Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman
Encyclopedia
Henry Berkeley Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman GCVO
(12 July 1829 – 16 October 1919, was a British
Liberal
Member of Parliament
.
. He was elected to Parliament for Shaftesbury
in 1852, a seat he held until 1857, and then represented Dorset
from 1857 to 1885. In 1888 he succeeded his father and entered the House of Lords
.
At the end of the nineteenth century the 99 year leases on the family properties in London
came up for renewal, generating a colossal income for Lord Portman of some £100,000 a year. With this fortune he commissioned Norman Shaw to build a new mansion for him at the family seat in Bryanston
, Dorset
. Within 30 years, however, it had been sold to Bryanston School
, which is still based there. This was because it rapidly became anachronistic and uneconomic even for an aristocratic family to occupy a house on such a scale, and the family was also crippled by death duties when the second Viscount's heir and his heir's heir died within ten years of him.
Lord Portman married Mary Selina Charlotte FitzWilliam, daughter of William Charles FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton, in 1855. They had six sons and two daughters. Two of his sons died before him and all four of the others succeeded to his title in the course of time, namely, Henry Berkeley Portman, 3rd Viscount Portman (died 1923), Claud Berkeley Portman, 4th Viscount Portman (died 1929), Seymour Berleley Portman, 6th Viscount Portman (died 1946) and Gerald Berkeley Portman, 7th Viscount Portman (died 1948).
Lord Portman's first wife died in 1899. In 1908 he married, secondly, shortly before his 79th birthday, Frances Maxwell Buchanan Cuninghame, by whom there were no further children. Lord Portman died in October 1919, aged 90, and was succeeded in his titles by his aforesaid eldest son Henry Berkeley Portman.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(12 July 1829 – 16 October 1919, 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...
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Biography
Portman was the son of Edward Berkeley Portman, 1st Viscount Portman and Lady Emma Lascelles, daughter of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of HarewoodHenry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood
Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood DL , known as Viscount Lascelles from 1814 to 1820, was a British peer and Member of Parliament....
. He was elected to Parliament for Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Shaftesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1295 until 1832 and one member until the constituency was abolished in 1885....
in 1852, a seat he held until 1857, and then represented Dorset
Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)
Dorset was a county constituency covering Dorset in southern England, which elected two Members of Parliament , traditionally known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England from 1290 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of...
from 1857 to 1885. In 1888 he succeeded his father 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....
.
At the end of the nineteenth century the 99 year leases on the family properties in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
came up for renewal, generating a colossal income for Lord Portman of some £100,000 a year. With this fortune he commissioned Norman Shaw to build a new mansion for him at the family seat in Bryanston
Bryanston
Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour one mile west of Blandford Forum. The parish has a population of 968 . The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an independent school.The village was named after Brian de Lisle, a...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Within 30 years, however, it had been sold to Bryanston School
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
, which is still based there. This was because it rapidly became anachronistic and uneconomic even for an aristocratic family to occupy a house on such a scale, and the family was also crippled by death duties when the second Viscount's heir and his heir's heir died within ten years of him.
Lord Portman married Mary Selina Charlotte FitzWilliam, daughter of William Charles FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton, in 1855. They had six sons and two daughters. Two of his sons died before him and all four of the others succeeded to his title in the course of time, namely, Henry Berkeley Portman, 3rd Viscount Portman (died 1923), Claud Berkeley Portman, 4th Viscount Portman (died 1929), Seymour Berleley Portman, 6th Viscount Portman (died 1946) and Gerald Berkeley Portman, 7th Viscount Portman (died 1948).
Lord Portman's first wife died in 1899. In 1908 he married, secondly, shortly before his 79th birthday, Frances Maxwell Buchanan Cuninghame, by whom there were no further children. Lord Portman died in October 1919, aged 90, and was succeeded in his titles by his aforesaid eldest son Henry Berkeley Portman.