George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea

Coat of arms of George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea KG PC FRS ( November 4, 1752 - August 2, 1826 ) was a British nobleman and politician, as well as one of the most important personalities in cricket history .

Life

He was the only son of the politician Hon. William Finch († 1766), who in turn was a son of Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea , from his second marriage to Lady Charlotte Fermor , a daughter of Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret . His only sister was Sophia Finch, wife of the Royal Navy Commodore Charles Feilding. He attended Eton College and studied at Christ Church College of Oxford University .

At the death of his uncle Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea , he inherited his nobility titles in 1769 as 9th Earl of Winchilsea , 4th Earl of Nottingham , 9th Viscount Maidstone , 4th Baron Finch , 10th Baronet , of Eastwell, and 4. Baronet , of Raunston. When he came of age in 1773 he took the seat associated with the titles in the House of Lords .

From 1777 he received under King George III. the court office of a Lord of the Bedchamber and became his groom of the stool from 1804 at the latest . He held these court posts until 1812. In 1779 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Rutland and held this office until his death.

In 1779 he entered the British Army and acquired an officer post as major in the newly established 87th Regiment of Foot . In 1780 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of this regiment and stationed in the North Antilles in the Caribbean as part of the American War of Independence . He fought against the French there . in April 1783 his unit had returned to England and was disbanded in Coventry . In April 1784 he became Lieutenant-Colonel and commander of the newly established Territorial Army Regiment of the Rutland Yeomanry Cavalry .

As a founding member, George Finch was elected the first President of the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1799 . In 1804 he was accepted into the Privy Council and in 1805 as a Knight Companion in the Order of the Garter. On May 7, 1807 he was also a Fellow of the Royal Society .

Working as a cricket athlete and functionary

His influence on the sport of cricket is largely based on his role as a patron and functionary , although he was also a very dedicated cricketer. Although he used a very heavy racket weighing more than 1.8 kg, it was considered to be the weak point of his team in the field .

Even if he was by no means considered one of the best cricketers, he was recognized as a leader in his team and made 138 first-class appearances. This makes him the player with the most bets known today from the 18th century, which is all the more astonishing since he only took part in his first major game ( major match ) at the age of 32 .

Winchilsea co-founded the White Conduit Club (WCC) and the later Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The WCC got its name from the fact that the games were played at White Conduit Fields in Islington . The WCC saw itself as an exclusive club only for gentlemen, but in fact professional tricksters also played for it. One of them was the bowler (pitcher) Thomas Lord, who was considered both an able businessman and an excellent pitcher.

The White Conduit Club first appeared as such in a major game in 1785. In principle, this could have continued in the future had it not been for the fact that the White Conduit Fields were an area accessible to everyone. The gentlemen, feeling disturbed by the somewhat rougher elements of the public, therefore decided to look around for a new, above all, quieter and more exclusive venue.

Together with Charles Lennox , who later became the 4th Duke of Richmond , he commissioned Thomas Lord, who became famous primarily for this, to find a new playground. They promised to insure him against all financial risks. Lord then leased a piece of land in Marylebone , London , on what is now Dorset Square. The course opened on May 21, 1787 with a match between the White Conduit Club and Middlesex . This was called Lord's First Cricket Ground and was originally called the New Ground , but was soon renamed Lord's Cricket Ground . And since it was located in Marylebone, it made sense to rename the White Conduit Club appropriately the Marylebone Cricket Club . The Earl of Winchilsea was a leading figure in his early years. However, at least two games are known in which teams competed against each other under the names of these two clubs.

progeny

He remained unmarried, but had two illegitimate children:

• George Finch (1794–1870), MP , ⚭ (1) 1819 Jane Delap, daughter of Vice-Admiral John Richard Delap, ⚭ (2) 1832 Lady Louisa Elizabeth Somerset (1806–1892), daughter of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort ;
• Georgiana Augusta Finch (* 1800) ⚭ 1821 John Drummond (1793–1875), General in the British Army.

When he died in 1826, his titles of nobility fell to his second nephew George Finch-Hatton . Most of his fortune, including the family home at Burley House in Rutland, was inherited by his son George.

literature

• George Bent Buckley: Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell, Birmingham 1935.
• HT Waghorn: The Dawn of Cricket. JW McKenzie, 2005, ISBN 0947821171 .
• Arthur Haygarth: Scores & Biographies. Volume 1, Lillywhite, 1862.
• Ashley Mote: The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson, 1997, ISBN 1861051115 .
• Ashley Mote: John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time". Robson, 1998.

Web links

• George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea on thepeerage.com
• Entry to Finch; George (1752-1826); 9th Earl of Winchelsea in the Royal Society Archives , London

Remarks

1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 11832, HMSO, London, December 16, 1777, p. 1 ( PDF , English).
2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 15701, HMSO, London, May 12, 1804, p. 609 ( PDF , English).
3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 11962, HMSO, London, March 16, 1779, p. 1 ( PDF , English).
4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 15772, HMSO, London, January 15, 1805, p. 79 ( PDF , English).
5. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 50 ( archive.org ).
6. ↑ However, it is generally very controversial from which year games can even be considered first class . Even the famous Wisden Cricketers' Almanack only recognizes games after 1815.
7. ↑ Other matches 1787  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and MCC v WCC 1788  
8. ^ Journal of Ensign John Drummond. In: The Gareth Glover Collection .

predecessor	Office	successor
Daniel Finch	Earl of Winchilsea Earl of Nottingham 1769-1826	George Finch-Hatton