He was ordained in the Church of England and served as Vicar of Bulkington, Warwickshire from 1852–55, and of Napton from 1855–71, when he resigned Holy Orders to pursue a political career and was successfully returned to Parliament for County Waterford in 1873, representing the Liberal Party. His father died the following year and he then resigned his seat so that he could pursue his claim to the barony of Stuart de Decies. However, Stuart-Villiers was unable to satisfactorily claim that his parents were legally married and was not allowed to assume the title. He was again elected to the House of Commons for County Waterford in 1880, a seat he held until 1885. While in parliament he was upfront about the economic difficulties faced by Irish landowners of his class. In 1880, he explained to his colleagues in the House of Commons that he had taken out a loan so he could afford to employ 200 men. Travels and Egyptology Stuart travelled extensively, and published many accounts of his wanderings, notably Adventures amid the Equatorial Forests and Rivers of South America. He was in South America in 1858, in Jamaica in 1881, and he made several journeys through Egypt, and published various works on ancient and modern Egypt. After the British intervention in Egypt concluded with victory at the Battle of Tell El Kebir in 1882 he was sent by the British government to report on the conditions of the people in that country, and produced several books on the topic, including Egypt after the War, which received the special recognition of Lord Dufferin, and his reports were published as a parliamentary blue-book. The Durham University Journal noted in their obituary of Villiers-Stuart that The Funeral Tent of an Egyptian Queen was one of his more popular books. In this book he recalled a journey taken in Egypt in 1879, including a visit to Deir el-Bahari, where he translated some of the hieroglyphics on the tomb of Ramesses I. He also visited a canopy amidst the royal mummeries, recently discovered by Emile Brugsch, that formed the funeral tent of Queen Isi em Kheb, the mother-in-law of Shishak, and inspired the title of the book. He was a member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. He also joined the Egypt Exploration Fund and was concerned about the damage to Egyptian monuments. Like founding member of the EEF Amelia Edwards he noted with alarm how quickly sites were being destroyed. In the winter of 1882 he discovered the alabaster altar and basins in Niuserre's Sun Temple at Abu Ghurab, a discovery that Edwards believed to be very significant.
Villiers-Stuart married Mary Power, the daughter of Ambrose Power, Archdeacon of Lismore, in 1865. They had five sons and four daughters. He died in October 1895, aged 68, after falling and drowning off Villierstown Quay, near his residence at Dromana, Waterford, having slipped while attempting to enter his boat. His wife survived him by twelve years, dying in September 1907. His youngest son, Patrick Villiers-Stuart, married the author and painter Constance Fielden.
Publication
Eve of the Deluge. London, 1851.
Nile Gleanings. Concerning the Ethnology, History, and Art of Ancient Egypt,' London, 1879.
The Funeral Tent of an Egyptian Queen. London, 1882.
Egypt after the War. London, 1883. Being The Narrative of a Tour of Inspection, Including Experiences Among The Natives, With Descriptions of Their Homes And Habits.
Adventures amidst the Equatorial Forests and Rivers of South America. London, 1891
