James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby

The Right Honourable The Earl of Derby PC
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
In office 1715–1723
Preceded by	The Lord Paget
Succeeded by	Lord Stanhope
Personal details
Born	3 July 1664
Died	1 February 1736 (aged 71)
Spouse	Mary Morley
Parent(s)	Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby Dorothea Helena Kirkhoven

James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby PC (3 July 1664 – 1 February 1736), styled The Honourable until 1702, was a British peer, soldier and politician. He became Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard and served in the Anglo-Dutch Brigade.

Early life

Derby was the second son of Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, and Dorothea Helena Kirkhoven, born on 3 July 1664.[1] He was elected to the House of Commons for Clitheroe in 1685, a seat he held until 1689, and then represented Preston from 1689 to 1690 and Lancashire from 1695 to 1702. He held the post of Groom of the Bedchamber to King William III from 1689 to 1702.

Military career

Having served in the Anglo-Dutch Brigade with William III in Holland and Flanders (1686–88), he was commissioned as a captain and Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1st Foot Guards on 11 April 1689. When his elder brother, the 9th Earl of Derby, as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire was ordered to call out the Lancashire Militia, Lt-Col James Stanley commanded the brigade (three regiments of foot and three troops of horse) in the subsequent campaign in Ireland in 1690–91.

When the Lancashire Militia returned home to be disembodied at the end of the campaign, and Stanley was ordered to Flanders to join Colonel Hodges' Regiment as second-in-command, he induced a large number of his militiamen to volunteer to fill vacancies in the regiment. After Col Hodges was killed at the Battle of Steenkerque in 1692, Stanley succeeded to the command, and the regiment became 'Stanleys' (later the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment). He remained its colonel until 1705.[2][3][4] He was promoted to major general in 1704.[1][3]

Political career

In 1702, he succeeded his elder brother as 10th Earl of Derby and entered the House of Lords. In 1732, he succeeded his great-niece as sixth Baron Strange.[1] Derby was admitted to the Privy Council in 1706 and appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a position he retained until 1710, and was later Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1715 to 1723. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire during 1702–1710 and 1714–1736.

Family life

In February 1705 he married Mary Morley, only daughter of Sir William Morley of Halnaker and his second wife Anne Denham, daughter of the celebrated poet Sir John Denham and his first wife Anne Cotton. He died on 1 February 1736, aged 68, without surviving issue (his only son, William, born 31 January 1710, died on 4 March following). The Earl was succeeded in the earldom by his distant relative Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby. The barony of Strange and lordship of the Isle of Man ('Lord of Mann') passed on to his first cousin once removed, James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl (His grand-mother was Amelia Stanley). Lady Derby died on 29 March 1752.[1]

Notes

1. Burke's: 'Derby'.
2. Williamson & Whalley, pp. 1–8, 373–4.
3. Childs, p. 354.
4. Frederick, p. 229.

References

• Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 100th Edn, London, 1953.
• John Childs, The Nine Years War and the British Army 1688–97: The Operations in the Low Countries, Manchester: University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-7190-3461-2.
• J.B.M. Frederick, Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.
• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, ^[page needed]
• Maj R.J.T. Williamson & Col J. Lawson Whalley, History of the Old County Regiment of Lancashire Militia, London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1888.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^[self-published source] ^[better source needed]
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.^[unreliable source]

Parliament of England
Preceded by Sir Thomas Stringer Henry Marsden	Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1685–1689 With: Edmund Assheton	Succeeded by Christopher Wilkinson Anthony Parker
Preceded by Edward Fleetwood Hon. Andrew Newport	Member of Parliament for Preston 1689–1690 With: Thomas Patten	Succeeded by Lord Willoughby de Eresby Christopher Greenfield
Preceded by Viscount Brandon Sir Charles Hoghton	Member of Parliament for Lancashire 1690–1702 With: Viscount Brandon 1690–1694 Sir Ralph Assheton 1694–1698 Fitton Gerard 1698–1701 Richard Bold 1701–1702	Succeeded by Richard Bold Richard Assheton
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Gower	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1706–1710	Succeeded by The Lord Berkeley of Stratton
Preceded by The Lord Paget	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1715–1723	Succeeded by Lord Stanhope
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl Rivers	Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire 1702–1710	Succeeded by The Duke of Hamilton
	Vice-Admiral of Lancashire 1702–1712
Vacant Title last held by The Duke of Hamilton	Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire 1714–1736	Vacant Title next held by The Earl of Derby
Peerage of England
Preceded by William Richard George Stanley	Earl of Derby 1702–1736	Succeeded by Edward Stanley
Preceded by Henrietta Ashburnham	Baron Strange 1732–1736	Succeeded by James Murray
Head of State of the Isle of Man
Preceded by William Stanley	Lord of Mann 1702–1736	Succeeded by James Murray