Henry Arthur Herbert

Who was Henry Arthur Herbert?

Henry Arthur Herbert the elder was a major landowner in County Kerry, Ireland, and a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge.

Henry Arthur was the son of Thomas Herbert, who had amassed a fortune by exploiting the copper mines of the Muckross Peninsula and Ross Island areas of the Lakes of Killarney in Kerry. The Herbert family had originally come from Montgomeryshire in Wales in the 17th century. In 1770 the Herberts inherited the large estates of the MacCarthy family in the Killarney area.

He was Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry and Tralee in Ireland between 1806 and 1813. He commenced the building of Muckross House on his estate in Killarney.

He should not be confused with his grandson, also Henry Arthur Herbert, who married Mary Balfour Herbert with whom he built the present Muckross House. He became Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1857 to 1858 and hosted Queen Victoria on her visit to his estate at Muckross in 1861.