Finch, Heneage, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea (1628 -1689)

Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea, was the eldest surviving son of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea, and Cecilie, daughter of John Wentworth, and succeeded to the title in 1639. He was admitted to Queens' College Cambridge on 25 July 1644. A staunch royalist and very active in the restoration of Charles II, he was created, 26 June 1660, Baron Fitzherbert of Eastwell in Kent, a reference to the family's claim to be descended from Henry Fitzherbert, Chamberlain to Henry I. At the same time they were granted a royal licence to quarter the arms of Fitzherbert. He married, firstly, 21 May 1645, Diana, daughter of the 5th Lord Willoughby of Parham, by whom he had no surviving issue, and secondly, in 1653, Mary Seymour, second daughter of William Duke of Somerset. They had seven sons and four daughters. He married, thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Sir Thomas Norcliffe, of Langton in Yorkshire. On her death in 1679, he married, fourthly, 29 October 1681, Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of John Ayres, of the City of London. The Earl served as Ambassador Extraordinary to the Sultan of Turkey 1660 1669. He was Lord Lieutenant of Kent and Governor of Dover Castle. When James II, making an attempt to leave his kingdom, stopped at Faversham and sent for Lord Winchilsea, his lordship persuaded the King to return to London.