Christopher Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea

Christopher Denys Stormonte Finch-Hatton (17 November 1936 – 26 June 1999) was the 16th Earl of Winchilsea and 11th Earl of Nottingham as well as a member of the American Vanderbilt family through his maternal grandmother, Gladys Moore Vanderbilt. He acceded to the titles in 1950 on the death of his father, Christopher Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea.

Early life Finch-Hatton was born to Christopher Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea and Countess Gladys Széchényi Sárvár-Felsövidék. Finch-Hatton's paternal grandparents were Guy Finch-Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea and Margaretta Armstrong Drexel, the daughter of banker Anthony Joseph Drexel of Philadelphia and a survivor of the SS Athenia. His middle name was inspired by his great-uncle, renowned big game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton.

Finch-Hatton's maternal grandparents were Count László Széchényi Sárvár-Felsövidék and Gladys Moore Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was the seventh and youngest child of Alice Claypoole Gwynne and Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the president and chairman of the New York Central Railroad. Gladys grew up in the family home on Fifth Avenue in New York City, and their summer "cottage," The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. Together, Finch-Hatton's parents had two sons before divorcing in 1946: Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea, (1936–1999) The Honourable Robin Heneage Finch-Hatton (1939–2018) On 17 June 1946, his father married for the second time to Agnes Mary Conroy, daughter of Patrick Joseph Conroy.

Education Finch-Hatton attended Eton College then Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland. At the age of 13, he inherited the titles of Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham upon the death of his father. He was buried at Church of St Thomas à Becket near South Cadbury House.

Styles 1936–1939: The Honourable Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton 1939–1950: Viscount Maidstone 1950–1999: The Right Honourable The Earl of Winchilsea and Earl of Nottingham

Ancestry