Background
He was the son of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore and his wife Catherine Sedley, former mistress of James World War II
He was the son of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore and his wife Catherine Sedley, former mistress of James World War II
Amongst his ancestors were William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, foiler of the gunpowder plot, and Geoffrey Chaucer. He was Member of Parliament for Member for Wycombe in 1726 and Andover 1727–1730, when he succeeded to the earldom. He owned many famous racehorses.
He was a founding Governor of the Foundling Hospital, a charity created in 1739, dedicated to the salvation of abandoned children.
With Elizabeth Collier he had an illegitimate daughter, also called Elizabeth, born c. 1747, who married first Edward Pole, the soldier and secondly Erasmus Darwin, the physician.
They had the following children:
Caroline Colyear (b c1733) married Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale
Juliana Colyear (b 1735) married Henry Dawkins in 1759
William Charles Colyear, 3rd Earl of Portmore (1745–1823)
Portmore was famous in high society for the splendour of his dress and equipages.