Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry

The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Londonderry
DL
The Most Honourable The Marquess of Londonderry DL
	Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart wearing a page's uniform for the Coronation of King George V in 1911, holding an earl's coronet in both hands
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 10 February 1949 – 17 October 1955; Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 7th Marquess of Londonderry
Succeeded by	The 9th Marquess of Londonderry
Member of Parliament; for Down
	In office; 27 October 1931 – 15 June 1945
Preceded by	Sir David Reid; John Simms
Succeeded by	James Little; Sir Walter Smiles
Personal details
Born	Edward Charles Stewart Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart; 18 November 1902
Died	17 October 1955 (aged 52)
Nationality	British
Political party	Ulster Unionist
Spouse	Romaine Combe (m. 1931; died 1951)
Children	Lady Jane Lacey; Lady Annabel Goldsmith; Alistair Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 9th Marquess of Londonderry
Parent(s)	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry; The Hon. Edith Chaplin
Education	Eton College

Edward Charles Stewart Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry, DL (18 November 1902 – 17 October 1955), styled Lord Stewart until 1915 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1915 and 1946, was a British peer and politician.

Early life

Born on 18 November 1902, into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family with its roots in Ulster and County Durham, he was the second child and only son of the 7th Marquess of Londonderry and his wife, the Honourable Edith Helen Chaplin. King Edward VII stood sponsor at his christening in the Chapel Royal (St. James's Palace) on 16 December 1902, the other sponsors being his grandfather Lord Londonderry, Hon. Arthur Meade (later Earl of Clanwilliam), and the Duchess of Teck.^[1]

He was educated at Eton College. In 1911, he was a page at the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. He was painted holding his grandfather's coronet by Philip de László. The portrait now hangs at Mount Stewart, County Down.^[2]

He was known formally by his courtesy title, Viscount Castlereagh, before he inherited the Marquessate, and as Robin by close friends and family throughout his life.

Career

He worked as honorary attaché to the British Embassy in Rome and as a director of Londonderry Collieries, the family's coal mining company. A keen football fan, he was first a director and then chairman of Arsenal Football Club from 1939 to 1946.

Lord Londonderry was an accomplished public speaker and, before succeeding his father as Marquess in 1949, was the Unionist Member of Parliament for Down in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1945.^[3]

Marriage and family

He was married on 31 October 1931 at St Martin-in-the-Fields to Romaine Combe (d. 19 December 1951), the daughter of Major Boyce Combe, of Farnham, Surrey, and had issue:

Lady Jane Antonia Frances Vane-Tempest-Stewart (born 11 August 1932)
Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart (born 13 June 1934)
Alexander Charles Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 9th Marquess of Londonderry (7 September 1937 – 20 June 2012)

Lord Londonderry was a celebrated host and practical joker, reportedly once decorating the Christmas tree at Wynyard with condoms to startle a visiting cleric.^{[citation needed]} He was an attentive husband and devoted father, entertaining his family with stories and tales.^{[citation needed]} Also regarded as slightly eccentric, on one occasion Lord Londonderry had taken to his bed drunk, when Ruth Graham, the wife of the American evangelist Billy Graham, came to call. Although informed that His Lordship was "indisposed", Mrs Graham insisted upon admission to his bedroom, having "come all the way on Billy's account". She was duly announced. Lord Londonderry threw aside the bedsheets and shouted, "Get in."^[4]

He had an awkward and distant relationship with his parents, especially his father. The two men took opposite sides during industrial disputes involving the family coal mines, most notably during the General Strike in 1926. When he married Romaine, a brewer's daughter, his family viewed the union with disdain. It was a happy marriage by all accounts; but Lady Londonderry died from cancer in 1951 and her husband plunged into depression and alcoholism.^[5]

"Daddy changed, literally overnight, into a complete drunk," Lady Annabel Goldsmith, his daughter, recalled. "It was awful. He would collapse while making speeches to the cricket club, that kind of thing. He was on the bottle night and day."^[6]

Lord Londonderry died from liver failure on 17 October 1955, at age 52. He was buried alongside his wife at Wynyard Park and both were later re-interred in the Londonderry family vault at St Mary's Church, Longnewton, County Durham.

References

^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36953. London. 17 December 1902. p. 10.
^ "Edward Charles Stewart Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1902–1955), Lord Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry, as a Page at the Coronation of George V, 1911". artuk.org. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^ "Viscount Castlereagh". Hansard. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. 'The Unvarnished Picture', The Spectator, 26 October 2002. Accessed 25 March 2008.
^ "The Marquess of Londonderry: The 9th Marquess of Londonderry, who has died aged 74, was an unconventional aristocrat who suffered more than his fair share of misfortune and heartbreak". The Telegraph. 20 June 2012.
^ Langley, William. 'Profile: Lady Annabel Goldsmith', The Sunday Telegraph, 6 October 2007. Accessed 25 March 2008.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Londonderry

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir David Reid John Simms	Member of Parliament for Down 1931–1945 With: Sir David Reid 1931–1939 James Little 1939–1945	Succeeded by James Little Sir Walter Smiles
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart	Marquess of Londonderry 1949–1955	Succeeded by Alexander Vane-Tempest-Stewart