Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of Harborough

In 1697 he was serving under his father (the Lord Lieutenant of Rutland) as captain of the Troop of Rutland Horse Militia.^[7] In 1700, he succeeded his father Bennet as Baron Sherard, of Leitrim, and shortly thereafter as Lord Lieutenant of Rutland, and was made deputy lieutenant of Lincolnshire the same year. He held these offices until his dismissal in 1712. From 1701 to 1702, he was MP for Leicestershire, and was returned for Rutland in 1713.^[8]

He held that seat until 19 October 1714, when he was created Baron Sherard, of Harborough, in the Peerage of Great Britain, and entered the House of Lords. In 1715, he was reappointed to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Rutland, which he held until his death. He was created Viscount Sherard on 31 October 1718 and Earl of Harborough on 8 May 1719.^[9]

On 30 April 1696, Sherard was married to Mary Calverley (d. 1702), the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Calverley of Eryholme and the former Mary Thompson (a daughter of Sir Henry Thompson of Escrick).^[9][10]

He was succeeded by his cousin Philip as Earl of Harborough, Baron Sherard (in Great Britain and in Ireland), and as Lord-Lieutenant; the Viscountcy of Sherard became extinct upon his death.^[9]