"3rd Earl of Mornington" William Wellesley-Pole Signed Free Frank For Sale

Up for sale a VERY RARE! "3rd Earl of Mornington" William Wellesley-Pole Signed Free Frank. 

– 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821

and 1842, was an Anglo-Irish politician and an elder

brother of the Duke of

Wellington. His surname changed twice: he was born with the name

Wesley, which he changed to Wesley-Pole following an inheritance in 1781. In

1789 the spelling was updated to Wellesley-Pole, just as other members of the

family had changed Wesley to Wellesley. He was born as William Wesley, at Dangan

Castle, the second son of Garret

Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, by his marriage to the Hon. Annie

Hill, a daughter of Arthur

Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon. He was the younger brother

of Richard

Wesley, later Marquess Wellesley, and

the elder brother of Arthur,

who became Duke of Wellington, and

of Henry, who

became Lord Cowley. Wesley was

educated at Eton (1774–1776)

before entering the Royal Navy as a midshipman, serving in the Navy between 1777 and 1783; most

notably aboard HMS Lion, a

new ship launched in 1777, at the Battle of Grenada of 1779.

Due to the debts of their father, the Wesley family entered into

financial stringency. This was partially alleviated following the death in 1781

of the childless William Pole, of Ballyfin in Ireland, his godfather and the husband of his

great-aunt Ann Colley, who bequeathed his estates to Wesley, on the condition

which was usual in such situations that he should adopt the surname

"Pole". Pole was descended from Peryam Pole, third son of the

antiquary Sir William Pole (1561–1635)

of Shute House, Devon, a

brother of Sir John Pole, 1st Baronet.

He had married Ann Colley, the sister of Wesley's grandfather Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington (1690–1758). This

Wesley had been born Richard Colley, but had changed his name in 1728,

following an inheritance, to Wesley. Thus it was that in 1781, in accordance

with the Will of his great-uncle William Pole, Wesley changed his name to

Wesley-Pole.

A Tory, Mornington was a

Member of the Irish Parliament for Trim from

1783 to 1790 and of the British House of Commons for East Looe from

1790 to 1795 and Queen's

County from 1801 to 1821. He served as Secretary of the Admiralty under

the Duke of Portland between 1807 and 1809 and as Chief Secretary for

Ireland under Spencer Perceval between 1809 and 1812 and was also a

Lord of the Irish Treasury between 1809 and 1811 and Chancellor of the Irish

Exchequer between 1811 and 1812. Mornington was sworn of both

the British

Privy Council and the Irish Privy Council in

1809. He served in Lord Liverpool's government

from 1814 to 1823 as Master of the Mint. In

1821 he was elevated to the Peerage of the United

Kingdom as Baron Maryborough, of Maryborough in the

Queen's County (now Portlaoise, Co. Laois). In 1823 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of

Queen's County for life. From 1823 to 1830 he was Master of the Buckhounds and

from 1834 to 1835 Postmaster-General.

From 1838 he held the honorary position of Captain of Deal Castle.

On the death in 1842 of his elder brother Richard

Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley and 2nd Earl of Mornington, he

succeeded as 3rd Earl of Mornington.