to have been captivated by her surpassing charms and her spotless character. After her marriage the Countess was at once received at court, and she and the earl formed part of the-procession on the marriage of the Princess Royal of England to the Duke of Wurtemburg, She devoted herself wholly to her domestic and social duties, and although born of plebeian parents shed a lustre on even the ranks of the nobility. The issue of the marriage was four children, three of wham died before attaining maturity ; the fourth, a daughter, was married to Thos. Egerton, second Earl of Wilton, and Viscount Grey de Wilton. Her ladyship died on the 23rd of April, 1829.

The Thirteenth Earl,

Edward Smith Stanley, the only son of the 12th earl by his first countess, was born on the 21st of April, 1775. On the attainment of his majority (1796) he was elected member for the borough of Preston, along with Sir Henry Philip Hoghton, bart., and was successively re-elected in 1802 along with Mr. John Horrocks, and in 1806 and 1807 along with Mr. Samuel Horrocks. In 1812 Lord Stanley (for that was his designation) retired from the representation, in order to succeed his relative, Col. Thomas Stanley, as member for Lancashire, his colleague being Mr. John Blackburne, who held the distinguished post from 1790 to 1830, when he retired from public life, and was succeeded by John Wilson Patten [fpc: the Wilson name came via adopting that of Bp Wilson's son Thomas Wilson who married into the Pattens], Esq., (afterwards Colonel) of Bank Hall, Warrington, and subsequently of Winmarleigh, near Garstang. During his connection with Preston, Lord Stanley and Mr. S. Horrocks were frequently entertained at public dinners in the Old Town Hall and the Bull Hotel, "as a mark of approbation of their conduct."

His lordship was very quiet and unobtrusive in his political career. He sat on the Whig benches, before those bearing the appellation began to undermine the constitution under which England has attained her present eminence, but he was a great admirer of the institutions of the country, and was a firm supporter of the connection between Church and State. He also showed is admiration in that practical way in which devoted Churchmen are in the habit of showing it - he built and endowed churches, erected patronage houses, and contributed liberally to the various organizations attached to Church of England places of worship. He did not make any parade of his gifts, but made them with a remarkable degree of modesty, if not of humility. He erected the Church of St. John's, Burscough ; Bickerstaff, Knowsley, Newburgh, and Westhead (in Lathom). The total amount of his contributions in connection with churches and schools is estimated at £l00,000.

In October, 1832, he was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Stanley, of Bickerstaffe, and was succeeded in the representation of North Lancashire (for the county was then divided), by his son, the Hon. E. G. Stanley, afterwards 14th Earl. The earldom descended to him on the death of his father, in October, 1834, he being then 59 years of age.

The Earl had a strong and ardent love for natural history, and formed at Knowsley a collection of birds and mammalia unrivalled in Europe. His menagerie and aviary extended over 100 acres of land, and between 70 and 80 acres of water, and the annual cost of maintenance was upwards of £10, 000. The collection included 345 specimens of mammalia, representing 94 different species, and of these 207 specimens, representing 39 species, were bred at Knowsley. Excluding poultry, the total number of birds was 1272, representing 318 species, of which 1617, representing 312 species, were bred at Knowsley. The noble earl had also formed a very extensive museum. He was for a considerable number of years president of the Linnean and Zoological Societies, and was a liberal donor to the British Museum. By the provisions of Lord Derby's will, the Queen, and the Zoological Society, London, were empowered to select from it any animal or bird they might wish to possess, and directions were given for the remainder to be sold by public, auction. Her Majesty chose two rare specimens of black-necked swans, and five Impeyan pheasants, three of which had been bred at Knowsley The Zoological Society selected a group of five African elands, one of which had been bred by the testator. The remainder only realised the sum of £7,000. The fine collection of stuffed birds, animals, reptiles, &c., was bequeathed to the town of Liverpool, and now forms the chief part of the Derby Museum in William Brown-street in that great seaport.

His lordship was in his 77th year at the time of his death, and his remains were interred in the family vault at Ormskirk, the funeral service being read by the Rev. W. E. Rawstorne, M.A., then vicar of Ormskirk, and subsequently incumbent of Penwortham and hon. canon of Manchester. His lordship was married, in 1798, to Charlotte Margaret, second daughter of Rev. Geoffrey and the Hon. Mrs. Hornby, of Winwick, by whom he had issue three sons and four daughters. Of the sons, the eldest was Edward Geoffrey, afterwards 14th Earl; the second was Henry Thomas, who represented Preston from 1833 to 1837, when he retired, and was succeeded by R. Townley Parker, Esq., of Cuerden Hall ; and the third was Charles James Fox, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and afterwards Colonel of the 7th Lancashire Militia. The fourth daughter, Eleanor, was married to the Rev. Frank George Hopwood, M.A., rector of Winwick.