Add MS 89287/2

Chichester Samuel Parkinson-Fortescue was born in 1823. The Fortescues were a prominent Anglo-Irish family, with many of the family taking prominent roles in Irish political life. He took the name Parkinson after inheriting from his Aunt, Anna Maria Parkinson-Ruxton’s husband, William Parkinson-Ruxton.

Fortescue was first elected to Parliament in 1847 as a Liberal MP for Louth. He held various roles within the Liberal Governments in this period. In 1854 he was made a junior Lord of the Treasury, he was Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1857 and 1858, and between 1859 and 1865. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1864. In 1865 he was made Chief-Secretary for Ireland, a post he held until 1866, and then again from 1868 to 1871, although the second time this role came with a position in the Cabinet. Between 1871 and 1874 he was President of the Board of Trade. In the election of 1874 he lost his seat, and was elevated to the Peerage as Baron Carlingford. During this period he served as Lord Privy Seal from 1881 to 1885, and as Lord President of the Council from 1883 to 1885. Throughout his career he was heavily involved in the question of Ireland in British politics. He eventually parted from the Liberals under Gladstone over the question of Irish Home Rule and joined the Liberal Unionists.

Fortescue first met Frances, Countess Waldegrave in 1849, when she was married to George Granville Harcourt. He was devoted to her form the beginning, and they were married in 1863, Harcourt having died two years previously. Countess Waldegrave was known as an excellent hostess, and through the parties and dinners held, mostly at Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, she was able to promote his talents and push his career forward, including pushing for him to have a position in the Cabinet when Chief-Secretary for Ireland.

Countess Waldegrave died in 1879. Her death was a lasting sorrow to him and, as he had devoted so much of himself to her, he was left quite isolated in his later life. She had left her properties, including Strawberry Hill, Dudbrook and Chewton, to him for his lifetime, before they were to revert back to the Waldegrave family.

Fortescue’s personal and social life, including his relationship to his family members, is an important theme of this collection. Most of his closest friendships came from his time at Christ Church College, Oxford, including a close group of Liberal MP’s Henry Riversdale Grenfell, later Governor of the Bank of England, Alfred Seymour, and Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, later Viceroy of India. He also became great friends with the poet Edward Lear.

The items have been split into 2 main series. His Personal and Domestic Life, and his Political Life. This is some degree of overlap between the two, as members of his family and extended family were also heavily involved in both Westminster and Irish politics, and many political colleagues were also close friends with whom he would share social correspondence as well as political correspondence. In some cases some of his oldest friends were also politicians, for example Henry Riversdale Grenfell, the letters have been placed in the Personal and Social Life sub-series.

Within the letters and papers of Baron Carlingford, there were letters that were to and from other people, and letters which were unidentifiable due to being unsigned, or having pages missing. These letters have been placed in a separate series at the end.