Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury

The Earl of Shaftesbury
The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury presented Belfast Castle to the City of Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1934
Born	Anthony Ashley-Cooper August 31, 1869(1869-08-31) England
Died	March 25, 1961(1961-03-25) (aged 91) England
Resting place	Parish Church at Wimborne St Giles
Title	9th Earl of Shaftesbury
Tenure	13 April 1886 – 25 March 1961 (&1000000000000007400000074 years, &10000000000000346000000346 days)
Other titles	Baron Ashley of Wimborne St Giles, Baron Cooper of Pawlett
Known for	Philanthropy
Years active	1886-1961
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
Predecessor	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury
Successor	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury
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
Parents	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, KP, PC, GCVO, CBE, (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 Sibell Grosvenor (22 August 1875 – 8 July 1957), the daughter of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, styled Earl Grosvenor (son and heir of Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster) 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 of Order of St. John of Jerusalem ‎(DJStJ)‎ and served as a Lady and Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary.

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

• Major Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley (4 October 1900 – 8 March 1947).
• 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 (born 29 April 1907) was married to Anthony Head, 1st Viscount Head.
• Lady Lettice Mildred Mary Ashley-Cooper (born 12 February 1911) Flight Officer W.A.A.F ; European War 1939-45 (despatches)
• Major Hon. Anthony John Percy Hugh Michael Ashley-Cooper (5 October 1915 – 1986) was married to Julian Petherick.

Lord Ashley was heir apparent 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 apparent, inheriting the earldom in 1961 upon the death of his grandfather.

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 (1.8 km²) 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.

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, 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".

References

Political offices
Preceded by Daniel Dixon	Lord Mayor of Belfast 1907–1908	Succeeded by Robert Anderson
Preceded by The Viscount Farquhar	Lord Steward 1922–1936	Succeeded by The Duke of Sutherland
Court offices
New title	Lord Chamberlain to The Princess of Wales, later Queen Mary 1901–1922	Succeeded by The Marquess of Anglesey
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Marquess of Londonderry	Lord Lieutenant of Belfast 1904–1911	Succeeded by The Lord Pirrie
Preceded by Sir Francis Workman-Macnaghten, Bt	Lord Lieutenant of Antrim 1911–1916	Succeeded by The Viscount Massereene
Preceded by John Mount Batten	Lord Lieutenant of Dorset 1916–1952	Succeeded by The Lord Digby
Peerage of England
Preceded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Earl of Shaftesbury 1886–1961	Succeeded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper