Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Encyclopedia
Background
Harley was the only son of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, by his first wife Elizabeth Foley.Career
He was MP for RadnorRadnor (UK Parliament constituency)
Radnor or New Radnor was a constituency in Wales between 1542 and 1885; it elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom , by the first past the post electoral...
(as his father and paternal grandfather had been before him) from 1711 to 1714, and for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...
from 1722 until he succeeded his father in 1724 and entered the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. He was a bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts, and took little interest in public affairs. He extended his father's library and expanded the Harleian Collection
Harley Collection
The Harleian Collection is one of main collections of the British Library, London, England.The manuscript collection of more than 7,000 volumes, more than 14,000 original legal documents, and 500 rolls, formed by Robert Harley , and his son Edward Harley...
, now in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. The department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
Manuscripts and Special Collections is part of Information Services at the University of Nottingham. It is based at King's Meadow Campus in Nottingham in England...
holds a number of papers relating to the 2nd Earl and the management of his estates in the Portland (London) collection. Harley family papers (Pw2Hy) are part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection.
London estate
Through his wife, he inherited Welbeck AbbeyWelbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey near Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire was the principal abbey of the Premonstratensian order in England and later the principal residence of the Dukes of Portland.-Monastic period:...
in Nottinghamshire, and Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Hall is a country house located within the Parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about 8½ miles southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its 3,000 acres of parkland and farmland are owned by the National Trust and are regularly open to the public.Wimpole is...
in Cambridgeshire. Wimpole became their main residence, but they had to sell it in 1740 to pay Edward's debts. He also acquired a considerable amount of land in the West End of London which was developed during his life. Many of the now famous streets took their names from Harley connections – primarily Harley Street
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
and Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
. Other streets, named after Harley properties, include Wigmore Street
Wigmore Street
Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London, England. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east....
and Wimpole Street
Wimpole Street
Wimpole Street is a street in central London, England. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian baroque architecture, completed in 1912 by architect John Belcher as the home of the...
.
Family
On 31 August 1713 he married Lady Henrietta Cavendish HollesHenrietta Harley, Countess of Oxford and Mortimer
Henrietta Harley , Countess of Oxford and Countess Mortimer was an English noblewoman, the only child and heiress of John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Cavendish, daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.Her hand was sought in marriage...
(1694–1755), only daughter and heir of the 1st Duke of Newcastle
John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle
John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG, PC was the son of the 3rd Earl of Clare and his wife Grace Pierrepont. Grace was daughter of The Hon. William Pierrepont and granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull....
and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Cavendish
Margaret Cavendish (1661-1717)
Margaret Cavendish was the second child of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and his wife Frances Pierrepoint....
, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They had two children:
- Henry Cavendish Harley, Lord Harley (18 October 1725 – 22 October 1725)
- Lady Margaret Cavendish HarleyMargaret Bentinck, Duchess of PortlandMargaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland , styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her husband's death in 1761, and Dowager Duchess of Portland from 1761 until her own death in 1785...
(1715–1785), who married William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of PortlandWilliam Bentinck, 2nd Duke of PortlandWilliam Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland KG , styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1715 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1715 to 1726, was a British peer....
in 1734.
Lord Oxford and Mortimer died in London in 1741 and was buried in the vault of the Duke of Newcastle in Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded in the earldom by his cousin Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer was a British peer.Harley was the son of Edward Harley and his wife Sarah Foley. He succeeded his cousin Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer in the earldom in 1741...
.