The Earl of Roden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | |
| In office March 1812 – 29 July 1812 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Hon. Spencer Perceval The Earl of Liverpool |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Courtown |
| Succeeded by | Lord Charles Bentinck |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | |
| In office 28 July 1812 – 9 April 1827 | |
| Monarchs | George III George IV |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Liverpool |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Yarmouth |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Graham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 October 1788 |
| Died | 20 March 1870 (aged 81) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouses | Hon. Maria Stapleton
(m. 1813; died 1861)Clementina Reilly (m. 1862) |
| Children |
|
Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden, KP PC PC (Ire) (27 October 1788 – 20 March 1870), styled Viscount Jocelyn between 1797 and 1820, was an Irish Tory politician and supporter of Protestant causes.
Jocelyn was the son of Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden, and his first wife Frances Theodosia, daughter of the Very Reverend Robert Bligh, Dean of Elphin.[1][2]
An ardent conservative, Jocelyn was Member of Parliament for County Louth from 1806 to 1807 and again from 1810 to 1820, when he succeeded his father in the earldom. In March 1812 he was sworn of the Privy Council[3] and appointed Treasurer of the Household under Spencer Perceval,[3] an office he retained when Lord Liverpool became Prime Minister in June 1812 after Perceval's assassination. In July 1812 he was made Vice-Chamberlain of the Household,[4] a post he held until the Liverpool administration fell in 1827.
In 1821 he was created Baron Clanbrassil, of Hyde Hall in the County of Hertford and Dundalk in the County of Louth,[5] in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which entitled him to an automatic seat in the House of Lords. The same year, on 20 August 1821, he was also appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick.[6] In 1858 he was sworn of the Irish Privy Council.[7]
Despite Lord Roden's political career, he is best remembered for his strong support for Protestant causes in the north of Ireland and elsewhere. He supported religious societies such as the Hibernian Bible Society, the Sunday School Society, the Evangelical Alliance and the Protestant Orphan Society, and also conducted service in the private chapel at Tullymore Park, Castlewellan, County Down, his chief residence in Ireland. He was an important leader in the Orange Order, eventually rising to the rank of Grand Master, and was described as a "diehard Unionist".[1]
However, in 1849 a clash took part between Orangeman and Roman Catholics at Dolly's Brae, near Castlewellan, in which several people were killed after he had invited the Orangemen onto his estate and addressed them, urging them to "do their duty as loyal, Protestant men". A commission was set up to examine the event, and severely criticised Roden for his conduct. As a result of this, he was removed from his position as a member of the Commission of the Peace.[1]
Lord Roden was twice married. He married firstly the Hon. Maria Frances Catherine (c. 1793 – 25 February 1861), daughter of Thomas Stapleton, 12th Baron le Despencer, on 9 January 1813. They had three sons and three daughters.
Lord Roden's eldest son, Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn, was also a politician, but predeceased his father. After Roden's first wife's death on 25 February 1861, he married secondly Clementina Janet, daughter of Thomas Andrews, of Greenknowes, and widow of Captain Robert Lushington Reilly, of Scarva, County Down, on 16 August 1862. They had no children. In later life Lord Roden spent time in Edinburgh, Scotland, to improve his health. He died there in March 1870, aged 81, and was succeeded in the earldom by his grandson Robert, son of the late Viscount Jocelyn. The Countess of Roden died on 9 July 1903.[1]
