Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst PC, KC (20 May 1714 – 6 August 1794), known as the Lord Apsley from 1771 to 1775, was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 lawyer and politician. He was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1771 to 1778.

Background and education

Bathurst was the eldest son of Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst

Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst

Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst PC , known as the Lord Bathurst from 1712 to 1772, was a British politician....

, and his wife Catherine (née Apsley). Educated at Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

, he was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

, in 1736, and became a King's Counsel in 1745.

Political and judicial career

In April 1735 he had been elected member of parliament for Cirencester

Cirencester (UK Parliament constituency)

Cirencester was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire. From 1571 until 1885, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and one member between 1868 and 1885...

, and was rewarded for his opposition to the government by being made solicitor-general and then attorney-general to Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

. Resigning his seat in parliament in April 1754 he was made a judge of the Court of Common Pleas

Court of Common Pleas (England)

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...

 in the following month. He was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Lord High Chancellor in January 1771, when he was raised to the peerage as Lord Apsley, Baron of Apsley, in the County of Sussex. Having succeeded his father as second Earl Bathurst in September 1775, he resigned his office somewhat unwillingly in July 1778 to enable Lord Thurlow

Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow

Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow PC, KC was a British lawyer and Tory politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for fourteen years and under four Prime Ministers.- Early life:...

 to join the cabinet of Lord North

Frederick North, Lord North

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...

. In November 1779 he was appointed Lord President of the Council

Lord President of the Council

The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...

, and left office with North in March 1782.

Family

Lord Bathurst married firstly Anne James in 1754. After her death in 1758 he married secondly Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen, in 1759. He died at Oakley Grove near Cirencester on 6 August 1794, aged 80, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his second marriage, Henry

Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst

Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst KG PC was a British politician.-Background and education:Lord Bathurst was the elder son of Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, by his wife Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen...

. Lady Bathurst died in 1807. Apsley House

Apsley House

Apsley House, also known as Number One, London, is the former London residence of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic interchange and Wellington Arch...

, in Hyde Park

Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...

, known as "Number One London", was built for him by Robert Adam

Robert Adam

Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...

. It was sold in 1807 to the first Marquess of Wellesley, who sold it in 1817 to his famous brother, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

.