John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbrook, (22 March 1839 – 13 July 1911) was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

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politician, and military officer.

Early life

Born John Stewart Hardy, Lord Cranbrook was the eldest son of the Conservative politician

Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook, (1 October 1814 – 30 October 1906) was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He held cabinet office in every Conservative government between 1858 and 1892. He s ...

, and Jane Stewart Orr. He assumed the additional surname of Gathorne by Royal licence in 1878 and when his father was elevated to the peerage as Earl of Cranbrook in 1892, he gained the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of Lord Medway. Cranbrook was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(2003). p. 941.

Career

Cranbrook was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

in 1868, a seat he held until 1880, and later represented Mid Kent from 1884 to 1885 and

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

from 1885 to 1892. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He was made an honorary Colonel in the 5th Weald of Kent Battalion, The Buffs. He was Deputy lieutenant and Justice of the peace, as well as County Alderman, for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. In 1906, he succeeded his father as second Earl of Cranbrook and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Marriage and children

In 1867 at

Plaxtol Plaxtol is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is located around north of Tonbridge and the same distance east of Sevenoaks. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,117. ...

, Lord Cranbrook married Cicely Marguerite Wilhelmina Ridgway, daughter of Joseph Ridgway and Selina Harriet Doyle. They had seven children: * Lady Selina Marguerite Gathorne-Hardy (1870 – 29 May 1934) * Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 3rd Earl of Cranbrook (18 December 1870 – 23 December 1915) * Lady Jane Ethel Gathorne-Hardy (1872 – 26 January 1943) * Gen. Hon. Sir John Francis Gathorne-Hardy (14 January 1874 – 21 August 1949) * Cdr. Hon. Ralph Cecil North Gathorne-Hardy (19 March 1876 – 30 December 1911) * Lt.-Col. Hon. Nigel Charles Gathorne-Hardy (31 March 1880 – 17 December 1958) * Lady Dorothy Milner Gathorne-Hardy (4 January 1889 – 21 February 1977), married

Rupert D'Oyly Carte Rupert D'Oyly Carte (; 3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948. Son of the impresario and hotelie ...

, proprietor of the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

Death

Lord Cranbrook died in July 1911 at the age of 72 and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Gathorne. Lady Cranbrook died in 1931.

Notes

Bibliography

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (106th edition) (New York: St Martin's Press 1990) * Williamson, D (ed.) ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (107th edition) (London 2002)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gathorne-Hardy, John Stewart Cranbrook, John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl Cranbrook, John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl Cranbrook, John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Cranbrook, John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl Rifle Brigade officers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...