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John Hervey, 1st earl of Bristol (1665-1751), born on the 27th of August 1665, was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and became member of parliament for Bury St Edmunds in March 1694. In March 1703 he was created Baron Hervey of Ickworth, and in October 1714 was made earl of Bristol as a reward for his zeal in promoting the principles of the revolution and supporting the Hanoverian succession. He died on the 20th of January 1751. By his first wife, Isabella (d. 1693), daughter of Sir Robert Carr, Bart., of Sleaford, he had one son, Carr, Lord Hervey (1691-1723), who was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and was member for Bury St Edmunds from 1713 to 1722. (It has been suggested that Carr, who died unmarried on the 14th of November 1723, was the father of Horace Walpole.) He married secondly Elizabeth (d. 1741), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Felton, Bart., of Playford, Suffolk, by whom he had ten sons and six daughters. His eldest son, John (1696-1743), took the courtesy title of Lord Hervey on the death of his half-brother, Carr, in 1723, and gained some renown both as a writer and a politician (see Hervey of Ickworth). Another son, Thomas (1699-1775), was one of the members for Bury from 1733 to 1747; held various offices at court; and eloped with Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Hanmer. He had very poor health, and his reckless life frequently brought him into pecuniary and other difficulties. He wrote numerous pamphlets, and when he died Dr Johnson said of him, "Tom Hervey, though a vicious man, was one of the genteelest men who ever lived." Another of the 1st earl's sons, Felton (1712-1773), was also member for the family borough of Bury St Edmunds. Having assumed the additional name of Bathurst, Felton's grandson, Felton Elwell Hervey-Bathurst (1782-1819), was created a baronet in 1818, and on his death a year later the title descended to his brother, Frederick Anne (1783-1824), the direct ancestor of the present baronet. The 1st earl died in January 1751, the title and estates descending to his grandson.
George William Hervey, 2nd earl of Bristol (1721-1775), the eldest son of John, Lord Hervey of Ickworth, by his marriage with Mary (1700-1768), daughter of Nicholas Lepell, was born on the 31st of August 1721. He served for some years in the army, and in 1755 was sent to Turin as envoy extraordinary. He was ambassador at Madrid from 1758 to 1761, filling a difficult position with credit and dignity, and ranked among the followers of Pitt. Appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1766, he never visited that country during his short tenure of this office, and, after having served for a short time as keeper of the privy seal, became groom of the stole to George III. in January 1770. He died unmarried on the 18th or 20th of March 1775, and was succeeded by his brother.
Augustus John Hervey, 3rd earl of Bristol (1724-1779), was born on the 19th of May 1724, and entered the navy, where his promotion was rapid. He distinguished himself in several encounters with the French, and was of great assistance to Admiral Hawke in 1759, although he had returned to England before the battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759. Having served with distinction in the West Indies under Rodney, his active life at sea ceased when the peace of Paris was concluded in February 1763. He was, however, nominally commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean in this year, and was made vice-admiral of the blue in January 1778. Hervey was member of parliament for Bury from 1757 to 1763, and after being for a short time member for Saltash, again represented Bury from 1768 until he succeeded his brother in the peerage in 1775. He often took part in debates in parliament, and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature. Having served as a lord of the admiralty from 1771 to 1775 he won some notoriety as an opponent of the Rockingham ministry and a defender of Admiral Keppel. In August 1744 he had been secretly married to Elizabeth Chudleigh (1720-1788), afterwards duchess of Kingston (q.v.), but this union was dissolved in 1769. The earl died in London on the 23rd of December 1779, leaving no legitimate issue, and having, as far as possible, alienated his property from the title. He was succeeded by his brother. Many of his letters are in the Record Office, and his journals in the British Museum. Other letters are printed in the Grenville Papers, vols. iii. and iv. (London, 1852-1853), and the Life of Admiral Keppel, by the Hon. T. Keppel (London, 1852).
