View source for William Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst

{{Short description|British peer, politician and notable Freemason}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Captain]] [[The Right Honourable]]
| name               = The Earl Amherst
| image              = 3rd Earl Amherst.png
| alt                = Caricature of Lord Amherst
| caption            = "The Pro Grand Master", Lord Amherst as caricatured by [[Leslie Ward]] in [[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]].
| birth_name         = William Archer Amherst
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1836|3|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Mayfair]], [[London]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1910|8|14|1836|3|26|df=yes}}
| death_place        = Montreal Park, near [[Sevenoaks]], [[Kent]]
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| nationality        = British
| education          = [[Eton College]]
| title              = Earl Amherst
| term               = 
| predecessor        = [[William Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst]]
| successor          = [[Hugh Amherst, 4th Earl Amherst]]
| party              = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse             = {{Plainlist|
* {{Marriage |Julia Mann |1862|1883|end=d}}
* {{Marriage |Alice Vaughan |1889}}}}
| parents            = 
| relatives          = 
| module             = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance    = {{Flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch        = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| rank          = Captain
| unit          = [[Coldstream Guards]]
| battles       = [[Crimean War]] (specifically the [[Battle of Balaclava]], the [[Battle of Inkerman]] and the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854)|Siege of Sevastopol]])
| awards       = 
}}
| signature          = 
| footnotes          = 
}}
[[File:Crimean War 1854-56 Q71508.jpg |thumb|left|alt=Monochrome photograph of Amherst in military dress|Amherst during the period of his service in the Crimea]]
'''William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst''' (26 March 1836&nbsp;– 14 August 1910), styled '''Viscount Holmesdale''' from 1857 to 1886, was a British [[Peerages in the United Kingdom|peer]], politician and notable [[Freemason]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.amos-99.freeserve.co.uk/the_earl.htm |title=The 3rd Earl Amherst 1836–1910 |access-date=14 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104150632/http://www.amos-99.freeserve.co.uk/the_earl.htm |archive-date=4 November 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He was born in [[Mayfair]], [[London]], the son of [[William Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst|William Amherst, Viscount Holmesdale]] (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, [[Hanover Square, London]]. He was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and went on to serve with the [[Coldstream Guards]], rising to the rank of captain and fighting in the [[Battle of Balaclava]], the [[Battle of Inkerman]] (where he was severely wounded) and the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854)|Siege of Sevastopol]] during the [[Crimean War]].

On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale was elected [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[West Kent (UK Parliament constituency)|West Kent]] at the [[1859 United Kingdom general election|1859 general election]]. On 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the [[James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis]]) in [[Linton, Kent]].

In [[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868]] Holmesdale became MP for the new [[Mid Kent (historic UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Kent]] constituency, which he represented until 1880.  He served as chairman of the [[National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations]] in 1868.<ref>Cook, C. & Keith, B. (1975) ''British Historical Facts 1830–1900''. London and Baisngstoke: The Macmillan Press, p. 93</ref> On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883, and on 25 April 1889 he married Alice Vaughan ({{nee|Proby}}), widow of [[Ernest Vaughan, 5th Earl of Lisburne]] in London.

He died in 1910, aged 74, at his home of [[Montreal Park]], near [[Sevenoaks]], [[Kent]] as a result of an operation he received three months prior for a throat infection. He was cremated on 16 August 1910 and his ashes buried two days later in nearby [[Riverhead, Kent|Riverhead]]. Despite having married twice, the earl died childless and his titles passed to his brother, [[Hugh Amherst, 4th Earl Amherst|Hugh]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{Rayment|date=February 2012}}
* {{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | viscount-holmesdale | Viscount Holmesdale }}

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{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amherst, William Amherst, 3rd Earl}}
[[Category:Earls Amherst]]
[[Category:Knights of Justice of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:1836 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:Coldstream Guards officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Crimean War]]
[[Category:Grand masters of the United Grand Lodge of England]]
[[Category:People from Mayfair]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1859–1865]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1865–1868]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1868–1874]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1874–1880]]
[[Category:UK MPs who inherited peerages]]
[[Category:Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England]]
[[Category:People from Sevenoaks]]
[[Category:Nobility from London]]