Hugh Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton

Who was Hugh Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton?

Hugh William Osbert Molyneux, 7th Earl of Sefton was the last of the Earls of Sefton. He was the eldest son of Osbert Molyneux, 6th Earl of Sefton

He was educated at West Downs School, Harrow School and Sandhurst Military Academy. He married in 1941 Josephine Gwynne Armstrong, daughter of George Armstrong of Virginia, USA. The Countess was a lifelong friend of the Duchess of Windsor.

After pursuing a military career, he was appointed ADC to the Governor-General of Canada, ADC to the Viceroy of India, Lord-in-Waiting to the King and Lord Mayor of Liverpool. He was also a chairman of the stewards of the British Jockey Club and Constable of Lancaster Castle, his ancestors having held the Constableship of Liverpool Castle until it was destroyed c1700.

He was a sports enthusiast and an owner of racehorses, including Medoc II which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1942 and Irish Lizard which twice finished third in the Grand National, in 1953 and 1954. He was a descendant of William Philip Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton, who founded the Waterloo Cup and the Grand National.

His seats were Croxteth Hall, Lancs; Abbeystead House, Wyresdale Forest; and Grosvenor Cottage, Culross Street, W1. On his death his earldom became extinct and Croxteth Hall passed into public hands. On his widow's death in 1980 Abbeystead and the Wyresdale Forest estate were sold to the Duke of Westminster.