Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort KP PC (I) (1 November 1822 – 22 July 1894) was an Irish peer, styled Lord Kenlis until 1829 and Earl of Bective from 1829 to 1870.
He was High Sheriff of Meath in 1844, of Cavan in 1846, and of Westmorland in 1853. From 1852 to 1853, he was State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1854, Bective succeeded his father-in-law as Member of Parliament for Westmorland, sitting as a Conservative.
He succeeded his father as Marquess of Headfort in 1870. He also inherited his father's title of Baron Kenlis, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, and so gained a seat in the House of Lords; his son Thomas replaced him in the House of Commons for Westmorland.
He was an Irish Freemason, having been initiated in Lodge No 244 (Kells, Ireland), and served as the Provincial Grand Master of Meath from 1888 until his death and burial at Virginia, County Cavan in 1894.[1] He was also an English Freemason and belonged to a number of Masonic Orders. In particular, he served as Grand Sovereign (the Head of the Order) of the Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine from 1866 until 1874.[2] He succeeded his father as Honorary Colonel of the Royal Meath Militia.[3]
He held significant landholdings, covering nearly 43,000 acres in Ireland and Great Britain.[4]
- ^ See 'A brief history of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Meath', at the official website of that organisation.
- ^ Report of Proceedings of the Grand Imperial Council, 2013. Published by Lewis Masonic (Ian Allan Publishing Ltd), 2013. ISBN 978 0 85318 435 5. Page 180.
- ^ Army List, various dates.
- ^ "The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland; a list of all owners of three thousand acres and upwards ... Also, one thousand three hundred owners of two thousand acres and upwards in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, their acreage and income from land culled from the modern Domesday book". 15 December 1883.