Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl Castle Stewart, MC (6 August 1889 – 5 November 1961), styled Viscount Stuart from 1915 to 1921, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Unionist politician.
Background and education
Stuart was the third son of Andrew John Stuart, 6th Earl Castle Stewart, an Ulster Scots nobleman, and his wife, Emma Georgiana Diana, the youngest daughter of Major-General Arthur Stevens (1821–1895) of the Madras Native Infantry and his second wife (of five), Georgiana Eliza Dickson, a descendant of John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. The Stuart family descends in the male line from King Robert II of Scotland.
He was educated at Charterhouse, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of Paris.
Military and political career
Stuart fought in the First World War as a Major in the Machine Gun Corps, was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Military Cross in the 1918 Birthday Honours. His two elder brothers were both killed in the First World War and in 1921, he succeeded his father as seventh Earl Castle Stewart. However, as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords. He was elected to the House of Commons for Harborough in 1929 as a Conservative and Unionist, a seat he held until 1933.
Family
On 16 December 1920 Stuart married Eleanor May, daughter of Solomon Guggenheim, and had four sons:
- David Andrew Noel Stuart, Viscount Stuart (1921−1942), killed in action during the Second World War
- Robert John Ochiltree Stuart, Viscount Stuart (1923−1944), killed in action during the Second World War
- Arthur Patrick Avondale Stuart, 8th Earl Castle Stewart (1928−2023)
- Simon Walter Erskine Stuart (1930−2002), father of the food writer Tristram Stuart
Stuart committed suicide with a shotgun in his study at Old Lodge, his house and estate at Ashdown Forest near Uckfield, on 5 November 1961. Following the death of his widow in 1992, Old Lodge was sold to a member of the Saudi royal family.
References
- Phillips-Evans, James. The Longcrofts: 500 Years of a British Family, Amazon (2012)
- "Castle Stewart". Who's Who. A & C Black. Retrieved 4 September 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- "No. 30719". The London Gazette. 3 June 1918. p. 6506.
- Friends of the Somme, Mid-Ulster branch: Cookstown War Dead Database, Lieutenant David Andrew Noel Stuart. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- The Irish Times, 8 November 1961; Phillips-Evans, James. The Longcrofts: 500 Years of a British Family, Amazon (2012)
Sources
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byLewis Winby | Member of Parliament for Harborough 1929 – 1933 |
Succeeded byRonald Tree |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded byAndrew John Stuart | Earl Castle Stewart 1921–1961 |
Succeeded byArthur Patrick Avondale Stuart |
- 1889 births
- 1961 deaths
- Earls Castle Stewart
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Machine Gun Corps officers
- Suicides by firearm in England
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1929–1931
- UK MPs 1931–1935
- UK MPs who inherited peerages
- People educated at Charterhouse School
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- British military personnel who died by suicide
- British politicians who died by suicide
- Guggenheim family
- 1961 suicides