Washington Shirley, 8th Earl Ferrers

Washington Shirley, 8th Earl Ferrers (13 November 1760 – 2 October 1842), styled Hon. Washington Shirley from 1778 to 1827, was a British nobleman.

The third son of Robert Shirley, 6th Earl Ferrers, he was educated at Westminster School.[1] On 19 May 1780, he was appointed a cupbearer in the Royal Household, but this sinecure was abolished on 14 November 1782.[2]

Shirley married Frances (d. 4 March 1812), daughter of Rev. William Ward and granddaughter of William Ward, on 24 July 1781 at Gretna Green. They had one son and two daughters:[3]

• Lady Frances Shirley (23 March 1782 – 5 February 1834), unmarried
• Robert William Shirley, Viscount Tamworth (24 August 1783 – 2 February 1830), married Anne Weston on 12 December 1821, by whom he had two sons and a daughter:
  • Hon. Rosamond Anne Myrtle Shirley (25 September 1818 – 2 April 1865), married Hon. Henry Hanbury-Tracy on 19 January 1841
  • Washington Sewallis Shirley, 9th Earl Ferrers (1822–1859)
  • Lt. Hon. Robert William Devereux Shirley (14 December 1825 – 4 June 1849), 87th Foot
• Julia Anne Shirley (6 February 1785 – 23 November 1825)

After the death of his first wife, Ferrers married Sarah Davy (d. 30 June 1835) on 28 September 1829. They had no children.[3]

As his nephew had predeceased him without legitimate issue, Washington succeeded his elder brother in the earldom in 1827. On 13 July 1832, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Leicestershire.[1] He died at Chartley on 2 October 1842 aged 81 and was buried at Staunton Harold.[3]