Sir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baronet

Sir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baronet
Born	17 July 1759
Died	25 February 1838
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge
Occupation	Aristocrat, politician
Spouse(s)	3
Children	19
Parent(s)	Gerard Edwardes Lady Jane Noel
Relatives	Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough (maternal grandfather)

Sir Gerard Noel Noel, 2nd Baronet (17 July 1759 – 25 February 1838), of Welham Grove in Leicestershire and Exton Park in Rutland, known as Gerard Edwardes until 1798, was an English Member of Parliament.

Gerard Noel was born Gerard Edwardes on 17 July 1759. He was the son of Gerard Edwardes of Welham Grove and Lady Jane Noel, daughter of Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough. His father was the illegitimate son of Lord Anne Hamilton, younger son of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton. He was educated at Eton and St John's College, Cambridge.

Noel became partner in a Westminster banking house. He entered Parliament in 1784 as member for Maidstone. However, on the death of his cousin, Thomas Noel, MP for Rutland, he resigned so as to be elected for that county (where the Noels had regularly held one of the seats for centuries). He represented Rutland (in two spells) for well over forty years. Initially a supporter of Pitt the Younger, he was one of a group of MPs who in 1788 tried to form a third party independent of both Pitt and Charles James Fox; in later years, however, he was a consistent Tory.

In 1798 he inherited the estates of his uncle, Henry Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough (though not the peerage, which could not pass through the female line), and changed his surname to Noel. He served as High Sheriff of Rutland for 1812.

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