Henry Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis PC (c. 1703 – 10 September 1772), known as Henry Herbert until 1743 and as The Lord Herbert of Chirbury between 1743 and 1748, was a British peer and politician.

Background

A member of the Herbert family, he was the son of Francis Herbert, son of Richard Herbert by his wife and second cousin once removed, the Honourable Florence, daughter of Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury

Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury

Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury was an Anglo-Welsh Member of Parliament, a Royalist who fought with the rank of Colonel in the English Civil War, and a peer whose membership of the House of Lords was curtailed by its abolition in 1649.-Life:Herbert, born about 1604, was the elder...

. His mother was Dorothy, daughter of John Oldbury, of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In 1751 he married the fifteen-year-old Barbara Herbert, posthumous daughter and heiress of Lord Edward Herbert, younger son of William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis and brother of William Herbert, 3rd Marquess of Powis.

Political career

Herbert was returned to parliament for Bletchingley

Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)

Bletchingley was a parliamentary borough in Surrey. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1832, when the constituency was...

 in 1724, a seat he held until 1727, and then represented Ludlow

Ludlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Ludlow is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 until 1743. In 1735 he became Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire

Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire

This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire.* Sir John Salusbury bef. 1544 – c. 1548* Edward Herbert bef...

 and Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire. In 1743 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Herbert of Chirbury, in the County of Shropshire, a revival of the title which had become extinct on his great-grandfather's death in 1655. Five years later he was created Baron Powis, of Powis Castle in the County of Montgomery, Viscount Ludlow, in the County of Shropshire, and Earl of Powis, in the County of Montgomery, a revival of the Powis title which had become extinct on the death of the third Marquess of Powis the same year. The following year he was also made Baron Herbert of Chirbury and Ludlow, with remainder to firstly his brother Richard Herbert and secondly to his kinsman Francis Herbert, of Ludlow

Ludlow

Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...

.

In 1761 Lord Powis relinquished his position as Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire and was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire instead, a post he would hold until his death. The same year he was also appointed Comptroller of the Household

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...

 and sworn of the Privy Council. He was promoted to Treasurer of the Household

Treasurer of the Household

The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...

 later the same year, a post he held until 1765. He once again became Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire in 1764, and remained in this post until his death eight years later.

Family

Lord Powis died in September 1772 and was succeeded by his son, George (who also succeeded in the barony of Herbert of Chirbury and Ludlow as the persons in special remainder to that peerage had died before Lord Powis). The earldom became extinct on the latter's death in 1801. Lady Henrietta Antonia, daughter of the first Earl, married Edward Clive

Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis

Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis , known as the Lord Clive between 1774 and 1804, was a British peer and politician.-Background:...

, son of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive

Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...

("Clive of India"). In 1804 the earldom of Powis was revived in favour of Edward Clive. Barbara, Countess of Powis, died in March 1786, aged 50.