Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
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Name	Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Creation date	1711
Monarch	Anne
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	Robert Harley
Last holder	Edward Harley, 5th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Extinction date	1853

Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1711 for Robert Harley, a leading statesman of the reign of Anne. The title was associated with the Harley family of Herefordshire and remained extant until 1853, when the male line failed. Holders of the title were active in the political, diplomatic, and cultural institutions of Great Britain during the Georgian and early Victorian eras.

Origins and Creation of the Title

The earldom was created during the ministry of Robert Harley and his colleague Bolingbroke amid factional rivalry with figures such as Wharton and Robert Walpole. The patent conferred by Queen Anne followed Harley's elevation from Viscount Harley and acknowledgment after his service as Lord High Treasurer and First Minister, a post also held by predecessors like William III supporters and successors including Wilmington. The Harleys traced descent to Midland gentry connected with families such as the Cokes of Norfolk and the Blennerhassetts, with ancestral links to the county networks of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.

Holders and Succession (1711–1853)

The title passed through five earls, beginning with Robert Harley (1661–1724), a Tory leader who worked with contemporaries like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Henry Sacheverell. He was succeeded by his son Edward Harley, 2nd Earl, who patronized collectors including Robert Adam, William Hogarth, and Sir Isaac Newton's circle of executors. Later holders included 3rd Earl and 4th Earl, who navigated relationships with national figures such as William Pitt the Younger, Charles James Fox, and members of the Royal Family during the reigns of George I and George II. The 5th and final earl, Edward Harley, died in 1853, contemporaneous with MPs and peers like Benjamin Disraeli, Lord John Russell, and reformers active in the Reform Act 1832 debates.

Family Seat and Estates

The Harley family seat was at Wigmore Castle and later at Brimpsfield-linked estates and the mansion at Wigmore in Herefordshire, with townhouses in London near St James's and holdings recorded in Domesday Book-era surveys alongside neighboring manors such as Castle Frome and Eywood. The family's collections were housed in libraries and galleries influenced by collectors like Sir Hans Sloane and the British Museum curators, and their archives included correspondence with cultural figures such as John Dryden, Alexander Pope, George Vertue, and Edward Gibbon. Estate management involved stewards and agents interacting with institutions like the Court of Chancery and regional bodies including the Herefordshire County Council predecessors.

Political and Military Roles

Holders and relations engaged in ministerial, parliamentary, diplomatic, and military service: the 1st Earl served as Speaker of the House of Commons and as Lord High Treasurer, negotiating with envoys from France and bargaining over the Treaty of Utrecht. The family allied with Tory politicians and legalists including William Wyndham and judges of the Court of King's Bench; they opposed Whig leaders such as Sir Robert Walpole and collaborated with figures like Henry St John on foreign policy toward the Spanish Netherlands and the War of the Spanish Succession. Military associations included patronage of local militia officers and ties to campaigns led by commanders like Duke of Marlborough and later generals of the Napoleonic Wars such as Wellington, with family members serving as justices of the peace and county lieutenants in the circuits of Herefordshire and neighboring counties.

Peerage Extinction and Legacy

The earldom became extinct on the death of the 5th Earl in 1853, an event recorded alongside parliamentary obituaries and pedigrees published by antiquarians like John Burke and Sir Bernard Burke. The Harley collection and estates were dispersed through sales and donations involving auctioneers and institutions such as the British Museum, National Gallery, and private collectors including Sir Richard Glyn and Thomas Carlyle's circle. The family's papers informed later scholarship by historians such as Lord Macaulay, Samuel Pepys-era editors, and modern historians of British politics and the Early Georgian period. Physical legacies remain at sites conserved by heritage bodies like Historic England and local trusts in Herefordshire, while genealogical connections persist through collateral branches linked to families such as the Crawfords, Staffords, and Talbots.

Category:Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Category:Harley family