John Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot of Hensol (25 February 1749 – 19 May 1793), known as John Talbot until 1782 and as The Lord Talbot between 1782 and 1784, was a British peer and politician.

Background

A member of Talbot family headed by the Earl of Shrewsbury

Earl of Shrewsbury

Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...

, Talbot was the son of the Hon. John Talbot

John Talbot (judge)

The Honourable John Talbot was a British judge and Member of Parliament.Talbot was the third son of Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, who served as Lord Chancellor from 1733 to 1737. Training as a lawyer, John entered Lincoln's Inn in 1734 and was called to the bar in 1737...

, younger son of Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, and his wife the Hon. Catherine, daughter of John Chetwynd, 2nd Viscount Chetwynd

John Chetwynd, 2nd Viscount Chetwynd

John Chetwynd, 2nd Viscount Chetwynd , diplomat and politician, was the second son of John Chetwynd and the brother of Walter Chetwynd, 1st Viscount Chetwynd. He succeeded to that Irish peerage in 1736 by virtue of a special remainder....

.

Political career

Talbot was returned to Parliament for Castle Rising

Castle Rising (UK Parliament constituency)

Castle Rising was a parliamentary borough in Norfolk, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1558 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act...

 in 1777, a seat he held until 1782, when he succeeded his uncle, William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot

William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot

William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot PC , known as the Lord Talbot from 1737 to 1761, was a British politician....

, as third Baron Talbot 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....

. In 1784 the earldom of Talbot which had become extinct on his uncle's death was revived when Talbot was created Viscount of Ingestre, in the County of Stafford, and Earl Talbot, of Hensol in the County of Glamorgan. Two years later he assumed by Royal license the additional surname and arms of Chetwynd.

Family

Lord Talbot married Lady Charlotte, daughter of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire

Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire

Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire PC , known as the Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era...

, in 1776. A portrait of Talbot was painted by Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...

 while there are portraits of his wife by both Sir Joshua Reynolds

Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...

 (1783; now in Tate Britain

Tate Britain

Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...

) and by Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...

 and John Hoppner

John Hoppner

John Hoppner was an English portrait painter, .-Early life:Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents - his mother was one of the German attendants at the royal palace. King George's fatherly interest and patronage of the young boy gave rise to rumours, quite unfounded,...

 (1788; now in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Dunedin Public Art Gallery

The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...

). Lord Talbot died at Fairford

Fairford

Fairford is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswolds on the River Coln, about east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.-Schools:...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, in May 1793, aged 44, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Charles

Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot

Charles Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot KG, PC, FRS , styled Viscount Ingestre between 1784 and 1793, was a British politician. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1817 and 1821....

, whose son Henry

Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury

Admiral Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury, 3rd Earl Talbot, 18th Earl of Waterford, CB, PC , styled Viscount Ingestre between 1826 and 1849 and known as The Earl Talbot between 1849 and 1858, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician.-Background:Shrewsbury was the...

succeeded as Earl of Shrewsbury in 1858. The Countess Talbot died in January 1804.