[1] At age 11, Lambton inherited the earldom of Durham when his father, who served as British Ambassador to Russia and Governor-General of Canada, died in 1840.
[3] On 19 July 1877, the Earl of Durham signed a document giving an acre of his land to be used for the construction of a church in the newly formed parish of Fatfield.
Fatfield, St George's church, Washington was completed in 1879 and was built in the Early English Gothic style.
On 23 May 1854, Lord Durham married Lady Beatrix Frances Hamilton (1835–1871) at St George's, Hanover Square.
Lord Durham died at 6:05pm on 27 November 1879 at his town house on Hill Street in Mayfair, aged 51, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest twin son John.