Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.
Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley
7 December 1794 – 10 March 1870
Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley was the fourth son of Frederick Berkeley, 5th Earl of Berkeley, and Mary, daughter of William Cole. The validity of his parents’ marriage was the subject of some controversy, and in 1811 the House of Lords decided that Berkeley and six of his twelve siblings were born out of wedlock. His brothers included William Berkeley, 1st Earl FitzHardinge, Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge, Grantley Berkeley and Craven Berkeley. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.
Berkeley was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for Bristol in 1837, a seat he held until his death in 1870. He was a longstanding advocate of secret ballot reform, which was finally adopted after his death in 1872.
Berkeley died in March 1870, aged 75. And is buried in St Dunstan’s churchyard in Cranford, Middlesex.
The Things That Catch My Eye 