Sir Henry Hartstonge, 3rd Baronet

He was born at Bruff, County Limerick, only son of Price Hartstonge, MP for Charleville, and Alice Widenham, daughter and co-heiresss of Henry Widenham of Kildimo.[1] Price was the eldest surviving son of Sir Standish Hartstonge, 2nd Baronet, but he died before his father, so that Henry inherited the title on his grandfather's death in 1751.[2] The Hartstonges, who were originally from Norfolk, inherited Bruff from the Standish family in the midle of the seventeenth century.[3] Thereafter they lived mainly in Ireland, and over the course of the next century they became substantial landowners in Limerick, Cork and Tipperary. Henry was educated at Trinity College, Dublin of which he was later a benefactor.

Henry married Lucy Pery, daughter of the Rev. Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigge, and sister of Edmund Pery, 1st Viscount Pery and of William Pery, 1st Baron Glentworth. Viscount Pery, who was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons 1771–1785, was one of the most influential politicians in Ireland of his day and Henry was always closely associated with the Pery interest. He sat in the House of Commons as member for Limerick 1776–1790.[4]

He has been described as a popular and convivial character, who resembled the celebrated Irish "character" Sir Boyle Roche in personality. He was also accused of being an absentee landlord who spent most of his time in England and neglected his estates in Ireland. This however may be an unfair judgment since there is evidence that he worked closely with the Perys in the development of Limerick City, particularly the laying out of Newtown Pery and the building of the new Bishop's Palace.[5] His wife Lucy was renowned for her charitable work in Limerick. The couple gave their name to Hartstonge Street.

He was said to be incapable of making a speech in public, so that his brother-in-law Edmund, who was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons for many years, would simply ignore his demands to address the House, despite his regular cry "Damn it, Edmund, I will speak!".[6]

Henry had no children and the baronetcy died with him. The bulk of the Hartstonge estates passed at his death to his niece Mary Alice Ormsby, daughter of his only sister Mary, who married Henry Ormsby of Cloghan, County Mayo. Mary Alice married Lucy Hartstonge's nephew Edmund, 2nd Baron Glentworth who as his reward for supporting the Act of Union was created Earl of Limerick in 1803.