User:Cindamuse/Workshop/9th Earl of Shaftesbury

Anthony Ashley-Cooper
9th Earl of Shaftesbury
The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury presented Belfast Castle to the City of Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1934
Tenure	1886–1961
Predecessor	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury
Successor	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury
Other titles	Baron Ashley of Wimborne St Giles, Baron Cooper of Pawlett
Known for	Philanthropy
Years active	1961–2004
Born	Anthony Ashley-Cooper (1869-08-31)August 31, 1869 England
Died	March 25, 1961(1961-03-25) (aged 91) England
Buried	Parish Church at Wimborne St Giles
Nationality	English
Residence	Nice, France; St Giles House in Wimborne St Giles
Locality	Nice, France; Dorset, England; Northern Ireland
Wars and battles	First World War 1914-18
Offices	Lord Steward Lord Chamberlain Lord Mayor of Belfast
Spouse(s)	Lady Constance Sibell Grosvenor (1899–1957)
Issue	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley Lady Mary Sibell Ashley-Cooper Lady Dorothea Louise Ashley-Cooper Major Hon Anthony John Percy Hugh Michael Ashley-Cooper
Heir	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury
Parents	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, KP, GCVO, CBE, PC (31 August 1869 – 25 March 1961) was the son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester (1836 – 14 Apr 1898), the daughter of George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall and Lady Harriet Anne Butler.

Family life

On 15 July 1899, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury married Lady Constance Grosvenor (22 August 1875 – 8 July 1957), was the daughter of Lord Victor Alexander Grosvenor, styled Earl Grosvenor and his wife, Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, daughter of Richard George Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough. Lady Grosvenor was invested as a Dame of Justice, Order of St. John of Jerusalem ‎(DJStJ)‎ and served as an Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary.

The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury and his wife, Lady Constance had four children:

• Major Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper (4 October 1900 – 8 March 1947).

Ashley was married twice. His first wife was the former Edith Louisa Sylvia Hawkes, known as Sylvia. They were married on 3 February 1927 and divorced 28 November 1934. Upon her marriage, she became Lady Ashley, while her legal married name was Ashley-Cooper. Lord Ashley shocked London society by marrying Sylvia, an English model and actress from the chorus line. They were divorced after she began an affair with American actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr, who was named as co-respondent in the petition for divorce.

After Lord Ashley's divorce, Sylvia went on to marry Fairbanks; Edward John Stanley, 6th Baron Sheffield; American actor, Clark Gable; and Prince Dimitri Djordjadze. While she was married to four other men after her divorce from Lord Ashley, she continued to use the name Lady Sylvia Ashley throughout her life.

Lord Ashley's second wife was the French-born Françoise Soulier, daughter of Georges Soulier of Caudebec-en-Caux, France. Lord Ashley and Françoise were married on 31 March 1937 and remained married until his death in 1947. Their two children were:

• Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (22 May 1938 – c. 5 November 2004)
• Lady Frances Mary Elizabeth Ashley-Cooper (born 9 April 1940).

Lord Ashley was heir presumptive to the earldom, scheduled to inherit upon the death of his father. However, at age 46, Ashley died unexpectedly of heart disease before succession. At that time, his son, Anthony Ashley-Cooper became heir presumptive, inheriting the earldom in 1961 upon the death of his grandfather, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury.

• Lady Mary Sibell Ashley-Cooper (3 October 1902 – 2 August 1936) was married to Napier Sturt, 3rd Baron Alington of Crichel.

• Lady Dorothea Louise Ashley-Cooper (b. 29 April 1907) was married to Anthony Head, 1st Viscount Head.

• Major The Hon. (Anthony) John Percy Hugh Michael Ashley-Cooper (5 October 1915 – 1986) was married to Julian Petherick.

Philanthropy and community service

Bryanston School

In 1928, the 9th Earl provided a financial grant to establish a co-educational independent boarding school in Blandford, North Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. The 9th Earl served the school as the first Chairman of the Governors.

Bryanston School was founded by a young schoolmaster from Australia named J. G. Jeffreys. He used his confidence and enthusiasm to gain financial support for the school during a period of severe economic instability. With financial backing from the earl, he paid £35,000 for the Bryanston House and its 450 acres of immediate grounds.

The school occupies a palatial country house designed and built in 1889-1894 by Richard Norman Shaw and modelled on the chateau at Menars in the Loire valley. Shaw designed the house for Viscount Portman to replace an earlier one. The building and estate was the biggest in Dorset and the last of the grand stately homes to be built in England. The home had been occupied by the Portman family for 30 years at the time of its sale, however, death duties made it impossible for the 4th Lord Portman to hold on to his family estate.

Bryanston School in County Dorset

There were just seven teachers and 23 boys of various ages in the first term. Jeffreys was a natural innovator but one who respected good traditions, reflected in his choice of school motto, Et Nova Et Vetera. His was the first English school to adopt the Dalton Plan, its combination of the new and the old being of particular appeal. The system was flexible enough to offer a combination of lessons in the classroom and time for assignment work in subject rooms, which gave the students freedom to decide which pieces of academic work to focus their attention. Students were required to keep a daily record on a chart showing their use of working and leisure time, meeting with their tutors on a weekly basis to ensure effective monitoring of their progress.

Bryanston is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It has a reputation as a liberal and artistic school. The principles of the Dalton Plan are still in place today and remain central to the school’s success.

Belfast Castle

The first structure called Belfast Castle was built by the Normans in the late 12th century. In 1611, on the same site a stone and timber castle was erected to replaced the ancient castle. Then in 1708, The home of Sir Arthur Chichester, baron of Belfast, was burned down, leaving only street names (eg Castle Place) to mark the site.

The original Belfast Castle, built in the late 12th century by the Normans, was located in the town itself, flanked by the modern day High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place in what is now Belfast city centre. This was the home of Sir Arthur Chichester, baron of Belfast, but was burned down in 1708, leaving only street names to mark the site. Rather than rebuild on the original site, the Chichesters decided to build a new residence in the city's suburbs, today's Belfast Castle emerging as a result. The building that stands today was built from 1862–70 by the 3rd Marquess of Donegall. It was designed in the Scottish baronial style by Charles Lanyon and his son, of the architectural firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. After Donegall's death and the family's financial demise, the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury completed the house.

It was his son, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, who presented the castle to the City of Belfast in 1934. In 1978, Belfast City Council began a major refurbishment over a period of ten years at a cost of over two million pounds. The architect was the Hewitt and Haslam Partnership. The building officially re-opened to the public on 11 November 1988.

The Chichesters (later the Donegalls) lived in England as absentee landlords but came to live at Ormeau at the beginning of the nineteenth century. After re-marrying in 1862, the 3rd Marquis of Donegall, decided to build a new residence within the deer park on the slopes of Cave Hill. The architect firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon was engaged with the junior partner John Lanyon being responsible for the plans of the castle. He followed the Scottish Baronial style, popularised some years earlier by the reconstruction of Balmoral Castle in 1853.

The building was completed in 1870, having far exceeded the initial estimate cost of £11,000. The Donegall fortune had dwindled so drastically that the project was nearly left unfinished. The son-in-law of the Marquis, Lord Ashley, heir to the title, Earl of Shaftesbury, stepped in and paid for its completion.

The 3rd Marquis died in 1884 and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury the following year. Lord Ashley, and his wife Harriet Augusta, thus inherited the Shaftesbury title and the Donegall home. The two families are remembered in many Belfast street names eg Donegall Place, Square and Road and Shaftesbury Square. The Donegall coat of arms appears over the front door and on the north wall of the castle, while a section of the Shaftesbury crest appears on the exterior staircase. This unusual feature was not on the orginial plans but was added in 1894 by the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury as a present for his mother. The Italian style serpentine staircase connects the main reception rooms to the garden terrace.

The Shaftesbury family were philanthropists, supporting various charities and hosting garden fetes within the castle ground. The 9th Earl became Lord Mayor in 1907 and Chancellor of Queen's University the following year. The family presented the castle and estate to the City of Belfast in 1934.

From the end of the 2nd World War until the 1970's the castle became a popular venue for wedding receptions, dances and afternoon teas. In 1978 Belfast City Council instituted a major refurbishment programme that was to continue over a period of ten years at a cost of over two million pounds. The architect this time was the Hewitt and Haslam Partnership. The building was officially re-opened to the public on 11 November 1988.

Offices and honours

Lord Shaftesbury was Lord Lieutenant of Belfast from 1904 to 1911, Lord Lieutenant of Antrim from 1911 to 1916, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset from 1916 to 1952, and Lord Steward from 1922 to 1936.

• 2nd Lieut, 10th Hussars 1890, Lieut 1591, Capt 1898 and retired 1899;
• ADC to the Governor of Victoria, Australia 1895-99;
• Chamberlain to Queen Mary as Princess of Wales 1901-10 and as Queen Consort 1910-22;
• Provincial Grand Master of Freemasons in Dorset 1902;
• Lord Lieutenant for the City of Belfast 1904-11, of County Antrim 1911-16 and of Dorset 1916;
• KCVO 1906;
• Lord Mayor of Belfast 1907;
• Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast 1909-23;
• Knight of St Patrick 1911;
• Brig General 1914;
• served in the First World War 1914-18;
• CBE 1919;
• Younger Brother of the Trinity House 1920;
• Privy Councillor 1922;
• Lord Steward of the Household 1922-36;
• GCVO 1924;
• GCStJ

Death and burial

The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury died in 1961. He was buried in the Parish Church at Wimborne St Giles near the family estate. The earl's titles passed to his 22-year-old grandson, Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper.

The 9th Earl had carefully arranged financial matters on the Shaftesbury Estate so that his heirs would avoid death duties. When the earl died in 1961, his grandson inherited the family's 17th-century home and large estate in Dorset, several other properties and a collection of art, antiques, and other valuables. By the 1990s the 10th Earl's wealth was said to be in the "low millions".