Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort DL, JP, FZS (12 June 1878 – 29 January 1943),[1] styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour until 1893 and Earl of Bective between 1893 and 1894, was a British politician and Army officer.
The Marquess of Headfort | |
|---|---|
 Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort (William Orpen, 1915) | |
| Senator | |
| In office 11 December 1922 – 12 December 1928 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Geoffrey Thomas Taylour 12 June 1878 |
| Died | 29 January 1943 (aged 64) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
Career
editStyled Lord Geoffrey Taylour from birth, he was the son of Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort, by his second wife Emily Constantia, daughter of the Reverend Lord John Thynne. He became known by the courtesy title Earl of Bective in 1893 on the death of his half-brother. The following year, aged 16, he succeeded his father in the marquessate.[2]
Lord Headfort was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st Life Guards on 4 January 1899, and promoted to lieutenant on 7 March 1900.[3] He resigned from the regiment in May 1901.[4] In June the following year he was appointed a lieutenant in the newly created Yeomanry regiment, the 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons).[5] He was justice of the peace and Deputy Lieutenant for county Meath, Ireland; and a Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry.[2]
Headfort was an English Freemason, having been initiated in the Lodge of Assistance No 2773 (London, England) at Golden Square, London, in February 1901, aged 22 years.[6]
From 1922 to 1928, Headfort served as a Senator of the Irish Free State.[7][8]
Headfort was president of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland for thirty years from 1915 to 1945, winning the Society's Gold Medal of Honour for distinguished services to horticulture in Ireland in 1939.[9]
Family
editRosie Boote, a young singer who appeared in The Messenger Boy in 1900 under her professional name of Miss Rosie Boote, so charmed the young Marquess that he married her on 11 April 1901.[10] Their marriage was unusual: Rose was a Catholic from a humble background, while her husband was a Protestant aristocrat.[11] He caused a sensation when he converted to Catholicism for their marriage.[12] They lived at Headfort House in Ireland and had three children together:
- Terence Taylour, 5th Marquess of Headfort
- Lord William Desmond Taylour, British archaeologist[13][14]
- Lady Millicent Olivia Mary Taylour; married 28 April 1930 (div. 1936) to Henry Frederic Tiarks, a banker; Lady Millicent died 24 December 1975.[15][page needed]
References
edit- ^ "Geoffry Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort". geni.com. 12 July 2021.
- ^ a b (Hesilrige 1921, p. 461)
- ^ "No. 27171". The London Gazette. 6 March 1900. p. 1523.
- ^ "No. 27318". The London Gazette. 28 May 1901. p. 3637.
- ^ "No. 27457". The London Gazette. 25 July 1902. p. 4742.
- ^ See 'History of the Lodge of Assistance 1899–2002', page 24.
- ^ "Geoffrey Taylour". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "President's nominees for Seanad". Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 December 1922. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "RHSI Gold Medal of Honour awarded to Seamus O'Brien, Head Gardener at the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh". botanicgardens.ie. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Biographical details here". Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
- ^ "William Orpen portrait paintings draw approving views at Sotheby's". Paul Fraser Collectibles.
- ^ "The Marquis of Headfort". The Daily Telegraph. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Obituary: Antiquaries Journal, 70 (1990), 526
- ^ American School of Archaeology at Athens: Taylour finding aid
- ^ Burke's Peerage, 106th Edition.
Work cited
edit- Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. 160A, Fleet street, London, UK: Dean & Son. p. 461.
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