James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown

Who was James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown?

James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown KP, PC, known as Viscount Stopford from 1762 to 1770, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Tory politician.

Courtown was the eldest son of James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown, and his wife Elizabeth, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.

He was elected to the Irish House of Commons for Taghmon in 1761, a seat he held until 1768, and later sat as a Member of the British House of Commons for Great Bedwyn in 1774 and for Marlborough from 1780 to 1793. Between 1784 and 1793 he served as Treasurer of the Household under William Pitt the Younger. Courtown was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1783 and admitted to the Irish Privy Council in 1784. In 1796 he was further honoured when he was created Baron Saltersford, of Saltersford in the County of Chester, in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Lord Courtown married Mary, daughter of Richard Powys, in 1762. They had four sons, who all gained distinction, and a daughter. Their second son the Hon. Sir Edward Stopford was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. Their third son the Hon. Sir Robert Stopford was an Admiral of the Red. Their fourth son Reverend the Hon.