Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester

Who was Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester?

Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester, known as Lord Stavordale from 1756 to 1776, was a British peer and Member of Parliament.

Ilchester was the eldest son of Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, and Elizabeth Horner. Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, was his uncle and Charles James Fox his cousin. He was elected to the House of Commons for Midhurst in 1768, a seat he retained until 1774. Two years later he succeeded his father as second Earl of Ilchester and took his seat in the House of Lords.

Lord Ilchester married, firstly, Mary Theresa O'Grady, daughter of Standish O'Grady, in 1772. After his first wife's death in 1790 he married, secondly, Maria Digby, daughter of Hon. William Digby, in 1794, with whom his third son was John Fox-Strangways. He died in September 1802, aged 55, and was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways.

Detailed information about the Ilchester household and family survives in the published diaries and correspondence of Agnes Porter, a Scottish-born governess to his many daughters from 1784 to 1797.