BARRINGTON, Hon. Capt. George (1794-1835), of Greathan, Durham

Barrington, born at Durham in 1794 into a distinguished political family, was the great-grandson of John Barrington, MP for Berwick, 1715-23, who in 1720 had been created viscount Barrington of Ardglass, and Baron Barrington of Newcastle, in the Irish peerage. Barrington’s father, also George, was a prebendary of Durham and had succeeded to the peerage in January 1814 on the death of his elder brother.1The Complete Peerage, i. 55-7. Following a successful naval career, Barrington married Caroline, the daughter of earl Grey, who upon becoming prime minister in 1830 appointed him a lord of the admiralty (fourth naval lord), and as such a member of the ministry.

At the 1832 general election, Barrington was brought forward by Lord Durham for Sunderland, but it quickly became clear that he was an unsuitable candidate. He missed most of the canvass due to illness, and when he did appear, Durham’s supporters found him to be ‘a man of such little talent and political information’.2Hedworth Lambton to Lord Durham, 1 Jan. 1833. Quoted in Sunderland: river, town and people: a history from the 1780s. ed. G.E. Milburn and S.T. Miller (1988), 93. However, with the tacit support of Sir William Chaytor, who headed the poll, he was returned in second place.3Newcastle Courant, 15 Dec. 1832; Papers of Sir William Chaytor (1771-1847): a list with extracts, ed. M.Y. Ashcroft (1993), 180.

Shortly after his return, however, Barrington was straight-jacketed on account of his insanity, and is not known to have taken his seat in the Commons. On 12 March 1833, a letter signed by 158 electors was sent to Grey, informing him that Barrington was in ‘a state of mental affliction’ which ‘now prevails to an extent requiring constant personal restraint’.4The letter, signed by a ‘Mr. Lotherington’ was later published in the Morning Chronicle, 5 Apr. 1833. The premier, in his reply dated 23 March, conceded that he was left ‘without a choice’ and that although his decision must be painful to Barrington’s family, he felt ‘the necessity of preventing the greater and more certain evil of him being harassed and annoyed by attacks as have been lately directed against him’ and therefore advised ‘his resignation of a seat’.5Peel’s reply was published in the Morning Chronicle, 2 Apr. 1833. On 25 March, it was reported in the Commons that Barrington had accepted the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds.6The Times, 26 Mar. 1833. He died in June 1835 and was succeeded by his only son, Charles George, who was gentleman usher of the black rod and private secretary to Palmerston in 1856, and to Lord John Russell in 1866.