George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham

(George Frederick) D'Arcy Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham (5 September 1828 – 27 November 1879), styled Viscount Lambton from 1833 to 1840, was a British peer.

Early life

Lambton was born on 5 September 1828 at Copse Hill, Wimbledon, the second (and later eldest surviving) son of John Lambton, 1st Baron (later Earl of) Durham, and his second wife Lady Louisa Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey. He was baptised at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon on 29 September that year. He was known by his third name of D'Arcy, the maiden name of an ancestor whose inheritance included land surrounding what would later become Lambton Castle. Aged 11, Lambton inherited the earldom of Durham when his father died in 1840. His mother died from a severe cold just over a year later. He attended Cambridge University in 1846.

Public life

Lord Durham served as Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham from 1854 to 1879.

On 19 July 1877, the Earl of Durham signed a document giving an acre of his land to be used for the construction of a church in the newly formed parish of Fatfield.Fatfield, St George's church, Washington was completed in 1879 and was built in the Early English Gothic style.

Family

Lord Durham married Lady Beatrix Frances Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, on 23 May 1854 at St George's, Hanover Square. They had thirteen children:

• John George Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham (19 June 1855 – 18 September 1928)
• Frederick William Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham (19 June 1855 – 31 January 1929)
• Adm. Hon. Sir Hedworth Lambton (later Meux) (5 July 1856 – 20 September 1929), Admiral of the Fleet, married 18 April 1910 Hon. Mildred Cecilia Harriet, Dowager Viscountess Chelsea, daughter of Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington. They had no issue.
• Hon. Charles Lambton (3 November 1857 – 5 December 1949), married Lavinia Marion Garforth and had issue.
• Lady Beatrix Louisa Lambton (1859 – 12 March 1944), married Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke and had issue.
• Hon. George Lambton (23 December 1860 – 23 July 1945), married Cicely Margaret Horner and had issue.
• Lady Katherine Frances Lambton (5 September 1862 – 6 December 1952), married George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds and had issue.
• Maj.-Gen. Hon. Sir William Lambton (4 December 1863 – 11 October 1936), married (as her second husband) 22 April 1921 Lady Katherine de Vere Somerset, née Beauclerk, daughter of William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans. They had no issue.
• Hon. Claud Lambton (4 January 1865 – 15 February 1945), married Lettice Wormald and had issue.
• Captain The Hon. D'Arcy Lambton Royal Navy (3 June 1866 – 30 December 1954), married Florence Ethel Sproule and had issue.
• Lady Eleanor Lambton (1868 – 24 April 1959), married Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood.
• Lady Anne Lambton (24 September 1869 – 24 February 1922)
• Hon. Francis Lambton (18 January 1871 – 31 October 1914), killed in action near Zandvoorde, Belgium, during World War I.

The Countess of Durham died on 21 January 1871, aged 35, and just three days after the birth of her youngest child. In 1876, Lord Durham had his right eye removed after he was shot by his son, Charles, while on a shooting party. Lord Durham died at 6:05pm on 27 November 1879 at his town house on Hill Street in Mayfair, aged 51, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest twin son John. The Earl and Countess and some of their children are buried in St Barnabas' Church, Bournmoor, which the Earl had built at his own expense when the parish was created in 1867.

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