Murray Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea
| The Earl of Winchilsea | |
|---|---|
| Born | Murray Edward Gordon Finch-Hatton 28 March 1851 |
| Died | 7 September 1898 (aged 47) |
| Predecessor | George Finch-Hatton |
| Successor | Henry Finch-Hatton |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Harcourt |
| Parents |
George Finch-Hatton Fanny Margaretta Rice |
Murray Edward Gordon Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea and 7th Earl of Nottingham (28 March 1851 – 7 September 1898), styled the Hon. Murray Finch-Hatton until 1887, was a British Conservative politician and agriculturalist. His country residence was at Haverholme Priory, Lincolnshire.
Winchilsea and Nottingham was the eldest son of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea and 5th Earl of Nottingham, famous for his 1829 duel with the Duke of Wellington, by his third wife Fanny Margaretta, daughter of Edward Royd Rice.
He unsuccessfully contested Newark in 1880 but entered Parliament for Lincolnshire South in an 1884 by-election, a seat he held until the following year when the constituency was abolished. He then represented Spalding from 1885 until 1887 when he succeeded his half-brother in the two earldoms and entered the House of Lords. His succession led to a network of legal difficulties engaging at different times, it is stated, no fewer than 22 different firms of lawyers.
He was particularly interested in agricultural questions, where he sought to improve the conditions of agricultural workers.
Obliged by the agricultural depression to dispose of his family seat at Eastwell Park, Kent he became the recognised head of the movement which followed on the Agricultural Congress of 1892 and led in 1894 to the formation of The National Agricultural Union. It aimed at a thorough organisation of the agricultural interests represented alike by the landlords, tenants and labourers. Its programme included:
By the time of his death in 1898 most of these aims were achieved, the reduction in railway charges by bulking shipments. To that end he established early in 1896 British Produce Supply Association Limited with a capital of £50,000 which opened extensive stores for the sale and distribution of British produce under the Cable brand. Cable was the title of the weekly newspaper, the official organ of the National Agricultural Union. County associations of agriculturists were formed for mutual support and combination.
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