George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry

Who was George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry?

George William Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, styled Viscount Deerhurst from 1744 to 1751, was a British peer and Tory politician.

Coventry was the second but eldest surviving son of William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry, and his wife Elizabeth, and was educated at Winchester and University College, Oxford. He was elected to the House of Commons for Bridport in 1744, a seat he held until 1747, and then represented Worcestershire from 1747 to 1751. The latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire from 1751 to 1808 and was a Lord of the Bedchamber to George II from 1752 to 1760 and to George III from 1760 to 1770.

Lord Coventry married firstly Maria, daughter of Colonel John Gunning, in 1752. She died in 1760. He married secondly the Hon. Barbara, daughter of John St John, 11th Baron St John of Bletso, in 1764. There were children from both marriages. Lady Coventry died in 1804. Lord Coventry survived her by five years and died in September 1809, aged 87. He was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, George.