He had previously represented County Wexford and Fethard in the Irish House of Commons.

[4] He was a Tory politician and served under William Pitt the Younger as Treasurer of the Household from 1784 to 1793.

He succeeded his father as Treasurer of the Household and was also Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners for many years.

His eldest son, the seventh Earl, was a major-general in the army and served as deputy assistant adjutant-general at the War Office from 1941 to 1947.

As of 2014[update] the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the ninth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1975.

Richard Bruce Stopford (1774–1844), fourth son of the second Earl, was Canon of Windsor and Chaplain to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

His youngest son Sir Lionel Stopford was a colonel and honorary major-general in the Derby Regiment and Irish Guards.

Sir Frederick Stopford, second son from the second marriage of the fourth Earl,[8] was a lieutenant-general in the army.

Walter George Stopford (1855–1918), third son from the second marriage of the fourth Earl, was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy.