Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton

Alexander Hugh Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, DL (4 May 1835 – 18 July 1889[1]) was a British landowner and Conservative Party politician.

The Right Honourable The Lord Ashburton DL
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Thetford
In office 1857–1867 Serving with William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, to 1863 Lord Frederick FitzRoy 1863–1865 Robert Harvey from 1865
Preceded by	Francis Baring William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston
Succeeded by	Robert Harvey Edward Gordon
Personal details
Born	4 May 1835
Died	18 July 1889 (aged 54) Bath House, Piccadilly, England
Spouse(s)	Hon. Leonora Caroline Digby ​ ​ (m. 1864; his death 1889)​
Relations	Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano (grandfather)
Children	7
Parents	Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton ortense Eugenie Claire Maret de Bassano
Education	Harrow School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Early life

Baring was the son of Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (1800–1868), and his wife Hortense Eugenie Claire Maret de Bassano (c. 1812–1882).[2] His sister, Hon. Marie Anne Louise Baring, was the wife of William FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton.[3]

His paternal grandparents were Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton and the American heiress Ana Louisa Bingham (whose father was U.S. Senator William Bingham).[4] His father was the younger brother of Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton and among his paternal relatives was Hon. Harriet Baring (wife of Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath).[5] His maternal grandfather was Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano, the former Prime Minister of France.[2]

He was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1857.[6]

Career

Baring was elected unopposed as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Thetford at a by-election in December 1857, filling the vacancy caused by his father's succession to the peerage.[7] He was re-elected in 1859 and 1865, and held the seat until he succeeded to the peerage in 1868 on the death of his father.[7]

On 16 June 1864, Baring was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk.[8] A member of the Baring family, he succeeded to the title of Baron Ashburton on 6 September 1868.[2]

Personal life

On 5 January 1864, Baring was married to the Hon. Leonora Caroline Digby, daughter of Edward Digby, 9th Baron Digby and Lady Theresa Anna Maria Fox-Strangways (eldest daughter of Henry Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester). Together, they were the parents of:[2]

• Francis Denzil Edward Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton (1866–1938), who married Hon. Mabel Edith Hood, eldest daughter of Francis Hood, 4th Viscount Hood, in 1889.[2]
• Capt. Hon. Frederick Arthur Baring (1867–1961), who married Laura Louisa Hobson, a daughter of Frederick Hobson of Hockley House, in 1890.[2]
• Hon. Alexander Henry Baring (1869–1948)[9]
• Lt.-Col. Hon. Guy Victor Baring (1873–1916), who married Olive Alethea Smith, sister of Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester and youngest daughter of Hugh Colin Smith, a Governor of the Bank of England, in 1903. An MP for Winchester, he was killed in action on 15 September 1916.[2]
• Hon. Lilian Theresa Clare Baring (1874–1962), who married Lt.-Col. Frederick Loch Adams, Military Secretary to the Viceroy of India and youngest son of William Patrick Adam in 1906.[2]
• Hon. Caryl Digby Baring (1880–1956), who served in the Boer War and the Great War and married Ivy Firman, a sister of Humphrey Firman and daughter of Humphrey Brooke Firman, in 1907.[2]
• Hon. Dorothy Mary Baring (1885–1893)[2]

He was an art collector and owned many prominent pieces, including Rembrandt's 1660 self portrait, Aelbert Cuyp's Horsemen and Herdsmen with Cattle (1655/1660), and Meindert Hobbema's Hut among Trees (c. 1664).[10][11]

Lord Ashburton died at Bath House, Piccadilly, in London and was succeeded in his title by his eldest son Francis. His widow died on 19 August 1930.[2]

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
2. "Ashburton, Baron (UK, 1835)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
3. "Grafton, Duke of (E, 1675)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited.
4. Vyhmeister, E. K. Lord Sherborne. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-615-13924-1.
5. "Bath, Marquess of (GB, 1789)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
6. University of Oxford (1888). Abbay-Dyson. Parker and Company. p. 59.
7. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 305–306. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
8. "No. 22865". The London Gazette. 21 June 1864. p. 3170.
9. Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland, for ...: Including All the Titled Classes. S. Low, Marston & Company. 1908. p. 1060.
10. "Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, Alexander Hugh 1835 - 1889". www.nga.gov. National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
11. "Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton | Artist". www.royalacademy.org.uk. Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 4 June 2020.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Alexander Baring
• Baring, Alexander Hugh (1835-1889) 4th Baron Ashburton at The National Archives
• Alexander Hugh Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton (1835-1899), Politician and landowner at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Leonora Caroline Baring (née Digby), Lady Ashburton (1844-1930), Wife of 4th Baron Ashburton at the National Portrait Gallery, London