James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam

Grimston was the son of James Grimston, 3rd Viscount Grimston of Gorhambury House, and Harriot Walter.

In 1802 Grimston was elected to the House of Commons for St Albans, a seat he held until 1808, when he succeeded his father as fourth Viscount Grimston and second Baron Verulam and entered the House of Lords. The latter year he also succeeded his maternal cousin as tenth Lord Forrester. In 1815 Verulam was created Viscount Grimston and Earl of Verulam in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He later held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1823 to 1845.

According to the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership at the University College London, Verulam was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £1.43 billion in 2020[1]) with interest from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Verulam was associated with two claims, he owned 376 slaves in Jamaica and received a £7,359 payment at the time (worth £704 thousand in 2020[1]).[2]

Lord Verulam married Lady Charlotte Jenkinson, daughter of Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool, in 1807. They had six sons and four daughters, all of whom married into the peerage and all married earls:

• James Walter Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam (Feb. 22, 1809 [3] –1895)
• Lady Katherine Grimston (April 18, 1810–1874), married in 1834 John Foster-Barham (d. 1838), married in 1839 George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
• Hon. Edward Harbottle Grimston (Aug. 2, 1812–1881)
• Hon. Henry Luckyn Grimston (August 1813 - 1814, young)
• Lady Emily Mary Grimston (Feb. 14, 1816–1901), married William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven
• Hon. Robert Grimston (Sept. 18, 1816–1884)
• Capt. Hon. Charles Grimston (Oct. 3, 1818–1857), Coldstream Guards
• Lady Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston (July 29, 1821–1879), married Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 4th Earl of Radnor
• Rev. Hon. Francis Sylvester Grimston (Dec. 8, 1823–1865), married Katherine Morier and had issue
• Lady Jane Frederica Harriet Mary Grimston (Jan. 17, 1825–1888), married James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon

Lord Verulam died in November 1845, aged 70, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son James. Lady Verulam died in 1863.

• Lundy, Darryl. "p. 2054 § 20531". Retrieved 9 October 2007.
• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Verulam