George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (of the 2nd creation), diplomat and Liberal politician, was a key player in mid- to late- nineteenth century diplomacy and politics.
George inherited the earldom in 1838 from his father, George Villiers, the 3rd son of the first Earl. Early success in his diplomatic career as an attaché in St Petersburg in the 1820s was overshadowed by his family’s financial difficulties, but his appointment to a Commissionership of Customs in 1828 solved that problem and gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his administrative skills. He resumed his diplomatic career in 1831 with appointments to France and, from 1833 to 1838, Spain. In 1838 he married Lady Katherine Foster-Barham, nee Grimston, then a young widow whose diaries and correspondence would later provide a fascinating commentary on the politics of the time and domestic life. The Bodleian Library bought her papers from Miss Irene Stirling in 1984 to complement the narrative provided in Lord Clarendon’s papers.
Clarendon’s political ascent began in 1840 with his appointment as Lord Privy Seal in Lord Melbourne’s government. In Lord Russell’s government he held the posts of President of the Board of Trade, 1846-7, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as it morphed into the new post of Viceroy of Ireland, 1847-52. The Irish posting is one of the best documented sections of the collection. Its 82 boxes and 28 volumes include extensive correspondence with the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and other ministers and officials on both sides of the Irish Sea. Particularly interesting are the insights into the values and opinions which shaped the British response to the Irish famine.
It is in the coverage of Clarendon as Foreign Secretary however that the collection is at its most comprehensive. His three tenures as Foreign Secretary, 1853-8, 1865-6 and 1868-70 coincided with one of the most volatile periods in European history. The Crimean War was followed in quick succession by wars to unite Italy, and between Austria and Germany, and Germany and France. Beyond Europe the American Civil War strained relations between Britain and the United States. Two hundred or more large boxes and bound volumes of correspondence with ambassadors, politicians and officials, together with runs of printed Cabinet, Foreign Office and papers (in a collection which overall comprises 537 boxes and volumes) take us deep inside the making of foreign policy at a time when Britain was at the zenith of her global power.