George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover

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The Right Honourable The Lord Dover PC, FRS, FSA
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
In office 2 December 1830 – 7 February 1831
Monarch	William IV
Prime Minister	The Earl Grey
Preceded by	Viscount Lowther
Succeeded by	Viscount Duncannon
Personal details
Born	14 January 1797
Died	10 July 1833 (aged 36)
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Lady Georgiana Howard (d. 1860)
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover PC FRS FSA (14 January 1797 – 10 July 1833) was a British politician and man of letters. He was briefly First Commissioner of Woods and Forests under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831.

Background and education

Agar-Ellis was the only son of Henry Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden, and Lady Caroline, daughter of George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and Royal Society in 1816.^[1]

Political career

Agar-Ellis was returned to Parliament for Heytesbury in 1818, a seat he held until 1820.^[1][2] He afterwards represented Seaford between 1820 and 1826,^[1][3] Ludgershall between 1826 and 1830^[1][4] and Okehampton between 1830 and 1831.^[1][5] He supported George Canning's motion in 1822 for a bill to relieve the disabilities of Roman Catholic peers, and consistently supported liberal principles. He took little interest in party politics but was a strong advocate of state support for the causes of literature and the fine arts.

In 1824 Agar-Ellis was the leading promoter of the grant of £57,000 for the purchase of John Julius Angerstein's collection of pictures, which formed the foundation of the National Gallery. On the formation of Lord Grey's Whig administration in November 1830, he was sworn of the Privy Council^[6] and appointed First Commissioner of Woods and Forests.^[7] However, he was forced to resign after two months due to bad health.

In June 1831, during his father's lifetime, Agar-Ellis was raised to the peerage as Baron Dover, of Dover in the County of Kent.^[8] He was president of the Royal Society of Literature in 1832, a trustee of the British Museum and of the National Gallery, and a commissioner of public records.

Family

Georgiana Agar Ellis (after a painting by Thomas Lawrence)

Lord Dover married Lady Georgiana Howard, daughter of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, in 1822. They had two sons, who became respectively the 3rd Viscount and 5th Viscount, and two daughters. He died on 10 July 1833, aged only 36, predeceasing his father by three years. Lady Dover died in March 1860.^[1]

Works

Lord Dover's works were chiefly historical, and include:

• The True History of the State Prisoner, Commonly Called the Iron Mask (1826)
• Inquiries respecting the Character of Clarendon (1827)
• a Life of Frederick II. (1831)

He also edited the Ellis Correspondence (1829) and Walpole's Letters to Sir Horace Mann (1833).

References

1. thepeerage.com George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover
2. leighrayment.com House of Commons: Hertford to Honiton
3. leighrayment.com House of Commons: Salisbury to Shaftesbury
4. leighrayment.com House of Commons: London University to Lymington
5. leighrayment.com House of Commons: Ochil to Oxford University
6. The London Gazette: no. 18748. p. 2449. 23 November 1830.
7. The London Gazette: no. 18753. p. 2539. 3 December 1830.
8. The London Gazette: no. 18814. p. 1193. 17 June 1831.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dover, George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 452–453.

External links

• Works by George Agar Ellis at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover at Internet Archive
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Mr George Agar-Ellis