Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea

Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham, KG, PC (24 May 1689 – 2 August 1769) was a British politician.

Life

Styled Lord Finch until 1730, he was the eldest son of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, and his second wife Anne Hatton, daughter of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton. His father was a prominent Tory politician who had been one of the few leading Tories to actively support the Hanoverian succession. He succeeded to his fathers titles and his estate at Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland in 1730.

As Lord Finch, he was elected when only 21 as Member of Parliament for Rutland. He remained its member until he succeeded to the Earldom in 1730, also serving as comptroller of the royal household from 1725 to 1730. Winchilsea supported the creation of London's Foundling Hospital, a charity providing home and education for some of the capital's many abandoned children. Winchilsea was one of the original governors for this organisation, founded in 1739.

Although his father had been a supporter of Walpole, Winchilsea became instead a supporter of Lord Carteret in the so-called "Patriot Opposition". When Carteret became leading minister in 1742, Winchilsea joined as well, becoming First Lord of the Admiralty (1742–1744). Later on, he allied himself with Newcastle and the Old Whigs, and served as Lord President in the Rockingham administration (1765–1766).

He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1752.

He first married Lady Frances Feilding, daughter of Basil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh and Hester Firebrace, with whom he had a daughter, Lady Charlotte. He later married Mary Palmer, daughter of Sir Thomas Palmer, 1st Baronet Palmer. They had four daughters: Ladies Heneage, Essex, Hatton and Augusta, and four more who died young. They died unmarried and there are no known descendants. He lived at Eastwell Park.

He died in 1769 and was buried at Eastwell. His titles, together with his estates at Burley-on-the-Hill and elsewhere, passed to his nephew George Finch, son of his brother, the diplomat William. He left his Kentish properties, such as Eastwell Park, to his other nephew George Finch-Hatton, son of his brother Edward.