(630) Bingham of Castlebar House and Laleham House, baronets and Earls of Lucan

Bingham, Earls of Lucan

In the later 16th century, several of the sons of Robert Bingham (d. 1561) of Bingham's Melcombe [for whom see my previous post] went to Ireland as soldiers and military governors in Queen Elizabeth's army. One of these sons, Sir John Bingham (fl. 1609) seems to have obtained a grant of lands at Castlebar (Co. Mayo), and in 1609 had a licence for a weekly market there and also an annual fair. In 1613 the town obtained a measure of self-government as an incorporated borough, and also the right to return two members to the Irish parliament, although in practice the parliamentary seats were controlled by the Binghams. Sir John died without issue and his Mayo property passed to his nephew, Sir Henry Bingham (1573-1659), 1st bt., the son of his brother Sir George Bingham, with whom the genealogy below begins. Sir Henry Bingham was, like his uncle, a soldier in the king's service in Ireland, and in 1634 he was rewarded with a baronetcy. He was succeeded at Castlebar by his only son, Sir George Bingham (c.1625-82), 2nd bt., who evidently spent at least some time in England, as his second and third marriages took place there. His only known children were two sons, by his first and third marriages, who succeeded him in turn as Sir Henry Bingham (1654-1714), 3rd bt., and Sir George Bingham (d. c.1730), 4th bt.  The 3rd baronet, who was childless, was educated at the Middle Temple and was the first of the family to sit in the Irish parliament for Co. Mayo, rather than for Castlebar. Sir George was an officer in the Jacobite army during the Williamite wars of 1689-91, but deserted at the decisive Battle of Aughrim in 1691. He inherited Castlebar on his brother's death in 1714, but seems never to have entered parliament or held other local public office, whereas most heads of the family served their turn as High Sheriff, if not as Governor, of Co. Mayo. He seems to have died in about 1730, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt., who was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and the Middle Temple, and played a full part in public life in Co. Mayo. Before 1720 he had married Anne Vesey (1698-1761), whose mother Charlotte was the only daughter and heiress of William Sarsfield of Lucan Manor (Co. Dublin) and niece of Patrick Sarsfield (d. 1693), the Jacobite commander who was created Earl of Lucan in the Jacobite peerage in 1691. It was this connection which caused Sir John's son to choose Lucan as a title when he was raised to the peerage in 1776, although the Binghams never owned Lucan Manor, which descended in the Vesey family through a half-brother of Anne Vesey.

Sir John died in 1749 and was succeeded briefly by his eldest son, Sir John Bingham (1728-50), 6th bt., who survived him by less than two years. When he died towards the end of 1750, he was succeeded by his brother, Sir Charles Bingham (1735-99), 7th bt., who is not known to have attend a university but who did undertake a Grand Tour, visiting Rome and Florence in 1755. In 1756 the family's castle at Castlebar was badly damaged by an accidental fire, and although two surviving towers were converted into a temporary residence, it was perhaps after this that he settled in England, maintaining a house in London and also a suburban villa at Wimbledon (Surrey), although he maintained his public appointments in Ireland. He was married in 1760 to Margaret Smith, an accomplished amateur artist from Devon, and over the next ten years they had one son and four daughters. From 1761-76 he was MP for Co. Mayo in the Irish parliament, and although he was instinctively a Tory, his ambition for honours eventually led him to support the administration. For this he was rewarded in 1776 with a peerage, as Baron Lucan, and later, in 1795, with promotion to be 1st Earl of Lucan. In 1778-79 he took his wife, son and two of his daughters for an eighteen-month long tour to Paris, Florence and Rome, where his wife was made an honorary member of the Accademia di S.Luca and his daughters' abilities as artists were also greatly admired.  In 1782-84 he was briefly MP for Northampton to oblige his son-in-law, Lord Althorp, whose family controlled the seats for that borough, but he was not re-elected in 1784 and did not seek another seat. In 1798, shortly before his death, the house at Castlebar was burned down during the engagement known as the 'Battle of Castlebar' when a combined force of French troops and Irish rebels defeated a larger Crown force and declared a Republic of Connaught, which lasted some twelve days before the town was retaken.

In 1790s, Lord Lucan fell out with his only son, Richard Bingham (1764-1839), later 2nd Earl of Lucan, presumably over the latter's scandalous elopement with Elizabeth Howard, who was divorced by her husband (a future Duke of Norfolk) in consequence and subsequently married Richard. The couple began their married life 'in close retirement' in rented accommodation at Washingley Hall (Hunts), but in about 1804 they separated. Richard had bought a small property - some 25 acres - at Laleham (Middx, but now Surrey) on the River Thames, where he commissioned a new house from the rising young architect, John Buonarotti Papworth (1775-1847), which was completed by 1806. It was later altered twice by Papworth, in the 1820s for the 2nd Earl and in 1839 for his son. In the 1820s, the Earl also obtained designs from Papworth for a plainer house at Castlebar, although it is not clear that the house eventually built there was to Papworth's designs. 

The heir to Laleham and Castlebar was George Charles Bingham (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan, who embarked on a military career in 1816, and who had, within ten years, purchased his way to a lieutenant-colonelcy. Despite his promotion not having been on merit, he was regarded as an effective soldier. From 1837 he was on half-pay for nearly twenty years, but continued to be promoted in line with his seniority, and he came out of retirement in 1854 as a Major-General to command a cavalry division in the Crimean War. He was one of the commanders responsible for the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, and was blamed by the overall commander of British forces, Lord Raglan, for this debâcle and sent home, but he made a spirited defence of his actions in a speech in the House of Lords which largely retrieved his reputation. His ruthlessness as a landlord at the time of the famine, and his stubborn, hectoring manner, ensured that he was widely hated, and after some twenty years of marriage his wife left him in about 1850. He died in 1888, by which time he was a Field Marshal, and was succeeded by his eldest child, George Bingham (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan. A soldier like his father, the 4th Earl continued to live chiefly in England and to visit his Irish estates occasionally, but he ran into debts. He made an arrangement with his creditors in 1898 but in 1900 he handed over the family estates to his eldest son, Brig-Gen. George Charles Bingham (1860-1949), later the 5th Earl of Lucan. The 5th Earl lived at Laleham in the early 20th century, was MP for Chertsey, 1904-06, and fought in the First World War as Colonel of the London Rifle Volunteers. After the death of his father in 1914 he was elected as a representative Irish peer with a seat in the House of Lords, and in 1934, after serving two terms as a Government whip, he was rewarded with a UK peerage as Baron Bingham, so that he and his successors could sit in the House of Lords as of right. In the 1920s he transferred his estates to the Lucan Estate Co., which sold Castlebar in 1924, after the Irish civil war, and Laleham House in 1928. These measures, together with his years of service in parliament and the armed forces, retrieved the family's fortunes, and he was worth over £130,000 at his death in 1949. His eldest son and successor, Col. George Charles Patrick Bingham (1898-1964), 6th Earl of Lucan, was a socialist in politics, and became a junior member of the Attlee Government and later an opposition whip in the House of Lords. He died comparatively young, and was succeeded by his son, John Bingham (b. 1934), 7th Earl of Lucan, who placed himself at the centre of one of the most famous unsolved criminal cases of the 20th century when he mysteriously disappeared after the murder of his children's nanny and the attempted murder of his estranged wife in 1974. Despite numerous reported but unproven sightings from around the world over the following years, Lord Lucan was never traced, and in 2016 the High Court ruled that his death could be presumed, allowing his son, George Bingham (b. 1967) to succeed as 8th Earl of Lucan in the Irish peerage and 4th Baron Bingham in the UK peerage.

Castlebar House, Co. Mayo

The original home of the Bingham family at Castlebar was a castle which was reported as 'burned to the ground' with all the pictures, furniture and plate 'to the amount of £50,000' after an accidental fire in November 1756. All that remained of it when Dr Beaufort visited it in 1787 were 'two great round towers', one of which had had rooms added to it on either side of a long corridor by the 1st Earl of Lucan. Dr. Beaufort described them as 'tolerably good and convenient, furnished with some pictures of which a few have merit', though he regarded the furnishing as far from elegant and was clearly not impressed with the 'large heavy chimneypiece of black marble' in one of the rooms.

The Lawn, Castlebar, in the 1920s.

This adequate if somewhat makeshift residence was destroyed in the Rebellion of 1798 and eventually replaced, probably in the 1820s, by a small three-by-five bay house with no pretensions to be a nobleman's seat, although it was set in a fine position high above the river in a verdant park studded with large trees. J.B. Papworth is known to have supplied designs for it at the same time as he was altering Laleham House for the 2nd Earl, but whether he designed the building as constructed is uncertain. The function of this house, known as The Lawn, was no doubt to be an occasional residence on their Irish estate for a family which increasingly spent most of its time in England. The house did, however, possess a large drawing room, which enabled them to entertain the neighbourhood when they did come to Ireland.

The Lawn, Castlebar, as rebuilt after the fire in the 1930s, with later school additions.

The family sold the house after the Irish Civil War, in 1924, and it became a convent school. An accidental fire gutted the house in the 1930s, but it was restored and reopened. An extremely ugly addition was built to the right of the entrance front, on the site of the former service wing, probably in the 1950s or 1960s.

Descent: granted c.1600 to Sir John Bingham, kt. (fl. 1609); to nephew, Sir Henry Bingham (1573-1659), 1st bt.; to son, Sir George Bingham (c.1625-82), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Henry Bingham (1654-1714), 3rd bt.; to half-brother, Sir George Bingham (d. c.1730), 4th bt.; to son, Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt.; to son, Sir John Bingham (1728-50), 6th bt.; to brother, Sir Charles Bingham (1735-99), 7th bt., 1st Baron Lucan and 1st Earl of Lucan; to son, Richard Bingham (1764-1839), 2nd Earl of Lucan; to son, Field-Marshal George Charles Bingham (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan; to son, George Bingham (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan; handed over estates to son, Brig-Gen. George Charles Bingham (1860-1949), 5th Earl of Lucan; transferred to Lucan Estates Co., which sold 1924...

Laleham House (later Laleham Abbey), Middlesex

A compact stuccoed Greek Revival house, of two storeys over a basement, designed by J.B. Papworth in 1803-06 for the 2nd Earl of Lucan and later extended and remodelled by the same architect in c.1824-28 and in 1839, when the 3rd Earl was his client. The initial building was one of Papworth's first independent commissions, and his drawings for the project are now at the Royal Institute of British Architects. The west (entrance) front has long windows in simple moulded frames, a central tripartite window and a Greek key frieze. As first built there was a shallow Greek Doric porch, but the present porch dates from 1828, when it was doubled in depth and given a plain pedimented and open upper storey (since removed). The five-bay south front now has a ground-floor colonnade of square piers, also dating from 1828. 

Laleham House: drawing by J.B. Papworth for the remodelling of the house in 1839. Image: RIBA PB1328/PAP[207](62)

Laleham House: the entrance front in recent years.

Papworth's drawings chart the evolution of the plan from an unexciting triple-pile arrangement to something much more dramatic, with a sequence of three spaces forming the central pile comprising a transverse oval for the entrance hall; a dramatic top-lit D-shaped staircase hall; and an oval dining room behind a bow window on the east front. The interior was largely redecorated in the 1820s remodelling, when screens of black and white marble Ionic columns were introduced into the entrance hall to separate the central vaulted vestibule from half-octagonal lobbies. The staircase hall has a cantilevered staircase and a plaster frieze of Alexander's triumpal entry into Babylon, copied from Thorvaldsen's frieze of 1812 in the Palazzo Quirinale in Rome, so this must date from the 1820s or 1830s; the circular lantern over the staircase dates from 1839. 

Laleham House: the D-shaped staircase hall with the Thorvaldsen frieze.

The rooms along the south front were the drawing room and library, and the latter was redecorated in 1824 and given a top-lit eastern vestibule behind a screen of columns in 1828, decorated with roundels of Night and Day by Thorvaldsen, which were commissioned by the 2nd Earl in 1816. In 1839, the library vestibule was remodelled as an elaborate Ionic-columned aedicule as part of alterations which attached a large conservatory to this south-east corner of the house, an L-shaped service wing of yellow brick to the north-east corner, and a stable court with windows in giant round arches and entrance through a central pavilion with a square cupola.

Laleham House: the cottage orné lodge. Image: Patricia Philpott/Historic England.

In 1932, the house became a convent school and it remained so until 1979, when it was sold to Barratt Developments and converted into flats; the decoration of the hall, staircase and library largely survive. The grounds, which originally extended to some 23 acres but were not part of a larger estate, run down to the River Thames. At the north end of the site is a cottage orné lodge, now known as The Thatched Cottage. It was very probably designed by Papworth, perhaps in the 1820s, although no drawings survive for it. It has a thatched roof and a thatched veranda with rustic tree trunk supports, moulded Tudor chimneys and elaborately carved bargeboards.

Descent: built for Richard Bingham (1764-1839), 2nd Earl of Lucan; to son, George Charles Bingham (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan; to son, George Bingham (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan; handed over 1900 to son, George Charles Bingham (1860-1949), who transferred it to the Lucan Estates Co. in 1925; sold 1928 to John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston (1873-1930); to son, Richard Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston; sold to Sisters of St Peter the Apostle, Westminster; sold 1981 for conversion into flats. The house was let from 1829 to the exiled Queen Maria II of Portugal, and in 1915 to the Grand Duke Michael of Russia.

Bingham family, baronets and Earls of Lucan

Bingham, Sir George (d. 1599), kt. Fourth son of Robert Bingham (d. 1561) [for whom see my earlier post on the Binghams of Bingham's Melcombe] and his wife Alice, daughter of Thomas Coker of Mappowder (Dorset). A soldier in Ireland who went to Connaught after his brother's appointment as Governor in 1584; sheriff of Clare, 1584-85; acting Governor of Connaught in his brother's absence, 1587-88; military governor of Co. Sligo, 1596. He married, 1569, Cecily (d. 1598), daughter of Robert Martyn of Athelhampton (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Sir Henry Bingham (1573-1659), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(2) John Bingham [for whom see my future post on the Bingham family, Barons Clanmorris].

He died in Dublin and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral there, 1599. His wife died in 1598.

Bingham, Sir Henry (1573-1659), 1st bt. Elder son of Sir George Bingham (d. 1599), kt., and his wife Cecily, daughter of Robert Martyn of Athelhampton House (Dorset), baptised at Milton Abbas (Dorset), 1573. High Sheriff of Co. Galway, 1607, and of Co. Mayo, 1639; MP for Castlebar, 1634-36 and 1639-48. He was serving an an officer in the king's army in Ireland when he was created a baronet of Nova Scotia, 7 June 1634. His baronetcy would have come with a grant of 16,000 acres in Nova Scotia, but he seems never to have had seizin of this property. He married Catherine (d. c.1674), daughter of John Byrne of Ballinclough, and had issue (possibly among others):

(1) Sir George Bingham (c.1625-82), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Alice Bingham; married Sir George Browne (1627-98), 2nd bt. of The Neale (Co. Mayo), and had issue two sons and three daughters.

He inherited the Castlebar (Co. Mayo) estate from his uncle, Sir John Bingham, after 1609.

He died before 27 January 1658/9. His widow died between 31 October 1673 and 21 July 1674.

Bingham, Sir George (c.1625-82), 2nd bt. Only recorded son of Sir Henry Bingham (1573-1659), 1st bt., and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Byrne of Ballinclough, born about 1625. MP for Castlebar, 1661-66; High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1662-63 and 1678-79; custos rotulorum for Co. Mayo, 1663. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet in January 1658/9. He married 1st, [forename unknown] Palmer; 2nd, 6 June 1661 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Anne Pargiter (c.1630-61), widow; and 3rd, 14 December 1661 at Hadlow (Kent), Rebecca (b. c.1637), second daughter of Sir William Middleton (1603-52), 2nd bt., and had issue:

(1.1) Sir Henry Bingham (1654-1714), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(3.1) Sir George Bingham (d. c.1730), 4th bt. (q.v.).

He inherited Castlebar from his father in 1659.

He died by 1 June 1682. His first wife's died in or before 1661. His second wife died without issue within a few weeks of their marriage, between June and September 1661; administration of her goods was granted 11 September 1661. His third wife's date of death is unknown.

Bingham, Sir Henry (1654-1714), 3rd bt. Only son of Sir George Bingham (c.1625-82), 2nd bt., and his first wife, born 1654. Educated at the Middle Temple (admitted 1673). Tory MP for County Mayo, 1692-93, 1695-99, 1703-14; High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1684-85, 1694; Custos Rotulorum for Co. Mayo, 1682. He succeeded his father as 3rd baronet in May 1682. He married 1st, 1678 (licence 1 February 1677/8), Jane, daughter of Sir Thomas Cuffe, and 2nd, Letitia alias Lettice (d. 1728), daughter of Charles Bingham of Newbrook (Co. Mayo), but had no surviving male issue.

He inherited Castlebar from his father in 1682 and augmented the estate by the purchase of 3,043 acres in Co. Mayo from the Commissioners for the sale of forfeited estates in 1702/3. In 1713 his income was estimated at £600 p.a.

He died in 1714 and was buried at Castlebar, where he is commemorated by a monument which says he died aged 60; his will was proved in Dublin, 6 October 1714. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow died in 1728, when her will was proved.

Sir George Bingham, 4th bt. 

Bingham, Sir George (d. c.1730), 4th bt. Only son of Sir George Bingham (d. 1682), 2nd bt., and his third wife, Rebecca, daughter of Sir William Middleton, 2nd bt., born in or after 1662. A Jacobite, who was an officer in the army of King James II, but deserted at the Battle of Aughrim, 1691. He succeeded his half-brother as 4th baronet in 1714. He married 1st, 1688, Mary Scott, and 2nd, Phoebe Hawkins, and had issue:

(1.1) Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt. (q.v.);

(1.2) Rebecca Bingham (fl. 1714);

(1.3) Henrietta Bingham (fl. 1722); married, 1722, as his first wife, John Ormsby (d. c.1745) of Cloghans (Co. Mayo); died before 1732;

(1.4) Lettice Bingham (fl. 1714);

(1.5) George Bingham; probably died young;

(1.6) Henry Bingham (b. c.1706; fl. 1725); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1725);

(2.1) George Bingham.

He inherited Castlebar on the death of his half-brother in 1714.

He died about 1730. His first wife died after 1698. His second wife's date of death is unknown. 

Sir John Bingham, 5th bt.,
attib. to Robert Hunter* 

Bingham, Sir John (1696-1749), 5th bt. Eldest son of Sir George Bingham (fl. 1714), 4th bt., and his first wife, Mary Scott, born at Castle Adair (Co. Mayo), 1696. Educated privately at Galway and at Trinity College, Dublin  (admitted 1713) and the Middle Temple (admitted 1717). Governor of Co. Mayo, 1727-49; MP for Co. Mayo, 1727-49; High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1721; a trustee of the Linen Board for Munster, 1732-49; Governor of the Co. Mayo Workhouse, 1733-49; a commissioner of the Tillage Act for Connaught, 1735, 1739-49. He succeeded his father as 5th baronet in about 1730. He married, before 1720, Anne (1698-1761), daughter of Agmondesham Vesey (d. 1738) of Lucan Manor (Co. Dublin), and had issue:

(1) Jane Bingham (d. 1746), eldest daughter; married, 1 November 1745, as his first wife, Rt. Hon. Thomas Bermingham (1717-99), later 15/19th Baron Athenry and 1st Earl of Louth, MP for Co. Galway, 1745-50, but had no issue; died 1746;

(2) Mary Bingham (d. c.1754); married 1st, Capt. Hugh Montgomery (d. 1743); and 2nd, 11 September 1744 at St Anne, Dublin, Vesey Colclough (d. 1745) of Mochary, son of Caesar Colclough MP (1696-1766), and had issue one son, born posthumously; probably the person of this name whose will was disputed in 1754;

(3) Sir John Bingham (1728-50), 6th bt. (q.v.);

(5) Sir Charles Bingham (1735-99), 7th bt., 1st Baron and 1st Earl of Lucan (q.v.);

(4) George Bingham (d. 1752); said to have been an officer in the 23rd Foot (Welsh Fusiliers) (Lt., 1745; Capt.), and to have died unmarried at Dolmin (Germany), 10 October 1752, but these dates seem incompatible with his having been born after 1735; 

(6) Charlotte Bingham; died unmarried;

(7) Henrietta Bingham; died unmarried;

(8) Anne Bingham (d. 1782); married, 28 February 1756, Croasdaile Miller (d. 1783) of Millford (Co. Mayo), High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1750, 1756, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 1782.

He inherited Castlebar from his father in about 1730.

He died 25 July 1749** and was buried at Castlebar. His widow died in February 1761.

* This painting is normally identified as Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt., but I suspect it may actually be of his son, Sir John Bingham (1728-50), 6th bt. as the sitte.r appears to be a young man, though the powdered wig makes him look older. The attributed artist's earliest work dates from 1748, when the 5th baronet would have been nearly fifty and his son about 20.

** Some sources give the date as 21 September 1749, but contemporary newspaper evidence shows this is the correct date.

Bingham, Sir John (1728-50), 6th bt. Elder son of Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Agmondesham Vesey of Lucan (Co. Dublin), born before 29 November 1728. MP for Co. Mayo, 1749-50. He is said to have set aside much of his inheritance to repay debts owed by his parents for which he was not liable. He succeeded his father as 6th baronet, 25 July 1749. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Castlebar from his father in 1749.

He died 27 November 1750.

1st Earl of Lucan
Image: National Portrait Gallery

Bingham, Sir Charles (1735-99), 7th bt., 1st Baron Lucan and 1st Earl of Lucan. Second son of Sir John Bingham (1696-1749), 5th bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Agmondesham Vesey of Lucan (Co. Dublin), born 22 September 1735. Education unknown, but he did undertake a Grand Tour in 1755, when he is known to have visited Florence and Rome. High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1756. In 1761 he stood for Parliament in Castlebar (where he controlled both seats) and Co. Mayo, and having been elected for both, chose to sit for the county, which he represented in the Irish parliament 1761-76. Initially a Tory (there was a strong Jacobite tradition in his mother's family), his desire for a place on the Irish privy council led him into support of the viceroy by the mid 1770s, for which he was rewarded with a peerage. Since he was not disabled by his Irish peerage from sitting in the UK House of Commons, his connection with the Spencers led to him being brought in as a stopgap to maintain the Spencer interest as Whig MP for Northampton in the UK Parliament, 1782-84, but he was unpopular with the townspeople and was defeated at the 1784 election. He was Governor of Co. Mayo, 1756-63 and joint Governor, 1766-98, and was an enthusiastic volunteer soldier. He wrote An essay on the use and necessity of establishing a militia in Ireland (1767), and he served as Colonel of the Mayo Legion volunteers and an officer in the Longford (Clanricarde) Cavalry (2nd Lt., 1796). He was a trustee of the Linen Board for Ulster, 1762-99. He succeeded his brother as 7th baronet, 27 November 1750, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Lucan of Castlebar, 24 July 1776, before being further created Earl of Lucan, 1 October 1795. He married, 25 August 1760 at Bath (Som.), with a portion of £20,000, Margaret (d. 1814), an accomplished amateur artist, daughter and co-heir of James Smyth MP of Canonsleigh (Devon) and St Audries (Som.), and had issue:

(1) Lady Lavinia Bingham (1762-1831), born at Castlebar, 27 July 1762; 'a strong-minded and strong-willed woman of great erudition and charm [who became] perhaps the pre-eminent hostess in London society' (ODNB), but who was also capable of being moody, vindictive, hypocritical and jealous; she was also an amateur artist of considerable ability, some of whose drawings were professionally engraved; she married, 6 March 1781 by archbishop's special licence, at her father's house in Charles St. in the parish of St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Rt Hon. George John Spencer (1758-1834), Viscount Althorp and later 2nd Earl Spencer, and had issue six sons and three daughters; died 8 June 1831 and was buried in the Spencer family vault at Great Brington (Northants);

(2) Richard Bingham (1764-1839), 2nd Earl of Lucan (q.v.);

(3) Hon. Louisa Bingham (1765-84), born in late 1765; died unmarried, and was buried at Wimbledon, 3 June 1784;

(4) Lady Anne Bingham (c.1767-1840), born about 1767; died unmarried, 6 March and was buried at Richmond (Surrey), 14 March 1840; will proved in the PCC, 7 April 1840;

(5) Lady Eleanor alias Margaret Bingham (c.1768-1839), born about 1768; married, c.1785, Thomas Lindsay (c.1760-1810) of Hollymount House (Co. Mayo), and had issue at least one daughter; died at Portsea (Hants), 27 May 1839.

He inherited Castlebar from his brother in 1752, but lived chiefly at his town house in London and at Oakholm on the south side of Wimbledon Common (Surrey).

He died 29 March 1799; his will was proved 17 April 1799. His widow died at her house in London, 27 February 1814, and was buried at Wimbledon, where she is commemorated by a monument; administration of her goods was granted in March 1814 and August 1842.

2nd Earl of Lucan, 1819

Bingham, Richard (1764-1839), 2nd Earl of Lucan. Only son of Sir Charles Bingham (1735-99), 7th bt., 1st Baron Lucan and 1st Earl of Lucan, and his wife Margaret, daughter of James Smith of Canonsleigh (Devon) and St. Audries (Som.), born 4 or 6 December 1764. Educated at Westminster, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1781) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1784). MP for St Albans, 1790-1800, on the interest of his brother-in-law, Earl Spencer. He was styled Lord Bingham from 1795 until he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Lucan, 29 March 1799, and sat in the House of Lords as a representative Irish Peer, 1801-39. In 1800, when the Irish Parliament was abolished with the passing of the Act of Union, he received £15,000 compensation for the disenfranchisement of the borough of Castlelbar. He was an officer of the Royal Spelthorne Legion (Maj., 1803). In 1793 he eloped to Wales with Elizabeth (1770-1819), third daughter and co-heir of Henry Belasyse (1743-1802), 2nd Earl Fauconberg of Newburgh Priory (Yorks NR) and wife of Bernard Edward Howard, later 12th Duke of Norfolk, who divorced her on his account in May 1794 and secured £1,000 in damages for 'criminal conversation'. He and Elizabeth were married, 26 May 1794 at St Marylebone (Middx), and then lived ‘in close retirement’ with her at Washingley Hall (Hunts) until 1799, though by 1804 the couple had separated. They had issue:

(1) Lady Elizabeth Bingham (1794-1838), born 16 July and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 13 August 1794; married, 27 May 1815 at St James, Piccadilly, as his first wife, George Granville Venables-Harcourt (later Vernon-Harcourt and Harcourt) (1785-1861), MP for Lichfield, 1806-31 and Oxfordshire, 1831-61, and had issue one daughter (later the wife of the 6th Earl of Abingdon); died in Milan (Italy) 9 September 1838 where she was initially buried, but her body was returned to England and reburied at Stanton Harcourt (Oxon), 25 November 1838;

(2) Lady Charlotte Bingham (1796-1805), born 28 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 24 March 1796; died young, 16 March, and was buried at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 20 March 1805;

(3) Lady Anne Bingham (1797-1850), born 22 February and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 21 March 1797; married, 18 July 1816 at the British embassy in Paris (France), Alexander Murray (1789-1845) of Broughton (Wigtowns.), MP for Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 1838-45, but had no issue; died 28 October 1850;

(4) Lady Louisa Bingham (1798-1882), born 1 March and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 8 April 1798; married, 22 August 1817 at British embassy in Paris, Francis Wemyss-Charteris-Douglas (1795-1883), 9th Earl of Wemyss and 5th Earl of March, and had issue four sons and three daughters; died 16 April 1882;

(5) Lady Georgiana Bingham (1799-1849), born 19 April 1799; married, 15 June 1821 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, Charles Nevill (1791-1848) of Nevill Holt Hall (Northants), and had issue three sons and one daughter; died at Livorno (Italy), 1 July 1849.

(6) George Charles Bingham (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan (q.v.);

(7) Hon. Richard Camden Bingham (1801-72), born 2 May and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 18 June 1801; diplomat who served as Secretary of Legation, Bavaria, 1831-1839; Secretary of Legation, Sardinia-Piedmont, 1839-52; Secretary of Legation, Portugal, 1852; Secretary of Legation, Two Sicilies, 1852; Charge d’Affaires, Venenzuela, 1852-1858; married, 11 December 1848 (sep. c.1865), at St Dunstan-in-the-West, London, Maria, daughter of Charles Thomas, but had no issue; in old age he became eccentric and had no fixed address, but took to carrying a good deal of plate and jewellery about with him; he died, 23 January 1872, at the home of a female friend who was subsequently prosecuted for the theft of some of his property; he died intestate and administration of his goods was granted to his widow.

He inherited the Castlebar estate from his father in 1799. In 1803 he purchased land at Laleham (Middx) and built Laleham House to the designs of J.B. Papworth, which he further altered in c.1824-29, when he also built a small new house at Castlebar. He let Laleham from 1829. After their separation, his wife lived with her sister Anne at Stowlangtoft Hall (Suffk) and then with another sister, Charlotte, at Newburgh Priory (Yorks NR); she also owned or rented Rose Hill Cottage at Wargrave (Berks), which was designed by Robert Lugar.

He died 30 June 1839 and was buried at Laleham; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 September 1839. His estranged wife died in Paris, 24 March 1819.

3rd Earl of Lucan

Bingham, Field Marshal George Charles (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan. Elder son of George Charles Bingham (1764-1839), 2nd Earl of Lucan, and his wife Elizabeth, third daughter and co-heir of Henry Belasyse, 3rd Earl Fauconberg of Newburgh Priory (Yorks NR) and formerly wife of Bernard Howard (later 12th Duke of Norfolk), born 16 April and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 5 June 1800. Educated at Westminster School. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1816; Lt., 1818; Capt., 1822; Maj., 1825; Lt-Col., 1826; Col., 1841; Maj-Gen., 1851; Lt-Gen., 1858; Gen., 1865; Field Marshal, 1887), whose progression to Lt-Col. was achieved by purchase, although he was regarded as an effective officer; he was on half-pay from 1837-54 but returned to active soldiering to command a cavalry division in the Crimean War, being appointed without reference to the overall commander, Lord Raglan. He was one of the commanders responsible for the infamous 'Charge of the Light Brigade' at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, where he was himself wounded. He was blamed by Lord Raglan for the heavy losses sustained by the Light Brigade and ordered to return to England, where he defended himself in a speech to the House of Lords which seems to have been largely successful in restoring his reputation. He was Colonel of the 8th Hussars, 1855-65 and 1st Life Guards, 1865-88. Tory MP for Co. Mayo, 1826-30, and sat in the House of Lords as a representative Irish peer, 1840-88. He held several foreign orders, being a Chevallier of the French Legion d'honneur; a knight 1st class of the Ottoman Order of Medjidie; and a Knight 2nd class of the Russian Order of St. Anne (which he was awarded after holding a staff appointment with the Russian army in Bulgaria in 1826). He succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Lucan, 30 June 1839. He was Lord Lieutenant of Co. Mayo, 1845-88 and Gold Stick in Waiting, 1886-88. He gained a reputation as a ruthless landlord during the Great Famine of the 1840s in Ireland, when he attempted to modernize the family holdings by creating large farms using new agricultural techniques and machinery; he also evicted many tenants and pulled down their houses. Lucan also clashed with his land agent, accusing him of corruption and taking him to court for alleged poaching, where his uncontrolled outbursts during the trial led to his being removed from the bench of magistrates. His stubbornness and hectoring manner caused widespread offence and led to the breakdown of his marriage. He married, 21 February 1829 (sep. c.1850), Anne (1809-77), seventh daughter of Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan, and had issue:

(1) George Bingham (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan (q.v.);

(2) Lady Augusta Bingham (1832-88), born 7 February 1832; married, 10 September 1853, as his first wife, her cousin, Henry Gerald Sturt MP (1825-1904), later 1st Baron Alington, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 3 July 1888 and was buried at Cranbourne (Dorset);

(3) Lady Elizabeth Bingham (1833-57), baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Sq, St Marylebone, 10 July 1833; died unmarried at Pau (France), 5 November 1857;

(4) Lady Lavinia Bingham (1835-64), born 2 May and baptised at Laleham, 7 June 1835; married, 10 April 1856 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Charles Stewart Hardinge (1822-94), 2nd Viscount Hardinge, and had issue five sons and three daughters; died 15 September 1864 and was buried at Fordcombe (Kent);

(5) Lady Anne Sarah Bingham (1840-55), baptised at Laleham, 3 May 1840; died young, 26 August 1855 and was buried at Laleham;

(6) Rear-Adm. the Hon. Richard Bingham (1847-1924), born 6 January and baptised at Laleham, 28 March 1847; joined the Royal Navy, 1860 (Lt., 1869; Cdr., 1884; Capt., 1891; retired 1897; Rear-Adm., 1904); married 1st, 26 September 1877 at St Michael, Chester Sq., Westminster, Mary Elizabeth (c.1841-1908), youngest daughter of Edward Henry Cole (d. 1858) of Stoke Lyne (Oxon), and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, 30 April 1914 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Ida Louisa (1871-1925), daughter of Charles Arthur Galton, Madras civil servant; died following an operation, 12 November 1924 and was buried at Hove Cemetery (Sussex); his will was proved 19 December 1924 (estate £11,133).

He inherited Castlebar House and Laleham House from his father in 1839, and made additions to the latter soon afterwards. After their separation, his wife lived at Sion House, Richmond (Surrey).

He died in London, 10 November 1888, and was buried at Laleham; his will was proved 23 January 1889 (effects £59,918). His wife died 2 April 1877; administration of her goods was granted 9 July 1877 (effects under £600).

4th Earl of Lucan
Image: National Portrait Gallery. 

Bingham, George (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan. Elder son of Field Marshal George Charles Bingham (1800-88), 3rd Earl of Lucan, and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan, born 8 May and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 1 June 1830. Educated at Rugby. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1848; Ensign & Lt., 1851; Lt. & Capt., 1854; Brev-Maj., 1855; Capt. & Lt-Col., 1859; retired 1860); ADC to his father in the Crimean War. Conservative MP for Co. Mayo, 1865-74. Vice-Adm. of Connaught, 1889; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Co. Mayo, 1901-14; JP and County Alderman for Middlesex, 1888-1914. He was styled Lord Bingham from 1839 until he succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Lucan, 10 November 1888. He sat in the House of Lords as a representative Irish peer, 1889-1914 and was made a Knight of St Patrick, 1898. He was also a Chevallier of the Legion d'honneur and was awarded the Turkish Order of Medjidie (5th class), 1857. He came perilously close to bankruptcy in 1898, when he made an arrangement with his creditors, and again in 1913, and he handed his estates over to his eldest son in 1900. He married, 17 November 1859 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Lady Cecilia Catherine (1838-1910), fifth and youngest daughter of Charles Gordon Lennox (1791-1860), 5th Duke of Richmond, and had issue:

(1) Brig-Gen. George Charles Bingham (1860-1949), 5th Earl of Lucan (q.v.);

(2) Maj-Gen. the Hon. Sir Cecil Edward Bingham (1861-1934), kt., born 7 December 1861; educated at Wellington; an officer in the army (Lt., 1882; Capt., 1892; Maj., 1898; Lt-Col., 1906; Col.; Brig-Gen., 1910; Maj-Gen., 1915; retired 1920), who served in the Boer War and First World War, when he commanded the Cavalry Corps, 1915-18 (mentioned in despatches four times and knighted (KCMG)); ADC to HRH the Duke of Connaught on his Indian tour, 1903; a Commander of the Legion d'honneur; he married 1st, 28 June 1884 at All Saints, Margaret St., St Marylebone (Middx), Rose Ellinor (1863-1908), daughter of James Alexander Guthrie of Craigie (Angus), banker, and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 3 February 1911 at Christ Church, Down St., Mayfair, Westminster, Alys Elizabeth (1870-1953), daughter of Col. Henry Montgomery Carr of Louisville, Kentucky (USA) and widow of Samuel Sloan Chauncey of New York (USA); died 31 May 1934 and was buried at Laleham; will proved 30 June 1934 (estate £9,934);

(3) Maj-Gen. the Hon. Sir Francis Richard Bingham (1863-1935), kt., born 5 July and baptised at St Marylebone, 5 August 1863; an officer in the Royal Artillery (Lt., 1883; Capt., 1892; Maj., Lt-Col., 1910; Col., 1913; Brig-Gen., 1915; Maj-Gen, 1917); ADC to Commander-in-Chief, Madras, 1893-95, 1896-98; Chief Instructor, School of Gunnery, 1911-13; War Office, 1913-16 (Asst Director, 1913-15; Deputy Director, 1915-16); member of council, Ministry of Munitions, 1916-19; Chief of British Section at Military Inter-Allied Control Commission for Germany, 1919-24; Lt-Governor of Jersey, 1924-29; Hon. Col. of Royal Militia of Jersey, 1925; JP for Buckinghamshire, 1932; appointed KCB and KCMG and held various foreign orders and decorations; married, 10 June 1896 at Ootacamund (India), Kathleen (1870-1963), daughter of Gen. Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke (1839-1932), 3rd bt., of Dunham Lodge (Norfk), and had issue one son; died 5 November 1935 and was buried at Burnham (Bucks); will proved 30 December 1935 (estate £7,819);

(4) Hon. Alexander Frederic Bingham (1864-1909), born 3 August and baptised at St Marylebone, 29 August 1864; joined mercantile marine (2nd mate, 1884; master mariner, 1890); married, 19 September 1894 at Christ Church, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Olwin Lavinia Truscott (d. 1904), a professional singer, daughter of John Leslie, but had no issue; died 26 May 1909; administration of goods granted to his eldest brother, 5 August 1915 (estate £1,553);

(5) Hon. Albert Edward Bingham (1866-1941), born 30 June and baptised (when the Prince of Wales stood sponsor) at St Marylebone, 9 August 1866; stockbroker with Percy G. Belfour & Co. from 1889; received into the Roman Catholic church, 1898; emigrated to southern Africa in 1914; married, 3 September 1892 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), Christine Graham (1865-1966), daughter of Archibald Smith, but had no issue; died at Cape Town (South Africa), 6 November 1941, and was buried at Plumstead Cemetery, Wynberg, Cape Town, where he is commemorated by a gravestone;

(6) Lady Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham (1869-1958), born 26 February and baptised at St Luke, Westminster, 20 April 1869; granted freedom of city of Belfast, 1935; created DBE, 1936; honorary associate of Order of St. John; awarded honorary degree by Queens University, Belfast, 1944; married, 1 November 1894 at St Paul, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge (Middx), Rt. Hon. James Albert Edward Hamilton KG KP (1869-1953), 3rd Duke of Abercorn, MP for Londonderry, 1900-13 and Governor of Northern Ireland, 1922-45, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 18 January 1958; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted 28 April 1958 (estate £5,363);

(7) Hon. Lionel Ernest Bingham (1876-1927), born 4 November and baptised privately, 27 November 1876; educated at The Ridgeway College, Wimbledon; an officer in the army (Lt., 1914; Capt., 1917; retired 1919), who served in the First World War (wounded twice); emigrated to Bulawayo (Rhodesia); died unmarried in Bulawayo, 26 July 1927; will proved 1 November 1928 (estate in England, £12).

He inherited Castlebar House and Laleham House from his father in 1888.

He died 5 June 1914 and was buried at Laleham; his will was proved in Dublin, 13 August 1914 (estate £251). His wife died 5 October 1910 and was buried at Laleham.

5th Earl of Lucan in 1943. 
Image: National Portrait Gallery. 

Bingham, Brig-Gen. George Charles (1860-1949), 5th Earl of Lucan. Eldest son of George Bingham (1830-1914), 4th Earl of Lucan, and his wife Lady Cecilia Catherine, youngest daughter of Charles Gordon Lennox (1791-1860), 5th Duke of Richmond, born 13 December 1860 and baptised at All Souls, Langham Place, St Marylebone (Middx), 2 March 1861. Educated at Harrow and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. An officer in the Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia (2nd Lt., 1878) and later in the Rifle Brigade (2nd Lt., 1881; Lt., 1881; Capt., 1891; retired 1896), who served in Bechuanaland Expedition, 1884-85. He joined the 1st London Rifle Volunteers (Maj., 1900; Lt-Col., 1901; Col., 1912; Hon. Brig-Gen., 1917; retired 1919) and served in the First World War (mentioned in despatches). High Sheriff of Co. Mayo, 1902-03; JP and DL for Middlesex and DL for Co. Mayo; Conservative MP for Chertsey, 1904-06. Chairman of City of London Territorial Army and Allied Forces Association, 1914-41; Colonel of The Artists Rifles; Hon. Col. of 5th Battalion, London Regiment, 1923-46; ADC to HM King George V, 1920-28. He was known by the courtesy title of Lord Bingham from 1888 until he succeeded his father as 5th Earl of Lucan, 5 June 1914, and sat in the House of Lords as a representative Irish peer, 1914-49; he was also created Baron Bingham of Melcombe Bingham in the UK peerage, 26 June 1934, giving him a seat in the Lords in his own right, and he served as a Lord in Waiting (Government Whip in House of Lords), 1920-24, 1924-29 and Captain of the Gentlemen at Arms, Jan-Jun 1929, 1931-40. He was appointed CB, 1919 and KBE, 1920. He married, 30 November 1896, Violet Sylvia Blanche OBE (1877-1972), only daughter of Joseph Spender Clay of Ford Manor (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Col. George Charles Patrick Bingham (1898-1964), 6th Earl of Lucan, born 24 November 1898 and baptised at Christ Church, Down St., Mayfair, Westminster (Middx), 6 January 1899; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the Coldstream Guards (Lt. by 1919; Capt., 1926; Maj., 1934; Lt-Col., 1941; retired as Col., 1947), who served in the First World War (wounded; awarded MC, 1919); ADC to Governor-General of South Africa, 1924-26; Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General for London district, 1937-40; Deputy Director of Ground Defence, Air Ministry, 1942-45; known by the courtesy title of Lord Bingham from 1914 until he succeeded his father as 6th Earl of Lucan and 2nd Baron Bingham of Melcombe Bingham, 20 April 1949; a socialist in politics, he joined the Labour government as Captain of Yeomen of the Guard, 1950-51; Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Commonwealth Relations Office, June-Oct 1951; Opposition Chief Whip in House of Lords, 1954-64; married, 23 December 1929, Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne (d. 1985), only child of Capt. the Hon. Edward Stanley Dawson RN, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 21 January 1964; will proved 20 April and 4 June 1964 (estate £94,479);

(2) Lady Barbara Violet Bingham (1902-63), born 17 August and baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., St. Marylebone (Middx), 18 September 1902; married, 18 January 1927 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), Col. John Henry Bevan CB MC (1894-1978), stockbroker and a senior military intelligence officer, who planned the successful deception operation that concealed the site of the D-Day landings in the Second World War, youngest son of David Augustus Bevan of Rowney Priory, Ware (Herts), and had issue one son and two daughters; died 17 December 1963; will proved 13 February 1964 (estate £59,821);

(3) Hon. John Edward Bingham (1904-92), born 29 February and baptised at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster, 31 March 1904; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1922; BA 1925); a stockbroker and an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1927; Lt., 1930; retired 1933; returned to colours, 1939; Capt., 1940; retired as Maj., 1946) who served in the Second World War in North Africa and with the SAS; married, 7 November 1942 at St John the Evangelist, Edinburgh, Dorothea Blanche Delacour (1913-2000), younger daughter of Rev. John Kyrle Chatfield, and had issue three sons; died 20 September 1992 and was buried at Udimore (Sussex); 

(4) Lady Margaret Diana Bingham (1905-77), born 16 September and baptised at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster, 17 October 1905; Vice-Chairman of Women's Voluntary Service; JP (from 1956) and DL (from 1970)* for Berkshire; appointed GBE, 1954; married, 14 October 1931 at Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric Alexander (1891-1969) KG, GCMG, GCB, OM, MC, DSO, CSI, PC, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, of Tyttenhanger, Cranbourne Grange, Windsor and Winkfield Lodge (Berks), and had issue two sons and one daughter, and adopted one daughter; died 17 August 1977 and was buried at Ridge (Herts); her will was proved 1 December 1977 (estate £55,643).

His father handed over the family estates to him in 1900, and he vested them in the Lucan Estate Co. in the 1920s, which sold Castlebar in c.1924 and Laleham in 1928.

He died 20 April 1949 and was buried at Laleham; his will was proved 19 October and 31 December 1949 (estate £133,616). His widow died aged 94 on 31 January 1972, and was buried at Laleham; her will was proved 8 March 1972 (estate £26,433).

* She was the first female Deputy Lieutenant appointed anywhere in the country.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 2421-23; Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 44; J. Lodge & M. Archdall, The peerage of Ireland, vol. 7, 1788, pp. 104-08; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn., 1988, pp. 41, 61-62, 223-24; E.M. Johnston-Liik, History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 182-88; C. O'Brien, I. Nairn & B. Cherry, The buildings of England: Surrey, 2nd edn., 2022, p. 479;

Location of archives

Bingham of Laleham House, Earls of Lucan: deeds, estate and family papers, 1765-20th cent. [The London Archives, Acc/0493]

Coat of arms

Azure, a bend cotised between six crosses patée or.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide a painting or drawing of Castlebar House before it was destroyed in the Irish rebellion of 1798?
• Can anyone provide portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 30 March 2026.

(629) Bingham of Bingham's Melcombe

Bingham of Bingham's Melcombe 

The Bingham family are thought to have originated at Bingham in Nottinghamshire, and to have come to Dorset by way of Sutton Bingham in Somerset. Robert de Bingham (d. 1246), Bishop of Salisbury, was one of the family. They acquired the Bingham's Melcombe estate through the marriage of Robert de Bingham (d. 1295) to Lucy, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Turberville of Melcombe in the mid 13th century, and remained settled in this quiet valley in the Dorset uplands for more than six hundred years. The medieval generations of the family did little to attract the attention of the historian, and the most prominent was probably Sir John Bingham, a Yorkist who was knighted by Edward IV after the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. The earliest part of the present Bingham's Melcombe house, the gatehouse, may date from his time, but the majority of the building dates from the time of his nephew, Robert Bingham (d. 1524) - with whom the genealogy below begins - and the latter's son, also Robert Bingham (d. 1561), although it was much altered by later generations of the family. The second Robert Bingham had a large family, with eight sons, at least four of whom took to a military life and saw service under Queen Elizabeth I in Ireland. Sir Richard Bingham (c.1528-99), the most senior of them, who was Governor of Connaught for the last fifteen years of his life, was an effective military commander who largely succeeded in keeping the rebellious Burkes in check, through a brutality little tempered by justice or mercy. His younger brother, Sir George Bingham (d. 1599) was the founder of the Irish branches of the Bingham family, later baronets and Earls of Lucan, who will be the subject of future posts.

The Bingham's Melcombe estate passed on the death of Robert Bingham in 1561 to his eldest son, Robert Bingham (d. 1593), who like his brothers spent some time as a soldier in Ireland, although little seems to be known about his career there. He married a daughter of Robert Williams of Herringston near Dorchester and had seven children. His eldest son, Robert Bingham (d. 1587), who predeceased him, married Anne Chaldecott, who brought him Quarleston Hall in Winterbourne Strickland, where they settled, and had an only child, Richard Bingham (c.1586-1656), before Robert's untimely death. Young Richard thus inherited both Quarleston and Bingham's Melcombe before he came of age in about 1607, but he was raised at Quarleston and seems to have made it his principal residence in preference to Bingham's Melcombe. In about 1608, Richard made a socially advantageous marriage to Jane, daughter of Sir Arthur Hopton, kt., of Witham Friary (Som.), and together the couple had at least fourteen children, only one of whom is known to have died young. In 1638-39, he was the first of the family to serve the office of High Sheriff of Dorset, at a time when resistance to the collection of 'ship money' by those opposed to King Charles I's personal rule was making life difficult for the sheriffs responsible for its collection. Richard himself was probably politically in agreement with the ship money objectors, for when the Civil War broke out he seems to have sided with the Parliamentarians. It was left to his eldest son and heir, John Bingham (1610-75), to take an active and prominent part in the revolution, however, as both a military commander in 1642-46 and as a member of successive parliaments thereafter. He was in charge of the Parliamentary force which laid siege to Corfe Castle and plotted to capture it by subterfuge, and he carried away goods (allegedly to the value of £1,000) after it was taken, although he was obliged to return them to the Bankes family after the Restoration. In 1651 he was appointed Governor of Guernsey, and although he did not spent a great deal of time on the island, he was assiduous in bringing the islanders concerns to the attention of the Commonwealth authorities. John must have greeted the Restoration with deep disappointment and resignation. He was abruptly dismissed from all the offices he had held under the Commonwealth, and spent the rest of his life in quiet retirement at Quarleston. Only in 1674 did he return to the public stage, being pricked as High Sheriff for 1674-75, and he died soon after completing his term.

John Bingham left Quarleston to his daughter Grace, but Bingham's Melcombe, which was entailed, passed to his nephew, Richard Bingham (1667-1736), the only son of his younger brother, Strode Bingham (1622-73) of Henstridge (Som.). Richard, who was sent to Oxford University, came of age in 1688 and soon afterwards became an officer in the Dorset militia. He married, in 1695, Philadelphia Potenger, the daughter of a lawyer and Treasury official who was also known as an author and poet, and together they produced thirteen children. He was a Tory in politics, and became an MP, at first for Bridport and later for the county, but neither of his stints in parliament lasted terribly long, and with the eclipse of the Tories after 1714 he did not stand for parliament again. He carried out repairs and improvements at Bingham's Melcombe, which had been neglected for much of the 17th century, and in the 1730s, he was named as one of the commissioners for the rebuilding of Blandford Forum after the devastating fire there.

Richard Bingham's eldest son and heir, Richard Bingham (1698-1755) was educated as a lawyer and was active in his profession, becoming a bencher of the Middle Temple shortly before his death, and being a leading and respected figure among the Dorset justices of the peace. He and his wife had three sons, of whom the youngest is said to have died in India at the age of fourteen, though that seems improbable. His second son, the Ven. William Bingham (1743-1819) of Gaddesden Cottage, entered the church and became vicar of Great Gaddesden (Herts) and Archdeacon of London, 1789-1813; he was succeeded in the former post by his son, Rev. Robert Batt Bingham, who held it until his death in 1872. However, the eldest son and heir to Bingham's Melcombe was Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824), who became the commanding officer of the Dorset militia. With him, the military tradition of the family was revived, and by his two wives he produced five sons, four of whom pursued careers in the regular army or the Royal Navy. His eldest son, Lt-Gen. Richard Bingham (1768-1829) was married but had no children, so on his death the estate passed to his nephew, the Rev. George Bingham (1803-38), who seems to have given up a career in the church on inheriting Bingham's Melcombe. He was married but his only child died in infancy, so at his untimely death in 1838 the estate passed to his brother, Richard Hippisley Bingham (1804-91). He left the army on inheriting the estate, although he subsequently played a leading role in the Dorset militia, ending up as its honorary colonel. He was married but had no issue, so on his death the estate came to his first cousin once removed, Richard Charles William Bingham (1845-1902), who was the last of the family to own Bingham's Melcombe. He seems to have found the house in poor condition, and between 1891 and 1895 he repaired and remodelled it, reputedly at a cost of £3,000. He found, however, that he could not afford to live in it, and in 1895 he sold the house and surrounding land for £4,200. By 1898 he was bankrupt, and he moved, with his large but young family to a cottage at Appledore (Devon). His last years were oppressed by money worries, and he experienced increasing heart trouble, which he unwisely concealed, leading to his sudden death from a heart attack in 1902.

Bingham's Melcombe, Melcombe Horsey, Dorset

A compellingly attractive manor house in the heart of rural Dorset, which belonged to the Bingham family from around 1250 until 1895. The house consists of a completely irregular series of ranges surrounding three sides of a courtyard, with the fourth side closed by a wall, and close scrutiny of the plan and fabric reveals a complex story of development over some six hundred years, although some parts cannot be accurately dated.

Bingham's Melcombe: an early photograph of the house from the south, taken by John Pouncy in 1857.

Bingham's Melcombe: the gatehouse range in 1947. Image: Country Life.

The earliest section seems to be the gatehouse at the south-east corner of the courtyard. This stands at an angle to the rest of the south range, but is now thought to be roughly contemporary with it. Smoke blackening on the roof timbers west of the gatehouse suggests that this may have been the site of an earlier open hall, perhaps with lofted areas at either end. This part has been dated to the 15th century, and the bold triangular-headed entrance arches of the gatehouse would fit reasonably well with that. The windows of the gatehouse block were all altered to sashes set in architraves with keystones in the early 18th century, no doubt at the same time as alterations were made to the hall range in the 1730s.

Bingham's Melcombe: phased plan of the house, c.1970. The western section of the south range is now also believed to be late medieval in origin.
Crown Copyright.

Bingham's Melcombe: the north (hall) range from the courtyard in 2024. 

The hall range, which forms the northern side of the courtyard and stands on a slightly raised terrace, is the part of the house which has been altered the most. Its core seems to date from the early 16th century, when Robert Bingham (d. 1524) may have had a little more money to spend on building than most of his predecessors, but it was probably unfinished when he died. As first built, it may have been open to the roof, but later alterations have made this uncertain. It may also have been an example of an 'end hall' plan with no parlours beyond the dais end of the hall. If so, this soon changed. Robert Bingham (d. 1561), who inherited in 1524, was financially stretched by the scale of his father's legacies and funeral costs, but he later married well and by the 1550s was able to complete work on the hall range and build, or rebuild, most of the west range. An inventory of the house taken after his death in 1561 gives a very clear idea of its layout at this time. The porch, which was cheaply made up from earlier material, led into the low end of the hall, with the kitchen and service rooms to its right, at the east end of the range. 

Bingham's Melcombe: the hall bay in 1977. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

From the hall opened a large bay, almost a separate room, added in the 1550s when the parlours and newel staircase to its west were also built. The hall bay (often referred to in the literature as an oriel) is the most architecturally distinguished part of the house. It is closely related stylistically to Sir John Horsey's work at Clifton Maybank (some parts of which are preserved at Montacute House (Som.) and elsewhere), and also to work of similar date at Athelhampton Hall and Sandford Orcas Manor House. The whole group is built using Ham Hill stone (here mixed with a silvery grey limestone ashlar) and was no doubt designed by a mason associated with the quarries there. Stained glass in the window of the hall bay at Bingham's Melcombe incorporating the arms of Philip & Mary allows the work here to be closely dated to c.1554-58. The carved details are all executed in the fine Ham Hill stone, and incorporate precocious Renaissance motifs: the coat of arms forming an apron below the first floor window is held by vigorous putti, and its surround involves scrolls, acanthus leaves and voluted corbels and finials to the side-shafts. The side-shafts are carried up, framing the window above, to project higher than the gable, and are echoed by the octagonal angle-shafts at the outer edges of the bay. The shafts have volutes and leaf-bulbs, and the shafts themselves change their section at every stage, a conceit which is also found at Clifton Maybank. Curiously, the decoration is focused on the upper window of the bay, although this now serves only a small chamber of no particular importance. 

Bingham's Melcombe: the overmantel in the gatehouse chamber, photographed in 1947. Image: Country Life.

The next phase of improvements can probably be dated to the time of Richard Bingham (d. 1656), great-grandson of the builder of the hall bay. He was no doubt responsible for the series of Jacobean overmantels around the house, including that in the room over the gatehouse. His most important change was to move the kitchen from its position east of the hall to the south-west corner of the courtyard, and to convert the buildings between the kitchen and the gatehouse into a service range. A little later again, perhaps in the time of his son, John Bingham (1610-75), a small alleyway between the kitchen and the main west range was filled in, and a covered way built along the inner face of the west range to directly link the kitchen and the hall, where meals were evidently still being taken at this time. 

Bingham's Melcombe: the library created in the early 18th century out of the former service rooms in the east range.

In the 18th century, Richard Bingham (1667-1736) converted the former service rooms at the east end of the hall into a smart new bolection-panelled library, added a new staircase hall to the north side of the hall range to provide polite access to the first-floor drawing room, rebuilt the hall porch and installed sash windows in his new rooms and the gatehouse. Richard's son, another Richard Bingham (1698-1755), created a new dining room west of the hall with Rococo plasterwork decoration and a marble fireplace, although since he installed a Jacobean overmantel (perhaps from elsewhere in the house) over the fireplace, his sophisticated room retained a rustic edge.

Bingham's Melcombe: the fireplace wall of the  dining room created in the mid 18th century. Image: Historic England.

Bingham's Melcombe: the window wall of the dining room. Image: Historic England.

In the later 19th century, the Bingham family let the house to tenants, and it may have been showing its age as a result. When Richard Charles William Bingham (1845-1902) inherited the house in 1891, he commissioned a thorough programme of repairs and modernisation from the architect Evelyn Hellicar (1862-1929), which is said to have cost £3,000. His work including rebuilding the north wall of the hall range and completely remodelling the hall. His is the moulded arch separating the hall and hall bay, supported on moulded shafts and foliate capitals which are imitated from the external details of the bay. Since then, the house has seen only minor changes, including the addition of a north porch, incorporating a pedimented Classical doorway dated 1583 from Tyneham House (Dorset), installed here c.1967, and the raising of the east courtyard wall.

Bingham's Melcombe: the hall, as remodelled by Evelyn Hellicar in c.1893. Image: Country Life.

Bingham's Melcombe: the interior of the hall bay, seen from the hall, in 1912. Image: Country Life.

The gardens are a rare survival of a mid 16th century garden layout, and they consist of a series of garden compartments with different themes and purposes. North of the house is a flower garden or 'ladies' garden', where rectangular borders are edged with box, while to the west of the house was a bowling green - now just a lawn - for the men of the house. The bowling green is backed by a massive ancient yew hedge which the Dorset historian Hutchins already called 'stupendous' in the 1770s, and at the far end there is a semicircular brick alcove dated 1748, which has a basket arch and an original curved fitted seat. The circular dovecote, built of rubble stone, seems to date from the late 17th century. The gardens were restored for Lady Grogan in the 1930s by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, who called them the best surviving example of the 'Stonehenge of English gardening'. He introduced a new garden of three compartments parallel to and below the bowling green and also bounded by yew hedges.

Descent: Sir Robert Turberville; to daughter Lucy, wife of Richard de Bingham (d. 1295); to son, Robert de Bingham (d. 1304); to son, Richard de Bingham (d. 1317); to son, Richard de Bingham; to son, Richard de Bingham (d. by 1408); to son, Robert de Bingham (d. 1431); to son, Sir John Bingham (d. 1471), kt.; to brother, Richard Bingham (d. 1480); to son, Robert Bingham (d. 1524); to son, Robert Bingham (d. 1561); to son, Robert Bingham (d. 1593); to grandson, Richard Bingham (c.1586-1656); to son, John Bingham (1610-75); to nephew, Richard Bingham (1667-1736); to son, Richard Bingham (1698-1755); to son, Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824); to son, Lt-Gen. Richard Bingham (1768-1829); to nephew, Rev. George Bingham (1803-38); to brother, Richard Hippisley Bingham (1804-91); to cousin, Richard Charles William Bingham (1845-1902), who sold 1895 to Reginald Bosworth Smith (1839-1908); to widow, Flora (d. 1927); to daughter, Ellinor Flora Bosworth (1867-1948), wife of Sir Edward Grogan (1873-1927), 2nd bt.; sold 1948 to Hon. Francis Hopwood (1897-1982), later 3rd Baron Southborough; sold 1980 to Mr. & Mrs John Langham; sold 2024.

Bingham family of Bingham's Melcombe

Bingham, Robert (d. 1524). Son of Richard Bingham (d. 1480) and his first wife Margaret, daughter of Henry Marbyn. Bailiff of Royal Demesnes of Canford, 1520-24. He married Joan, daughter of John De La Lynde, of Winterbourne Clenston (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Robert Bingham (d. 1561) (q.v.);

(2) William Bingham;

(3) Katherine Bingham; married William Canterton;

(4) Anne Bingham; married Mark Hayes;

(5) Alice Bingham.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1480.

He died in 1524, and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, where his tomb is in the Bingham aisle. His wife's date of death is unknown, but she was buried at Melcombe Horsey.

Bingham, Robert (d. 1561). Elder son of Robert Bingham (d. 1524) and his wife Joan, daughter of John De La Lynde, of Winterbourne Clenston (Dorset). He married Alice, daughter of Thomas Coker of Mappowder (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Robert Bingham (d. 1593) (q.v.);

(2) Christopher Bingham (fl. 1565);

(3) Sir Richard Bingham (c.1528-99), born about 1528; soldier who fought in Scotland and in Spanish service before being sent to Ireland in 1579; knighted 1584; Governor of Connaught, 1584-99, where he exercised a brutal authority with little justice or mercy in the face of almost continuous rebellion; married, 11 January 1587/8, Sarah (1565-1634) (who m2, Edward Waldegrave of Lawford (Essex)), daughter of John Heigham of Gifford's Hall, Wickhambrook (Suffk), and had issue one daughter; died in Dublin, 19 January 1599, but was buried at Westminster Abbey, where a monument to his memory was erected by his former servant, Sir John Bingley (d. 1638), kt.; will proved in the PCC, 12 June 1599;

(4) Sir George Bingham (d. 1599), a soldier in Ireland who went to Connaught after his brother's appointment as Governor in 1584; sheriff of Clare, 1584-85; acting Governor of Connaught in his brother's absence, 1587-88; knight marshal in Ireland; married, 1569, Cecily (d. 1598), daughter of Robert Martyn of Athelhampton (Dorset), and had issue two sons (including Henry (b. 1573)) [for whom see my forthcoming post on the Binghams of Castlebar House and Laleham House, baronets and Earls of Lucan]; died in Dublin and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral there, 1599;

(5) Roger Bingham (fl. 1565); died without issue;

(6) Sir John Bingham (fl. 1609); served in Ireland with his brothers; obtained a grant of Castlebar (Co. Mayo) and in 1609 had a licence for a weekly market and annual fair there; married Alice Mills, but had no issue; at his death his property passed to his nephew, Sir Henry Bingham (1573-1659), 1st bt.;

(7) Thomas Bingham (fl. 1565);

(8) Rev? Charles Bingham (fl. 1565); possibly the man of this name who was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (BA 1570; MA 1573) and became vicar of Croft (Lincs), 1576;

(9) Mary Bingham (fl. 1565);

(10) Joan Bingham (fl. 1565); according to some sources she married 1st, John Willoughby and 2nd John Goldesborough, but the latter marriage took place in 1625 so both events probably relate to a Joan Bingham of a later generation;

(11) Cecily Bingham (fl. 1565); married 1st, Christopher Martyn of Athelhampton (Dorset) and 2nd, Sir George Paulet.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1524 and made significant additions to it in the 1550s.

He died in 1561. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bingham, Robert (d. 1593). Eldest son of Robert Bingham (d. 1561) and his wife Alice, daughter of Thomas Coker of Mappowder (Dorset). He served in the wars in Ireland with his brother George. He married Jane, eldest daughter of Robert Williams of Herringston (Dorset), and had issue including:

(1) Robert Bingham (d. 1587) (q.v.);

(2) Gyles Bingham (fl. 1565); named as second son at the heralds' visitation of 1565 but probably died before 1588 as he is not mentioned in his brother's will;

(3) Rev.? John Bingham (fl. 1588); possibly the man of this name who was licenced as a curate in 1590;

(4) Thomas Bingham (fl. 1599); probably the nephew of this name mentioned in his uncle Sir Richard's will in 1599, who inherited Connaught Tower at Athlone from him;

(5) Francis Bingham (fl. 1588);

(6) Anne Bingham (fl. 1588); married, before 1588, [forename unknown] Jones.

(7) Mary Bingham (fl. 1565);

(8) Joan Bingham, probably born after 1565 as she is not named in the herald's visitation of that year;

(9) Cecily Bingham, probably born after 1565 as she is not named in the herald's visitation of that year.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1561.

He died in 1593 and was succeeded by his grandson. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bingham, Robert (d. 1587). Eldest son of Robert Bingham (d. 1593) and his wife Jane, daughter of Robert Williams of Herringston (Dorset), born before 1560. He married, c.1585, Anne (d. 1621), daughter and heiress of William Chaldecott of Quarleston in Winterbourne Strickland (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Richard Bingham (c.1586-1656) (q.v.).

He inherited Quarleston Hall in Winterbourne Strickland in right of his wife.

He died in the lifetime of his father, in November 1587; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 November 1588. His widow married 2nd, 1590, as his first wife, Sir John Strode (c.1561-1642), kt., of Parnham House, Beaminster (Dorset), but had no further issue; she died 8 August 1621.

Bingham, Richard (c.1586-1656). Only child of Robert Bingham (d. 1587) and his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of William Chaldecott of Quarlestone in Winterbourne Strickland (Dorset), born about 1586. High Sheriff of Dorset, 1638-39. He married, c.1608, Jane (d. 1635), seventh daughter of Sir Arthur Hopton (c.1540-1607), kt., of Witham Friary (Som.), and had issue*:

(1) John Bingham (1610-75) (q.v.);

(2) Richard Bingham (1611-1659); buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 22 June 1659; 

(3) Robert Bingham (b. 1612); living in 1623;

(4) Arthur Bingham (b. 1613); living in 1623;

(5) Dorothy Bingham (1614-62); married De La Lynde Hussey (b. c.1610) of Winterbourne Tomson (Dorset), son of Thomas Hussey (d. 1657) of Shapwick (Som.) and Winterbourne Tomson; buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 1662;

(6) Rachel Bingham (b. 1615); married, 7 June 1636 at Winterbourne Strickland, William Shergall, gent.;

(7) Christopher Bingham (1616-79) of Houghton; apprenticed to a London skinner, 1637/8; died without issue and was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 1679;

(8) Anne Bingham (b. 1617); married, 1643 (settlement 3 October), Rev. Roger Clarke, rector of Todber (Dorset) and perhaps the man of this name who was rector of Ashmore (Dorset) in 1662;

(9) Elizabeth Bingham (b. 1618); married, 4 July 1637 at Winterbourne Strickland, Thomas Bennett of Shaftesbury (Dorset);

(10) Henry Bingham (b. 1620); living in 1623;

(11) Strode Bingham (1622-73) (q.v.);

(12) Francis Bingham (b. 1625);

(13) An unnamed son (b. & d. 1626), baptised at Winterbourne Strickland, 11 July 1626; died in infancy and was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 10 August 1626**;

(14) Jane Bingham (1627-77), baptised 18 November 1627; married, 16 October 1657, Christopher Twininhoe (d. 1676) of Turnworth (Dorset), and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; said to have died in 1677.

He inherited Quarleston Hall from his father in 1588 and Bingham's Melcombe from his grandfather in 1593, where he made further alterations to the house. 

He was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 29 August 1656; his will was proved in the Principal Probate Registry, 28 June 1658. His wife was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 23 February 1635/6.

* Dates of birth are calculated from the ages of the children reported at the herald's visitation in 1623.

** Curiously, a blank space is left for the forename in both the baptism and burial entries in the register.

Bingham, John (1610-75). Eldest son of Richard Bingham (c.1586-1656) and his wife Jane, daughter of Sir Arthur Hopton, kt., of Witham Friary (Som.), born 1610. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1631) and Middle Temple (admitted 1633). A leading Dorset Parliamentarian, he was Col. of a regiment of foot, 1641-46?; Governor of Poole, 1643-?; and commander of parliamentary forces involved in the siege and slighting of Corfe Castle (Dorset), from which he looted goods worth £1,000, which he was obliged to return to the Bankes family after the Restoration in 1660. He was a member of the Dorset sequestration committee, 1643 and of the County Committee, 1644-50; MP for Shaftesbury, 1645-53 and for Dorset, 1653-60; a Counsellor of State, 1653; one of the Commissioners for the security of the Protector, 1656-58 and Governor of Guernsey, 1651-60. JP for Dorset, 1642-60; DL for Dorset, 1642-47; Colonel of Dorset militia, 1659-60; High Sheriff of Dorset, 1674-75. A Puritan in religion. He married 1st, c.1639, Frances (1617-58), daughter and co-heir of John Trenchard (d. 1662) of Warmwell House (Dorset), and 2nd, Jane (1616-80), daughter of Henry Norwood of Leckhampton Court (Glos), and had issue:

(1.1) Elizabeth Bingham (d. 1673); died unmarried and was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 1673;

(1.2) Jane Bingham (d. 1680); buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 30 August 1680;

(1.3) Penelope Bingham (d. 1684); married John Mitchell (c.1642-1717) of Kingston Russell (Dorset), and had issue one son and four daughters; buried at Long Bredy (Dorset), 5 June 1684;

(1.4) Frances Bingham (d. 1681); lived at Dorchester; died unmarried and was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 27 March 1681; administration of goods granted to her sister Penelope, 25 April 1683;

(1.5) Grace Bingham (d. 1691); inherited Quarleston Hall from her father in 1675; married, after 1680, Thomas Skinner (1662-1732) of Dewlish (Dorset), MP for Wareham, 1689-90 and High Sheriff of Dorset, 1703-04, and had issue three sons and one daughter; buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 13 November 1691;

(1.6) An unnamed daughter (b. & d. 1659); buried at Winterbourne Strickland (Dorset), 23 January 1658/9.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe and Quarleston from his father in 1656 and evidently lived chiefly at the latter. At his death his property was divided: Quarleston passing to his youngest daughter and Bingham's Melcombe, which was entailed, to his nephew, Richard Bingham.

He died between June and December 1675; his will was proved 2 December 1675. His first wife died in childbirth and was buried at Winterbourne Strickland (Dorset), 9 January 1658. His widow was buried at Winterbourne Strickland, 30 August 1680; her will was proved in the PCC, 2 November 1680.

Bingham, Strode (1622-73). Seventh son of Richard Bingham (c.1586-1656) and his wife Jane, daughter of Sir Arthur Hopton, kt., of Witham Abbey (Som.), born 21/24 February 1621/2. An officer in the Commonwealth army (Capt., by 1654). He married, c.1660, Cecily (1628?-1725?), daughter of Thomas Chapman of Henstridge (Som.) and had issue:

(1) Jane Bingham (b. 1662), baptised at Henstridge, 19 January 1661/2; married [forename unknown] Boucher;

(2) Dorothy Bingham (1664-1746), baptised at Henstridge, 19 July 1664; married, 14 February 1690/1 at Winterbourne St Martin (Dorset), as his second wife, Thomas Chaldecott (d. 1745), tanner, and had issue six or seven sons; buried at Morden (Dorset), 29 February 1745/6;

(3) Richard Bingham (1667-1736) (q.v.);

(4) Rachel Bingham (1670*-1726); married, 18 May 1695 at St Benet Fink, London, Dr George Mullens MD (c.1664-1738), of Salisbury, and had issue one surviving daughter; died 31 November [sic] 1726 and was buried in Salisbury Cathedral, where she is commemorated by a floor slab.

He lived at Henstridge.

He was buried at Henstridge, 19 December 1673. His widow is said to have died aged 97 in 1725, but no burial has been traced.

* Rachel's age at death on her gravestone makes it clear she was born in or about 1670, but she is probably not to be identified with the Rachel Bingham baptised at Henstridge in that year, whose parents' names are given as George and Ann.

Bingham, Richard (1667-1736). Only son of Strode Bingham (1622-73) of Henstridge and his wife Cecily, daughter of Thomas Chapman of Henstridge, baptised at Henstridge, 8? September 1667. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1683). An officer in the Dorset militia (Capt., c.1689). Tory MP for Bridport, 1702-05 and for Dorset, 1711-13. JP for Dorset. In 1732 he was appointed one of the commissioners for the rebuilding of Blandford Forum after the town was destroyed by fire. He married, 26 December 1695 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Philadelphia (d. 1757), daughter and heiress of John Potenger (c.1646-1733)* of the Inner Temple, comptroller of the pipe, author and poet, and had issue:

(1) Philadephia Bingham (1696-1754), born 5 November and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 19 November 1696; married, 12 September 1749 at Sixpenny Handley (Dorset), as his second wife, George Borlase of Penzance (Cornw.), but had no issue; buried at Madron (Cornw.), 22 May 1754;

(2) Rachel Bingham (1697-1740), born 13 October and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 2 November 1697; died unmarried and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 28 May 1740;

(3) Richard Bingham (1698-1755) (q.v.);

(4) Annabella Bingham (b. 1701), born 17 February and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 13 March 1700/1; married Robert Hann of Corfe Castle (Dorset); living in 1746 but death not traced;

(5) Susanna Bingham (1707-86), born 29 March and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 24 April 1707; died unmarried and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 25 January 1786;

(6) twin, Elizabeth Bingham (1708-51), born 17 December 1708 and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 14 January 1708/9; died unmarried and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 26 February 1750/1;

(7) twin, Rev. John Bingham (1708-35), born 17 December 1708 and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 14 January 1708/9; educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1725; BA 1729; MA 1732); Student (i.e. Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, noted for being the first to coin the term 'Methodists' for the new sect or 'Holy Club' formed in Oxford by Charles Wesley, 1732; ordained deacon c.1730; died in Oxford, 17 August 1735 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 25 August 1735, where he is commemorated by a monument with a long and erudite Latin inscription, transcribed in Hutchins' History of Dorset;

(8) Thomas Bingham (1710-11), born 13 November and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 7 December 1710; died in infancy, 26 June 1711, and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(9) Robert Bingham (1712-13), born 28 June and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 24 July 1712; died in infancy, 18 April 1713 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey;

(10) William Bingham (b. & d. 1713), born 31 October and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 20 November 1713; died in infancy, 24 December 1713 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey;

(11) George Bingham (1715-1800), born 27 October and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 25 November 1715; educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1732; BA 1736); Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (MA 1739; BD 1748); rector of Pimperne (Dorset), 1748-1800 and of More Crichel, 1755-1800; proctor in convocation for the diocese of Salisbury on several occasions; a good Hebrew scholar, respected divine and amateur archaeologist; he assisted Hutchins with his History of Dorset, in the second edition of which a lengthy account of his life is given; married, 1748 (licence 12 November), Sarah Beale (d. 1756) of Worcester, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 11 October, and was buried at Pimperne, 17 October 1800, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(12) Leonora Bingham (b. 1718), born 17 May and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 19 June 1718; after her father's death lived at Serjeant's Inn, London; married, 'with a fortune of £5,000', 20 January 1741, in the precincts of the Fleet Prison, John Wheeler of Bridport (Dorset) and Chelsea (Middx), apothecary, and had issue two sons and one daughter; death not traced;

(13) Mary Bingham (1719-42), born 28 November 1719 and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 1 January 1719/20; died unmarried, 31 May, and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 14 June 1742.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his uncle in 1673, and came of age in 1688.

He was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 26 March 1736, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by Peter Scheemakers, erected in 1750. His widow died 8 September 1757 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, where she is commemorated by a tomb in the churchyard; her will was proved in the PCC, 8 September 1757.

* John Potenger is said to have lived much of his long life at Bingham's Melcombe with his daughter and son-in-law, but he was buried at Highworth (Wilts).

Bingham, Richard (1698-1755). Eldest son of Richard Bingham (d. 1735) and his wife Philadelphia, daughter and heiress of John Potenger, born 4 November and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 12 December 1698. Educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1718; called 1723, Bencher, 1755) and New Inn Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1719). Barrister-at-law; JP for Dorset. He married, 9 July 1740 at Stratford Tony (Wilts), Martha (1721-65), daughter of William Batt of Salisbury, and had issue:

(1) Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824) (q.v.);

(2) The Ven. William Bingham (1743-1819), born 10 February and baptised at Melcombe Bingham, 15 March 1743; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1761; BA 1765; MA 1769; BD & DD, 1790); ordained deacon, 1767, and priest, 1768; vicar of Stebbing (Essex), 1768-78 and Upminster (Essex), 1770-78; vicar of Great Gaddesden (Herts), 1777-1820 and Hemel Hempstead, 1778-1820; Archdeacon of London, 1789-1813; honorary chaplain to King George III, 1792-1819; married, 16 November 1775 at West Ham (Essex), Agnes (c.1747-1827), daughter of Liebert Dorrien of London, merchant, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 31 December 1819 and was buried at Great Gaddesden; will proved in the PCC, 26 May 1820;

(3) John Bingham (1746-60), born 1 June and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 7 July 1746; said to have died at Calcutta (India), 1760.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1735.

He died 30 December 1755 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 6 January 1756. His widow married 2nd, 3 January 1759 at Winkfield (Berks), Pery Buckley (1701-70) of Winkfield Place, and had further issue one son; she was buried at Nunton (Wilts), 24 February 1765.

Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824)
Image: National Portrait Gallery 

Bingham, Col. Richard (1741-1824). Eldest son of Richard Bingham (1698-1755) and his wife Martha, daughter of William Batt of Salisbury, born 14 December 1741 and baptised at Melcombe Horsey the following day. An officer in the Dorset militia (Lt-Col., 1778; Col., 1799). He was pricked as High Sheriff of Dorset for 1777-78 but substituted before his term of office began, for unknown reasons. He married 1st, 2 April 1766 at St Clement Danes, London, Sophia (1744-73), daughter of Charles Halsey of Great Gaddesden (Herts), and 2nd, 26 October 1775 at Witchampton (Dorset), Elizabeth (1753-1813), daughter of John Rideout of Dean's Lease (Dorset), and had issue:

(1.1) Sophia Bingham (1767-1841), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 17 March 1767; married, 30 March 1797 at Melcombe Horsey, William Richards (later Clavell) (1755-1817) of Smedmore (Dorset), son of William Richards of Warmwell (Dorset), but had no issue; died 12 February 1841 and was buried at Kimmeridge (Dorset); her will was proved in the PCC, 31 March 1841;

(1.2) Lt-Gen. Richard Bingham (1768-1829) (q.v.);

(1.3) Martha Bingham (b. & d. 1770), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 5 February 1770; died in infancy and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 4 March 1770;

(1.4) Rev. William Bingham (1771-1810) (q.v.); 

(1.5) Col. Charles Cox Bingham (1772-1835) (q.v.); 

(2.1) Maj-Gen. Sir George Ridout Bingham (1777-1833), born 21 July and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 18 August 1777; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1793; Lt., 1795; Capt., 1796; Maj., 1801; Lt-Col., 1805; Col., 1813; Brig-Gen., 1815; Maj-Gen., 1819); Colonel Commandant of a brigade of the Rifle Corps, 1831-32; he had the distinction of being the senior military officer on St. Helena when Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned there, 1815; knighted (KBE), 1815; married, 1 September 1814 at Winterbourne Whitechurch (Dorset), Emma Septima (1794-1874), youngest daughter of Edmund Morton Pleydell (1756-1835) of Whatcombe House (Dorset), but had no issue; died in London, 3 January 1833; will proved in the PCC, April 1833, and further grants of administration made 1 July 1864 (effects under £20,000) and April 1874;

(2.2) Mary Bingham (1778-1870), born 30 September and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 30 December 1778; married, 11 December 1804 at St Anne, Soho, Westminster (Middx), Maj. Nathaniel Tryon Still (1782-1862), militia officer, and had issue one son and one daughter; died aged 92 and was buried at Beer (Devon), 15 October 1870;

(2.3) Leonora Bingham (1780-1844), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 7 February 1780; married 1st, 12 January 1815 at Melcombe Horsey, Capt. William Birchall RN (c.1769-1817) and 2nd, 28 October 1819 at St Paul, Covent Garden, Westminster (Middx), George Emery (1784-1852) of Banwell (Som.), millowner and Chief Constable of Somerset, 1830, but had no issue; buried at Banwell, 2 April 1844; will proved in the PCC, 4 December 1844;

(2.4) John Bingham (1785-1863), born 18 March and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 28 June 1785; joined the Royal Navy in 1798 (Lt., 1806; Cdr. on retired list, 1839); he was captured by the French in 1807 and held prisoner at Verdun (France) until 1814; he never held naval command again; married, 22 December 1824 at St Stephen, Exeter (Devon), Frances Eleanora (alias Norah) (1795-1871), daughter of Rev. William Woollcombe, rector of East Worlington (Devon), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 25 June 1863.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1755 and came of age in 1762.

He was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 12 April 1824, where he and his two wives are commemorated by a monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 30 June 1824. His first wife died at Paris on 12 February 1773, while on a journey to the south of France. His second wife died 30 December 1813, and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 7 January 1814; she is also commemorated by a monument at Witchampton.

Bingham, Lt-Gen. Richard (1768-1829). Eldest son of Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824) and his first wife, Sophia, daughter of Charles Halsey of Great Gaddesden (Herts), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 8 April 1768. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1787; Lt., 1790; Capt., 1793; Maj., 1795; Lt-Col., 1795; Col., 1804; Maj-Gen., 1810; Lt-Gen., 1814). He married, 17 April 1793 at St Canice, Kilkenny (Co. Kilkenny), Priscilla (1770-1848), daughter of Paul Carden, but had no issue.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his father in 1824. At his death it passed to his widow for life and then to his nephew, Rev. George Bingham (1803-38), but his widow seems to have given the house up and moved to Cheltenham (Glos).

He died in London, 18 November, and was buried at St Mary Abbots, Kensington, 27 November 1829; his will was proved in the PCC, 13 January 1830. His widow died 1 February and was buried at St Philip & St James, Leckhampton (Glos), 4 February 1848; her will was proved in the PCC, 10 February 1848.

Bingham, Rev. William (1771-1810). Second son of Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824) and his first wife, Sophia, daughter of Charles Halsey of Great Gaddesden (Herts), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 15 April 1771. Educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1788; BA 1792; MA 1796; Fellow). Ordained deacon, 1794 and priest, 1795. Rector of Cameley (Som.) and Melbury Bubb (Dorset), 1796-1810. He married, 20 April 1797 at Hampstead Norris (Berks), Sarah Emily (1771-1852), daughter of Gen. William Wynyard, and had issue*:

(1) William Wynyard Bingham (1798-1821), born 18 January and baptised at St Mary Abbots, Kensington (Middx), 18 March 1798**; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1816; BA 1820; Fellow); died unmarried 28 June 1821 and was buried at Sidmouth (Devon), 3 July 1821, but is commemorated by a monument at Melcombe Horsey; 

(2) Emily Georgina Bingham (1799-1823), born 6 March and baptised at Cameley, 20 April 1799; died unmarried and was buried at Hinton Blewitt (Som.), 30 October 1823;

(3) Richard Bingham (b. & d. 1800); died in infancy and was buried at Cameley, 29 January 1800;

(4) Sophia Matilda Bingham (1801-85), born 25 January and baptised at Cameley, 10 March 1801; married, 3 August 1826 at Hinton Blewitt (Som.), her step-brother, Robert Francis Wright (1798-1884), attorney, of Hinton Blewitt, and had issue two sons and one daughter; buried at Hinton Blewitt, 15 January 1885;

(5) Rev. George Bingham (1803-38) (q.v.);

(6) Richard Hippisley Bingham (1804-91) (q.v.);

(7) Henry Edward Bingham (1807-13), born and privately baptised at Cameley, 13 December 1807; died young and was buried at Fordington (Dorset), 21 June 1813;

(8) Caroline Leonora Bingham (b. & d. 1809); died in infancy and was buried at Cameley, 5 April 1809;

(9) Canon Charles William Bingham (1810-81), born 28 September 1810 and privately baptised, but received into the church at Melcombe Horsey, 20 January 1811; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1828; BA 1833; Fellow; MA 1836); ordained deacon, 1835 and priest, 1836; vicar of Sydling St Nicholas, 1838-46; rector of Melcombe Horsey (Dorset), 1842-81; rural dean, 1868; honorary canon of Salisbury Cathedral, 1876-81; JP for Dorset; author of religious works published by the Calvin Society; married 1st, 28 May 1839 at West Rounton (Yorks NR), his cousin, Caroline Damer (1810-52), second daughter of Rev. Montague John Wynyard, and 2nd, 31 July 1855 at Fordington (Dorset), Mary (1816-91), daughter of Rev. Daniel Campbell, rector of Crowcombe (Som.), but had no issue; died 1 December 1881; will proved 13 April 1882 (effects £4,856).

He died at Kensington (Middx), 27 May 1810; his will was proved at Bath, 12 November 1810. His widow married 2nd, 1 May 1820 at Fordington (Dorset), Francis Bowcher Wright (1771-1840) of Hinton Blewitt; she died at Dorchester, 14 June, and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 18 June 1852; her will was proved in the PCC, 27 July 1852.

* Some internet sources add another son (Francis Buckley Bingham (b. & d. 1806), who is said to have been buried at Cameley, but who does not appear in the baptism or burial registers.

** When his father's address was given as Kensington Palace; perhaps because he was staying with his uncle and namesake, who was a royal chaplain. The baptism was also noted in the Cameley register as having taken place at Kensington.

Bingham, Rev. George (1803-38). Second son of Rev. William Bingham (1771-1810) and his wife Sarah Emily, daughter of Gen. William Wynyard, born 4 June and baptised at Cameley (Som.), 19 July 1803. Educated at Worcester College, Oxford (matriculated 1823; BA 1828). Ordained deacon, 1828. Curate of Kingston Seymour (Som.), 1828-30. He may never have taken priest's orders and seems not to have sought preferment after inheriting Bingham's Melcombe. He married, 5 July 1836 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Frances Margaret Anna Byam (1809-49), only daughter of Anthony Blagrave (d. 1860) of Barrow House, Barrow Gurney (Som.), and had issue:

(1) George Henry Bingham (b. & d. 1837), born 25 May and privately baptised at Bingham's Melcombe by his father, 6 June 1837; died in infancy and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 10 June 1837.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his uncle in 1829. At his death it passed to his younger brother. His widow lived latterly at Ilsington House, Puddletown (Dorset).

He died 5 May 1838 and was buried at Melcombe Horsey. His widow married 2nd, 2 July 1840 at East Harptree (Som.), as his second wife, Charles Wriothesley Digby (1802-73), eldest son of Rev. Charles Digby, canon of Windsor and rector of Bishops Caundle (Som.); she died in Paris (France), 22 August 1849; administration of her goods was granted 5 August 1858 (effects under £8,000).

Bingham, Richard Hippisley (1804-91). Third son of Rev. William Bingham (1771-1810) and his wife Sarah Emily, daughter of Gen. William Wynyard, born 1 October and baptised at Cameley (Som.), 26 November 1804. An officer in the Indian army (Cadet, 1820; Ensign, 1821; Lt., 1824; Capt., 1835; retired c.1839) and later in the Dorset Militia (Col., 1852; retired 1873 and was subsequently Hon. Col.). JP and DL (from 1852) for Dorset. He married, 6 April 1836 at West Rounton (Yorks NR), Harriet Georgina (1810-81), a temperance campaigner, third daughter of his maternal uncle, Rev. Montagu John Wynyard, rector of West Rounton, but had no issue.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his elder brother in 1838. At his death it passed to his first cousin once removed, Richard Charles William Bingham (1845-1902).

He died 10 March and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 17 March 1891, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 28 October 1893 (effects £15). His wife died 27 March and was buried at Melcombe Horsey, 31 March 1881.

Bingham, Col. Charles Cox (1772-1835).  Third son of Col. Richard Bingham (1741-1824) and his first wife, Sophia, daughter of Charles Halsey of Great Gaddesden (Herts), baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 30 September 1772. An officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1793; Lt., 1794; Capt-Lt., 1803; Capt., 1810; Maj., 1812; Lt-Col., 1814; Col., 1825), who lost an arm while on active service. He married, 3 September 1798 at Stoke Damerel (Devon), Sarah Osmond (1777-1862), daughter of Samuel Hayter of Wareham (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) George William Bingham (1801-50), born 15 September and baptised at Falmouth (Cornw.), 28 September 1801; an officer in the Dorset Militia (Ensign, 1814) and later the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1824; Lt., 1827; 2nd Capt., 1840; Capt., 1845); died unmarried at Colombo (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka), 10 November 1850;

(2) Sarah Bingham (b. 1802), born 10 November and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 3 December 1802; presumably died in infancy;

(3) Mary Frances Bingham (1805-54), baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 29 September 1805; married, 10 September 1833 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Rev. Henry Stevens (1808-77), vicar of Wateringbury (Kent), eldest son of Very Rev. Robert Stevens, Dean of Rochester Cathedral, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 6 July, and was buried at Wateringbury, 12 July 1854;

(4) Sarah Bingham (1807-08), born 11 February and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 7 March 1807; died in infancy and was buried at Plumstead (Kent), 4 April 1808;

(5) Elizabeth Ann Bingham (b. 1808), born 11 December and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 30 December 1808; presumably died in infancy;

(6) Elizabeth Ann Bingham (b. & d. 1809), baptised at Marlborough (Wilts), 29 September 1809 but died in infancy and was buried at Marlborough on the same day;

(7) Richard Clavell Bingham (1810-41), born 10 May and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 29 May 1810; an officer in the infantry (2nd Lt., 1828; Lt, 1832; retired 1838); probably emigrated to Cape Colony, and died unmarried at Graaf Reinet, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), 1 May 1841;

(8) Col. Charles Bingham (1815-64) (q.v.);

(9) Emma Bingham (1816-74), born 18 November and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 10 December 1816; married, 19 May 1846 at St Margaret, Rochester (Kent), as his second wife, Thomas Hermitage Day (1802-69), of Frindsbury (Kent), banker, and had issue one son and three daughters; died 26 February and was buried at Frindsbury, 4 March 1874; administration of goods granted to her daughter, 20 March 1874 (effects under £1,500);

(10) Sophia Bingham (1818-81), born 2 May and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 22 May 1818; married, 8 May 1845 at St Margaret, Rochester (Kent), as his first wife, her kinsman, Maj-Gen. George William Powlett Bingham CB (1817-99), son of Capt. Arthur Batt Bingham RN, and had issue four daughters; died at The Vines, Rochester (Kent), 3 December, and was buried at St Margaret, Rochester, 7 December 1881;

(11) Edmund Hayter Bingham (1820-56), born 18 January and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 10 February 1820; an officer in 1st West India Regt. (Ensign, 1837; Lt., 1839; Capt., 1848); married, about April 1845 at Demerera (Georgetown) Cathedral (Guyana), Cecilia Lewis Pauline (d. 1889) (who m2, 22 May 1860 at Shinfield (Berks), Dr Henry Hutson MD of Georgetown, Demerera, and had issue), third daughter of William Bertie Wolseley, but had no issue; died at Woolwich (Kent), 9 October, and was buried at Plumstead, 13 October 1856.

He died 4 June and was buried at St Nicholas, Deptford (Kent), 11 June 1835; his will was proved in the PCC, 22 June 1835. His widow died 5 April 1862.

Bingham, Col. Charles (1815-64). Third son of Charles Cox Bingham (1772-1835) and his wife Sarah Osmond, daughter of Samuel Hayter, born 1 June and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich (Kent), 20 June 1815. Educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the Royal Artillery (2nd Lt., 1832; Lt., 1834; 2nd Capt., 1843; Capt., 1848; Maj., 1854; Lt-Col., 1854; Col., 1857; and Deputy Adjutant-General, 1858-64). He married, 17 March 1841 at Duddingston, Edinburgh (Midl.), Williamina Henrietta (1815-89), daughter of John Mackintosh MD, and had issue:

(1) Justina Jane Bingham (1842-53), born 28 April 1842 at Portobello, Dublin; died young, 20 April, and was buried at Plumstead (Kent), 23 April 1853;

(2) Mary Frances Alice Bingham (1844-1921), born 31 March and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 1 May 1844; married, 29 August 1872 at St George's (Garrison) Church Woolwich, George William Lowther (1837-90), eldest son of Sir Charles Hugh Lowther (1803-94), 3rd bt., of Swillington House (Yorks WR), and had issue two sons and four daughters; died 2 December and was buried at Swillington, 6 December 1921; will proved 19 June 1922 (estate £1,091);

(3) Richard Charles William Bingham (1845-1902) (q.v.);

(4) Emma Sophia Caroline Bingham (1847-1928), born 3 April and baptised at Trinity church, Rathmines, Dublin, 11 May 1847; married, 10 June 1886 at St John, Woolwich (Kent), Lt-Col. Francis Arthur Whinyates (1836-1906), but had no issue; died 1 June 1928; will proved 18 August 1928 (estate £8,290);

(5) Brig-Gen. Edmund George Henry Bingham (1848-1904), born 26 November 1848 and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 11 April 1849; an officer in the Royal Artillery (Lt., 1869; Capt., 1879; Maj., 1885; Lt-Col., 1892; Col., 1901; Brig-Gen., 1901), who served on the General Staff continuously from 1875; married, 14 October 1886 at Prahan, Victoria (Australia), Beatrice Helen (1861-1949) (who m2, 27 March 1905 at Holy Trinity, Chelsea (Middx), Maj-Gen. Hugh Palliser Hickman CB (1856-1930)), daughter of Francis Sydney Stephen of Melbourne, New South Wales (Australia), and had issue three daughters; died in Brussels (Belgium), 24 January 1904; will proved 22 March 1904 (estate £1,220);

(6) Sarah Ida Henrietta Bingham (1851-91), born 27 November 1851 and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 14 January 1852; lived at Chaddesden Moor (Staffs); died unmarried, 23 June 1891 and was buried at Chaddesden; will proved 8 December 1891 (effects £1,004).

He died in Brighton (Sussex), 6 April and was buried at Plumstead (Kent), 12 April 1864; administration of his goods was granted to his widow, 14 July 1864 (estate under £4,000), and a further grant was made 28 October 1893 (effects £4,550). His widow was awarded a civil list pension of £150 a year in recognition of her husband's service and her straightened circumstances, and died 29 December 1889; her will was proved 19 February 1890 (effects £8,212).

Bingham, Richard Charles William (1845-1902). Elder son of Col. Charles Bingham (1815-64) and his wife Williamina Henrietta, daughter of John Mackintosh MD, born 17 June and baptised at Trinity church, Rathmines (Co. Dublin), 17 September 1845. An officer in the Dorset Militia (later the 3rd battalion, Dorset Regiment) (Lt., 1867; Capt., 1869; Maj., 1881; hon. Lt-Col., 1887; retired 1897); JP and DL for Dorset. He was declared bankrupt in 1898. He married, 9 August 1888 at Charlton Musgrove (Som.), Georgina (1871-1940), youngest daughter of Capt. William Stuckey Wood, banker, of Charlton House, Charlton Musgrove, and had issue:

(1) Richard Charles Otto Bingham (1889-1958), born 24 August and baptised at Charlton Musgrove, 13 October 1889; educated at Clifton College; emigrated to Canada and lived there 1906-11 and later in Ceylon, 1911-14; served in First and Second World Wars with Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (Maj.); in 1920s lived in Ceylon, Kenya and USA before returning to Canada in 1930; a Roman Catholic in religion, and a freemason from 1915; married, 21/24 March 1913 at St Paul, Kandy (Ceylon), Ethel Norah (d. 1963), daughter of William Andrew Fausset of Sidmouth (Devon), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 23 August 1958 and was buried at Mont-Real Cemetery, Montreal (Canada);

(2) Doris Mary Bingham (1891-1958), born 6 July and baptised at Charlton Musgrove, 23 August 1891; served with Auxiliary Fire Service in Derby, 1939-40; married, 19 April 1923 at St Andrew, Fulham (Middx), Ernest Gabriel Boissier DSC (1886-1976), of Derby, chartered engineer, son of Rev. Frederick Scobell Boissier, and had issue three sons; died 2 March 1958; will proved 8 May 1958 (estate £6,310);

(3) John Richard Bingham (1892-1957), born 4 October and baptised at Charlton Musgrove, 30 October 1892; educated at King's School, Worcester; served in Royal Air Force in First World War (2nd Lt., 1915; Lt. by 1918; Capt., 1918; retired 1919; mentioned in despatches); lived for a time in Ceylon; married, 12 July 1948, Catherine Mabel (1899-1986), second daughter of George Frederick Moore, excise officer, and formerly wife of Pierce William Crosbie (1901-72), but had no issue; died 22 August 1957; administration of goods granted to his widow, 3 February 1958 (estate £4,689);

(4) Charles Jeffrey Slade Bingham (1893-1915), born 12 December 1893 and baptised at Melcombe Horsey, 11 February 1894; educated at Clifton College; emigrated to Canada, 1910; served with 10th Canadian Expeditionary Force in First World War (Private); died unmarried of meningitis at Plymouth (Devon), 6 January 1915, and was buried in Plymouth Corporation Cemetery, Egg Buckland (Devon); administration of his goods granted to his mother, 26 June 1915 (estate £424);

(5) Richard Humphrey Bingham (1895-1929), born 15 September and baptised at Charlton Musgrove, 20 October 1895; educated at Clifton College; an officer in the Royal Field Artillery (2nd Lt., 1916; Lt., 1916; twice mentioned in despatches; awarded MC, 1916; retired as Capt., 1921); suffered from partial paralysis as a result of war wounds; died unmarried at St Mary's Hospital, Roehampton (Surrey), 25 January 1929, and was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery; administration of goods granted to his mother, 22 March 1929 (estate £397);

(6) Victor Paul Bingham (1897-98), born 22 June  and baptised at St Saviour, Bath, 9 July 1897; died in infancy, 23 July, and was buried at Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath, 27 July 1898;

(7) William Philip Bingham (1898-1964), born 4 August and baptised at St Cross & St Faith, Winchester, 11 September 1898; educated at King's School, Worcester; served in Royal Air Force in First and Second World Wars and was awarded Croix de Guerre with palms; employed by Standard Motor Car Co.; lived at Richmond (Surrey); married 1st, 3 November 1921 at St Peter, Ealing (Middx) (div. 1929 on the grounds of his adultery), Olga Horatia (b c.1898), daughter of Horace Bremner of Ealing, bank manager, and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 11 December 1929 (div. 1946), Constance Audrey (1903-70), fourth daughter of William Burdett Irvin of Ormskirk (Lancs), timber merchant and bobbin mfr, and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 3rd, Apr-Jun 1952, Agnes Cooper Crabbe, an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force; died 19 April 1964; will proved 21 August 1964 (estate £2,286);

(8) Christopher Bingham (1899-1963), born 13 August and baptised at Charlton Musgrove, 10 September 1899; educated at King's School, Worcester; served in First World War with Royal Field Artillery and Royal Air Force from 1916, but later became a professional ballroom dancer and host at the Savoy Hotel, London; married 1st, 18 April 1927 at St Stephen, Kensington (Middx) (div. 1932 on the grounds of her adultery with William McElroy, coal merchant), Kathryn Lilian (b. 1905), professional ballroom dancer, daughter of Henry Burgess, and 2nd, 3 April 1947, Doris Catherine (1916-78), daughter of Frederick William Cameron and widow of Laurance Thomas Titchener (1910-44), and had issue one daughter; died 21 January 1963; administration of goods granted to widow, 3 April 1963 (estate £3,152);

(9) Ruth Bingham (1901-83), born 9 November 1901 and baptised at Appledore (Devon), 26 January 1902; married, 8 June 1927 at Queens, New York (USA), Lewis Henry Albert of New York, clerk in an investment house, and had issue one son and one daughter; died at Citrus, Florida (USA), 17 February 1983.

He inherited Bingham's Melcombe from his first cousin once removed in 1891, repaired and remodelled the house (reputedly at a cost of £3,000), and sold it in 1895 for £4,200. He lived latterly at Cliff Cottage, Appledore.

He died suddenly following a heart attack outside his house in Appledore, 23 June, and was buried at Appledore, 25 June 1902; administration of his goods was granted to his widow, 17 November 1902. His widow died in Chelsea (Middx), 25 June 1940, and was buried at Appledore; her will was proved 9 August 1940 (estate £1,205).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1969, pp. 47-48; F. Hutchins et al., The history and antiquities of Dorset, 2nd edn., vol. 1, pp. 198-202 and v0l. 4, pp. 198-207; R.E. McCalmont, Memoirs of the Binghams, 1915,  M.J. Hill, West Dorset Country Houses, 2014, pp. 96-101; M.J. Hill, J. Newman & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Dorset, 2nd edn., 2018, pp. 397-99; ODNB entry for Sir Robert Bingham (d. 1599) and Dictionary of Irish Biographu entries for Sir Robert and Sir George Bingham (d. 1599).

Location of archives

Bingham of Bingham's Melcombe: a small group of deeds and family papers, 1631-1825 [Dorset History Centre, D-335].

Coat of arms

Bingham of Melcombe Bingham: Azure, a bend cottised between six crosses formée or.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 17 March 2026 and was updated 28 March 2026.