Biography of Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough 1675-1732

Paternal Family Tree: Sherard

In 1675 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough was born to Bennet Sherard 2nd Baron Sherard (age 53).

In 1675 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Rutland and Deputy Lieutenant Lincolnshire.

On 15th January 1700 [his father] Bennet Sherard 2nd Baron Sherard (age 78) died. His son Bennet (age 25) succeeded 3rd Baron Sherard of Leitrim.

In 1701 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 26) was elected MP Leicestershire.

In 1713 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 38) was elected MP Rutland.

On 19th October 1714 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 39) was created 1st Baron Sherard of Harborough.

In 1715 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 40) was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Rutland.

On 31st October 1718 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 43) was created 1st Viscount Sherard.

On 8th May 1719 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 44) was created 1st Earl Harborough.

All About History Books

The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

On 16th October 1732 Bennet Sherard 1st Earl Harborough (age 57) died. His first cousin once removed Philip (age 52) succeeded 2nd Earl Harborough, 2nd Viscount Sherard, 4th Baron Sherard of Leitrim, 2nd Baron Sherard of Harborough. Anne Pedley Countess Harborough (age 57) by marriage Countess Harborough.

St Mary Magalene's Church Stapleford, Leicestershire [Map]. Most of the memorials were moved from the earlier church. The oldest, dated 1490, is a brass to Geoffrey Sherard and his wife. There is a black and white marble tomb chest dated 1640. The chest bears two life-size reclining effigies and is carved with images of eleven children. There are a number of busts of members of the Sherard family. The finest memorial is that of the 1st Earl by John Michael Rysbrack. It is dated 1732 and consists of a seated woman with a child, and a half-reclining man, all in Roman clothing. There is also a memorial tablet and a hatchment to the 6th Earl, dated 1859.