HILL, Arthur, Visct. Fairford (1753-1801).

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1774 - 1780
1780 - 1784

Family and Education

b. 23 Feb. 1753, o. surv. s. of Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough and 1st Mq. of Downshire [I].  educ. Magdalen, Oxf. 1771.  m. 29 June 1786, Mary, da. and h. of Col. Martin Sandys, and h. of her uncle Edwin, 2nd Baron Sandys, 5s. 2da.  suc. fa. as 2nd Mq. of Downshire 7 Oct. 1793.

Offices Held

M.P. [I] 1776-93; P.C. [I] 7 Nov. 1793-18 Feb. 1800.

Biography

Lord Fairford was brought into Parliament by Administration in 1774 and 1780. The English Chronicle wrote about him in 1781:

Son to the Earl of Hillsborough, a great railer against the Opposition. He adores his father’s great political character, and next to him thinks Bamber Gascoyne the wisest, the best, and the honestest man alive.

Two speeches by Fairford are recorded: 14 Feb. 1780, in defence of a speech by his father in the Lords; and 26 Apr. 1781, in the committee on the linen manufacture.

He did not vote on Shelburne’s peace preliminaries or Fox’s East India bill. He was classed by Robinson in January 1784 and by Stockdale in March as a supporter of Pitt. In 1784 he unsuccessfully contested St. Albans on the interest of his brother-in-law, Lord Salisbury.

He died 7 Sept. 1801.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: John Brooke

Notes