Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 -1831)

John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley, was the son of John, 3rd Earl of Darnley, and Mary, daughter and heir of John Stoyte, of Street in Westmeath. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he succeeded his father in 1781. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, and a Captain of the Athby Volunteers, with a taste `for antient music' and good modern dinners. He married, 26 August 1791, Elizabeth, third daughter of William Brownlow of Lurgan. The town library of his son Edward, the 5th Earl, was sold by auction at B. Wheatley's 191 Piccadilly on the 20 July 1836, and a further sale of the property of the Earl of Darnley from Cobham Hall, Kent took place at Sotheby's 13 November 1957.

Seat / Residence(s): Cobham Hall, Kent
Library Auction Details: Wheatley's, Sotheby's (20 July 1836), (13 November 1957)
Stamp(s) Stamp Information
Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 1) Title: Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 1)
Arms: Quarterly of six 1 & 6. Azure a griffin segreant or between three crescents argent (Bligh) 2. Azure a chevron between three lozenges or (Hyde) 3. Gules three lions passant gardant per pale or and argent (O'Brien) 4. Or a fess checky argent and azure a bordure engrailed gules (Stuart) 5. Sable a lion rampant between eight cinquefoils argent (Clifton) impaling Or an escutcheon between eight martlets (Brownlow)
Motto: Finem respice
Dimensions (height x width): 77mm x 55mm
Quarterings: 1 & 6. Azure a griffin segreant or between three crescents argent (Bligh) 2. Azure a chevron between three lozenges or (Hyde) 3. Gules three lions passant gardant per pale or and argent (O'Brien) 4. Or a fess checky argent and azure a bordure engrailed gules (Stuart) 5. Sable a lion rampant between eight cinquefoils argent (Clifton)
Coronet: Earl
Impalement: Or an escutcheon between eight martlets (Brownlow)
Heraldic Charges: bordure engrailed, Heraldic Charges: chevron between, Heraldic Charges: cinquefoils (8), Heraldic Charges: crescents (3), Heraldic Charges: escutcheon, Heraldic Charges: fess within, Heraldic Charges: griffin segreant, Heraldic Charges: lion rampant, Heraldic Charges: lion, demi-, Heraldic Charges: lions passant gardant (3), Heraldic Charges: lozenges (3), Heraldic Charges: martlets (8)
Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 2) Title: Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 2)
Dimensions (height x width): 38mm x 23mm
Coronet: Earl
Heraldic Charges: griffin's head
Title: Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 3)
Crest: A griffin's head erased
Dimensions (height x width): 27mm x 18mm
Coronet: Earl
Heraldic Charges: griffin's head
Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 4) Title: Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 4)
Dimensions (height x width): 26mm x 14mm
Coronet: Earl
Heraldic Charges: griffin's head
Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 5) Title: Bligh, John, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767 - 1831) (Stamp 5)
Dimensions (height x width): 21mm x 14mm
Coronet: Earl
Heraldic Charges: griffin's head