George Finch (politician, born 1835)

George Henry Finch PC (20 February 1835 – 22 May 1907) was an English Conservative politician who represented Rutland in the House of Commons for nearly 40 years, becoming Father of the House of Commons in 1906.

Finch in 1895

Burley House, Rutland

Finch was the son of George Finch, of Burley-on-the-Hill near Oakham and Belton. His father was the illegitimate son of George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea.^[1] On the death of his father in 1870 he became an extensive landowner, inheriting Burley House, near Oakham, Rutland. His estate generated income of £29,000 a year.^[2]

Finch was elected as the Member of Parliament for Rutland on 23 November 1867. He held the seat until his death in 1907.^[3]

He married twice; firstly, in 1861, Emily Eglantyne Balfour, who died in 1865 after giving him a son and 2 daughters and secondly, Edith Montgomery, with whom he had a further 7 children.^[4] Burley House passed to his son Alan George Finch.

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  The grave of George Finch in the churchyard of Holy Cross Church, Burley
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  Memorial to George Finch in Holy Cross Church, Burley
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  Memorial to George Finch in Oakham Castle

References

1. Parishes: Belton, A History of the County of Rutland: Volume 2 (1935), pp. 27–32. Retrieved 1 December 2008
2. Bateman, John (1883). The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland; a list of all owners of three thousand acres and upwards ... also, one thousand three hundred owners of two thousand acres and upwards in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, their acreage and income from land culled from The modern Domesday book . Robarts - University of Toronto. London, Harrison.
3. "Leigh Rayment". Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. "Burley-on-the-Hill". Rutland History. Retrieved 28 January 2018.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Finch

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Hon. Gerard Noel Hon. Gilbert Heathcote	Member of Parliament for Rutland 1867–1907 With: Hon. Gerard Noel 1867–1883 James Lowther 1883–1885	Succeeded by John Gretton
Preceded by Sir Michael Hicks Beach	Father of the House 1906–1907	Succeeded by Henry Campbell-Bannerman