George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Macclesfield
PC
The Right Honourable The Earl of Macclesfield PC
	Arms of Parker, Earls of Macclesfield: Gules, a chevron between three leopard's faces or
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
	In office; 1804 – 15 November 1830
Monarchs	George III; George IV; William IV;
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger; The Lord Grenville; The Duke of Portland; Spencer Perceval; The Earl of Liverpool; George Canning; The Viscount Goderich; The Duke of Wellington;
Preceded by	The Lord Pelham
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Clanricarde
Personal details
Born	24 February 1755
Died	20 March 1842 (aged 87)
Nationality	British
Spouse	Mary Frances Drake (m. 1780; died 1823)

George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield PC (24 February 1755 – 20 March 1842), styled Viscount Parker between 1764 and 1795, was a British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1777 and 1795.

Background

Macclesfield was the son of Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield, and Mary, daughter of Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet.^[2]

Political career

Macclesfield was returned to Parliament for Woodstock in 1777, a seat he held until 1784, and later represented Minehead between 1790 and 1795. In 1791 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Comptroller of the Household, which he remained until 1797. In 1795 he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. From 1804 to 1830 he held office as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under eight different prime ministers.^[3]

During the French Revolutionary War he raised the County Fencible Cavalry in Oxfordshire, later the Watlington Cavalry, precursor of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, and was appointed its Captain on 20 June 1798.^[4]

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in November 1818.^[5]

Family

Lord Macclesfield married Mary Frances, daughter of Reverend Thomas Drake, in 1780. She died in January 1823. Macclesfield died in March 1842, aged 87, and was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother, Thomas.^[2]

Canal and Park

Lord Macclesfield was a director of the Regent's Canal from 1812 and its chairman from 1816. He was appointed as a commissioner of the Crown Estate Paving Commission in August 1824. As chair of the canal company, he saw it through its most testing times as a variety of problems and obstacles had to be surmounted before the canal could be opened in 1820.

References

^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.723
^ ^a ^b "George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield". thepeerage.com.
^ "PARKER, George, Visct. Parker (1755-1842). ". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^ War Office, A List of the Officers of the Militia, the Gentlemen & Yeomanry Cavalry, and Volunteer Infantry of the United Kingdom, 11th Edn, London: War Office, 14 October 1805/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84574-207-2.
^ "Lists of Royal Society Fellows 1660–2007". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by John Skynner William Eden	Member of Parliament for Woodstock 1777–1784 With: William Eden	Succeeded by Sir Henry Dashwood, Bt Francis Burton
Preceded by John Fownes-Luttrell Robert Wood	Member of Parliament for Minehead 1790–1795 With: John Fownes-Luttrell	Succeeded by John Fownes-Luttrell Thomas Fownes Luttrell
Political offices
Preceded by Dudley Ryder	Comptroller of the Household 1791–1797	Succeeded by Lord Charles Somerset
Preceded by The Lord Pelham	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1804–1830	Succeeded by The Marquess of Clanricarde
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Duke of Marlborough	Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire 1817–1842	Succeeded by The Duke of Marlborough
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Thomas Parker	Earl of Macclesfield 1795–1842	Succeeded by Thomas Parker

[1] Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.723

[thepeerage.com-2] "George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield". thepeerage.com.

[HOP-3] "PARKER, George, Visct. Parker (1755-1842). ". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.

[4] War Office, A List of the Officers of the Militia, the Gentlemen & Yeomanry Cavalry, and Volunteer Infantry of the United Kingdom, 11th Edn, London: War Office, 14 October 1805/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84574-207-2.

[5] "Lists of Royal Society Fellows 1660–2007". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

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