Spencer Ponsonby-Fane

Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane

"Spencer". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1878.
Personal information
Full name	Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby
Born	14 March 1824 Mayfair, Westminster, London, England
Died	1 December 1915 (aged 91) Yeovil, Somerset, England
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Relations	John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough, Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough (brothers), John Henry Ponsonby (son), Spencer Gore (nephew), Richard Ponsonby-Fane (grandson)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1841–1862	Marylebone Cricket Club
1848–1858	Surrey
1862	Middlesex
Career statistics
Competition FC Matches 62 Runs scored 1359 Batting average 11.92 100s/50s 1/4 Top score 108 Balls bowled 184 Wickets 14 Bowling average 26.50 5 wickets in innings 1 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 5/? Catches/stumpings 30/0
Source: Cricket Archive, 25 August 2009

Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, GCB, ISO (14 March 1824 – 1 December 1915), né Ponsonby, was an English cricketer and civil servant.

He was born in 1824 in Mayfair, the sixth son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough.

Cricket

Ponsonby played for both Middlesex and Surrey, and later administered Somerset and Harrow Cricket Club. He was one of the founders of I Zingari in 1845.

Government service

Ponsonby joined the Foreign Office in 1840. He was Private Secretary to three Foreign Secretaries: Lord Palmerston 1846–1851, Lord Granville 1851–1852, and Lord Clarendon 1853–1857. In 1856 he brought from Paris the definitive copy of the peace treaty for the Crimean War.^[1] Later he was Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office 1857–1901, Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State 1901–1915 and Bath King of Arms 1904–1915.^[2][3]

Family

Ponsonby-Fane married, on 7 October 1847, Honourable Louisa Anne Rose Lee Dillon (1825–1902), daughter of Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon. Lady Ponsonby-Fane died at their estate on 18 July 1902.^[4] They had eleven children:

• John Henry Ponsonby-Fane (22 August 1848 – 11 September 1916), married Florence Farquhar on 14 October 1875 and had issue
• Lt. George Richard Ponsonby, RA (25 April 1850 – 5 February 1871)
• Helen Ponsonby (26 July 1851 – 17 January 1852)
• Robert Charles Ponsonby-Fane (6 June 1854 – 16 November 1909), married Mary Maclachlan on 17 July 1877 and had issue
• Constance Louisa Ponsonby-Fane (23 March 1856 – 4 May 1930), married William Robert Phelips on 1 January 1881 and had issue
• Margaret Maria Ponsonby-Fane (4 November 1867 – 14 December 1953), married Rev. Hon. Arnald de Grey, third son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, on 17 April 1882 and had issue
• Clementina Sarah Ponsonby-Fane (27 July 1859 – 15 September 1934), married Sir Edmund Turton, 1st Baronet on 9 August 1888
• Eleanor Hariett Ponsonby-Fane (26 December 1861 – 2 September 1878), drowned in a boating accident at Brympton d'Evercy
• Sydney Alexander Ponsonby-Fane (26 February 1863 – 27 August 1940), married Audrey Catherine St Aubyn, daughter of John St Aubyn, 1st Baron St Levan on 10 June 1893 and had issue
• Hugh Spencer Ponsonby-Fane (5 December 1865 – 13 May 1934), married Anitha Magdalene Feuerheerd on 8 November 1894 and had issue
• Theobald Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane (27 April 1868 – 14 May 1929), married Bertha Edwards on 10 August 1892

In 1875, he changed his surname to Ponsonby-Fane upon inheriting the estate of Brympton d'Evercy from his aunt, Lady Georgiana Fane. He spent the remainder of his life there improving the gardens until he died in 1915.

Notes

1. "The Peace", The Times, London, 1 April 1856, page 9
2. "Player Profile: Spencer Ponsonby-Fane". CricInro. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
3. "Obituary – Spencer Ponsonby-Fane". John Wisden & Co. CricInfo. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
4. "Obituary". The Times (36824). London. 19 July 1902. p. 12.

External links

• Player profile: Spencer Ponsonby-Fane from ESPNcricinfo