(512) Beauclerk of St. Leonards Lodge and Ardglass Castle

Beauclerk of St Leonard's Lodge 

This family were a cadet branch of the Beauclerks, Dukes of St. Albans. The 1st Duke was the illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Nell Gwyn, and was married to Lady Diana de Vere, the daughter of the last Earl of Oxford. Whereas most of the king's illegitimate sons were provided for by marrying them to substantial heiresses, Diana was the heir to very little, and the 1st Duke only inherited a modest estate from his mother. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that several of the younger sons of the 1st Duke pursued careers - in the army, navy, and the church - which were materially assisted by their rank and connections but which were necessary to support them in the dignity to which they were born. Lord Sydney Beauclerk (1703-44), with whom the genealogy below begins, disdained such recourses and relied on his wits and charm to pursue a successful career as a fortune-hunter. His early efforts to secure marriage with a wealthy widow (the Duchess of Cleveland and Lady Betty Germaine) were ultimately unsuccessful, although Lady Betty paid him a thousand pounds in lieu of her promises. He was more successful with Richard Topham MP (d. 1730), who left him an annuity and the reversion of his substantial estate around Clewer Manor near Windsor (Berks), of which Lord Sydney came into possession in 1737; this included extensive property in the town of Windsor. His marriage to Mary Norris at the end of 1736 was his most successful venture, however, for she brought him Speke Hall (Lancs) [which will be described in a future post on the Norris family] and £60,000. 

When he died young in 1744, Lord Sydney's estates passed to his widow for life. She was proud of her own family and very attached to Speke Hall, and in her will she asked her only son, Topham Beauclerk (1739-80) to take the name Norris in lieu of Beauclerk and make Speke his principal seat. Burying himself in a dim corner of a northern county was, however, no part of Topham's life-plan, and he fulfilled neither request. After Eton, Oxford, and the Grand Tour he settled in London, where he was part of the social circle around Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds. He seems at first to have been an elegant and sophisticated young man, noted for an interest in science and as a bibliophile of catholic interests.

The Grove, Muswell Hill: the house occupied by Topham Beauclerk in a drawing of c.1800. 
Image: Bruce Castle Museum.

He lived in the early 1770s at a house in the Adam brothers' Adelphi development, and he employed Robert Adam as an architect on several occasions, using him in 1770-74 to make additions to his house (later known as The Grove and now demolished) at Muswell Hill (Middx), including a laboratory for chemical experiments, and in 1779 to add a new library to his house in Great Russell St., Bloomsbury. Less appealingly, he was noted for his disinterest in his personal hygiene: one Christmas when he was staying with his brother-in-law at Blenheim Palace he was found to be the source of an outbreak of lice infections among his fellow guests. Even more worryingly, Topham was a gambler, and as a result of his losses he was living on capital not income. His estate around Windsor was sold in 1766, and after his mother's death in the same year, Speke was largely abandoned. He had an affair with Lady Bolingbroke and after she bore his child in 1767 and was divorced by her husband, he married her: they had two further children in 1769 and 1774. In the 1770s his health declined, he became addicted to laudanum, and he became notoriously bad-tempered: it seems likely that he was suffering from syphilis. His wife, who was a talented artist, was freed from a second unhappy marriage by his death in 1780, and lived until 1808.

Mary, the illegitimate daughter of Topham Beauclerk and Lady Bolingbroke, was born in 1767, and had a scandalous early life. She grew up in her parents' household but was largely ignored by her father, and in the 1780s eloped to the continent with her half-brother, the 3rd Lord Bolingbroke, who abandoned his first wife and children for her. Their incestuous relationship produced four sons before Lord Bolingbroke abandoned her too in 1794, after which she married Francis Jenison, an English-born diplomat in the service of the King of Württemberg, and had another six children. Jenison, who was Grand Chamberlain to the King for nineteen years and was made a Count, provided her with a measure of respectability, but it is hard to believe that she was widely received in society after her youthful indiscretions. Her legitimate sister Elizabeth (1769-93) and brother Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845) had more conventional and aristocratic marriages: Elizabeth to the 11th Earl of Pembroke and Charles to Emily Charlotte Ogilvie, a daughter of the Duchess of Leinster by her second marriage.

Charles George Beauclerk seems to have inherited his father's brains but suffered from an 'invincible shyness' which unfitted him for any public role, although he could be brilliantly incisive in debate among friends. He inherited his father's estate at Speke Hall and three manors in Leicestershire from the 3rd Duke of St. Albans, but sold most of this property, including Speke, and bought a thousand acres in Sussex, where he built a (probably quite small) new house to the designs of John Johnson before 1808, which he called St. Leonard's Lodge. He and his wife produced 13 children, most of whom survived to adulthood. His eldest son, Aubrey William Beauclerk (1801-54) inherited Ardglass Castle from his maternal grandfather in 1832, and later also St. Leonard's Lodge, which he sold in about 1852. He seems to have spent little time on his Irish estate, which was largely managed for him by a succession of agents. In the 1830s he was a radical Whig MP but did not seek re-election after his first term. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (1837-1919) who was also largely non-resident; one of his agents was his illegitimate half-brother, Charles Beauclerk (c.1832-80), who later took holy orders. Ardglass Castle was generally let, and in the 1890s became a Golf Club, which it still remains.

King's Castle, Ardglass: the house c.1900. Image: Robert J. Welch/NMNI. 

Two of Charles George Beauclerk's younger sons also lived in some style: Charles Robert Beauclerk (1802-72) at Dover House, Warningcamp (Sussex) and George Robert Beauclerk (1803-71) at King's Castle, Ardglass, a ruined medieval tower house which he rebuilt as a neo-Tudor villa c.1863. Charles Robert Beauclerk was a barrister and businessman, who at the age of forty married the daughter of a Cuban judge half his age, who was a Roman Catholic. Their younger sons were brought up in her religion, and two of them became Jesuit priests.

St. Leonard's Lodge (later Leonardslee), Sussex

The first house on this site was designed by John Johnson and built in stone between 1803 and 1808 for  Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845). The only survival from the estate at this time is the octagonal lodge known as the Round House, built in the 1820s. The house itself was completely demolished, apparently without any visual record, after the estate was sold to William Hubbard, a Russia merchant, who found it inadequate for the grandeur of a site with far-reaching views. He built a replacement to the designs of Professor T.L. Donaldson, an authority on the architecture of Classical antiquity, in 1853-55; the name Leonardslee was adopted in 1869 to avoid confusion with St Leonard's House. 

Leonardslee House: the entrance front in 2010. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

The new two-storey house is built of sandstone ashlar and has five by three bays and a hipped roof. The west-facing main front has a faintly Italianate composition, with the projecting end bays having windows (real and blind) set in tripartite aedicules. In the centre is a porte-cochère with rusticated bands. The east and south fronts are simpler, and indeed the south side was originally screened by a conservatory (destroyed in the great storm of 1987). The house had a large service wing on the north side, which was reduced in size to the present four bays in the 1980s. 

Leonardslee House: the east-facing garden front. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

Leonardslee House: the top-lit central hall.

The interior is dominated by the top-lit and galleried neo-classical central hall, where the entrances to the main reception rooms and the staircases are framed by scagliola columns and pilasters, though the cast iron gallery and staircase balustrades are not especially classical. The main reception rooms have much simpler decoration: just restrained cornices and joinery, although some Rococo-style fireplaces were introduced at the end of the 19th century by Sir Edmund Loder. The house has been portrayed as typical of those Regency and early Victorian houses 'not pretending to be stately but displaying [the] modest sumptuousness of an age that set great store by solidity, durability and comfort'. The house was converted to offices in the 1980s, but since 2019 has operated as a wedding and events venue and restaurant with rooms.

Leonardslee House: the gardens in 2010. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

The gardens below the house were begun by the Beauclerk family, who created an American garden north of the house. Since this was confusingly planted with shrubs brought from Nepal, China and Japan it was later renamed The Dell. The gardens were greatly elaborated and developed by Sir Edmund Loder, who planted the steep-sided sandstone valley with acid-loving trees and shrubs. A chain of lakes was created down the valley between two existing pools which seem to have been created for earlier ironworking activities in the area. A rock garden was made west of the house by James Pulham & Son, c.1890, originally for alpine plants but later replaced by azaleas and rhodedendrons which make a spectacular show in spring. The gardens were open to the public from the 1920s, but fell into disrepair in the 1930s and during the Second World War. They were restored in 1946-50, and were then continuously open until the property was sold by the Loder family in 2010. An extensive programme of restoration took place in 2017-19, and the gardens are happily now once more open to the public.

Descent: built for Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845); to son, Aubrey William Beauclerk (1801-54); sold c.1852 to William Egerton Hubbard (1812-83); sold 1889 to son-in-law, Sir Edmund Giles Loder (1849-1920), 2nd bt.; to grandson, Sir Giles Rolls Loder (1914-99), 3rd bt; handed on in 1981 to Sir Edmund Jeune Loder (b. 1941), 4th bt., who sold the house in 1984 and the gardens in 2010... sold 2017 to Penny Streeter.

Ardglass Castle, Co. Down

A group of buildings with a complex evolution in both function and appearance. It was built initially in c.1400 as a fortified warehouse by a group of London merchants trading with Ireland, and originally known as the 'New works' or 'Newark'. This store was a long and fairly narrow structure, some 210 by 28 feet, which faced north, towards the harbour. On this side there were three towers and some thirty alternating flat- and arch-headed openings, which may represent the doors and windows of early shops or storage units. Later in the 15th century, or perhaps in the 16th century, a detached tower house was erected to the north-west. After that the history of the site is obscure until in 1744 Harris described both the store and tower house as ruinous, and said the town itself, formerly one of the chief ports of Ulster, was 'in a mean condition'. However, in about 1790 the old tower house and warehouse buildings were remodelled as a large country house by Lord Charles James Fitzgerald (1756-1810), a younger son of the Duke of Leinster, who owned the estate. 

Ardglass Castle: south front, c.1900. Image: Robert J. Welch/NMNI. 

Fitzgerald (later 1st Baron Lecale) seems to have employed Charles Lilly of Dublin, then engaged in salvaging another medieval ruin at Downpatrick Cathedral, as his architect. He created a shorter but taller south-facing building out of the ruined warehouse, adapting the other buildings on site as lower wings, and remodelling the detached tower house. The whole complex was dressed up as a Gothick fort, with crowstepped gables, battlements, some pointed arches and windows with pointed-headed lights, and was renamed Ardglass Castle. In the early 19th century, William Ogilvie (1740-1832), the second husband of the widowed Duchess of Leinster, bought the freehold of the estate and set about transforming the town itself, creating much of what exists today. The Beauclerks were less actively interested in the town, and by 1864 the castle was let. In 1896 the castle became the clubhouse of the newly formed Ardglass Golf Club, which laid out a seven-hole golf course (later expanded to the present standard 18-hole course) on the exposed and windswept grounds to the south of the castle. The club remains the owner of the building, and not unreasonably claims it as the oldest golf club-house in the world!

Descent: remodelled for Lord Charles James Fitzgerald (1756-1810), 1st Baron Lecale; to mother, Emily Fitzgerald (1741-1814), Duchess of Leinster, wife of William Ogilvie (1740-1832), who purchased the freehold; to grandson, Maj. Aubrey William Beauclerk (1801-54); to son, Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (1837-1919), who let it to Armar Henry Lowry-Corry (1836-93) and later to Ardglass Golf Club, who subsequently purchased the freehold.

Beauclerk family of St. Leonard's Lodge and Arglass Castle

Beauclerk, Lord Sydney (1703-44). Fifth son of Charles Beauclerk (1670-1726), 1st Duke of St. Albans [for whom see my post on the ducal family], and his wife Lady Diana de Vere (c.1679-1742), eldest daughter and eventually sole heiress of Aubrey de Vere (1627-1703), 20th and last Earl of Oxford, born 27 February and baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, 8 April 1703. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1721; created MA 1727 and DCL 1733). Whig MP for New Windsor, 1733-44; Trustee and Common Councillor of the Georgia Society, 1739-40; Master of the Royal Harriers, 1738; Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household, 1740-42. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a fortune hunter, and made serious attempts to marry the widowed Duchess of Cleveland and Lady Betty Germaine, who were both rich. In 1737, on the death of Sir Thomas Reeve, chief justice of the common pleas, he inherited estates at Clewer and Windsor under the will of Richard Topham MP (d. 1730), but, though ‘the assiduous dry nurse of a wealthy judge’, he narrowly failed to obtain Sir Thomas’s private fortune as well. He married, 9 December 1736 in the chapel of St James' Palace, Westminster (Middx), Mary (d. 1766), daughter and heiress of Thomas Norris MP of Speke Hall (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Topham Beauclerk (1739-80) (q.v.);

(2) Charlotte Beauclerk; died unmarried and probably in infancy.

He lived at Windsor. His marriage brought him his wife's fortune of £60,000 and the Speke Hall estate (Lancs), and in 1737 he also inherited an estate at Windsor and Clewer (Berks) under the will of Richard Topham MP (d. 1730), as a result of which he is said to have owned more of Windsor than the King did. At his death his estates passed to his widow for life.

He died 23 November 1744 and was buried at Windsor, although his body may have been exhumed and reburied at Garston (Lancs) after his wife's death in accordance with her will. His widow died 20 November 1766 and was buried at Garston (Lancs).

* In 1727, when he was paying court to the widowed Duchess of Cleveland, aged 63, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu described him as "Nell Gwyn in person, with the sex alter'd", and composed the rhyme: 'Her children banished, age forgot/ Lord Sidney is her care;/ And, what is much a happier lot,/Has hopes to be her heir'.

Beauclerk, Topham (1739-80). Only son of Lord Sydney Beauclerk (1703-44) and his wife Mary, daughter and heir of Thomas Norris MP of Speke Hall (Lancs), born 22 December 1739 and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 19 January 1739/40. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1757) and then went to Italy, ostensibly for the sake of his health, travelling with Lord Ossory via Paris and Geneva to Florence, Rome, Capua, Naples and Venice before returning home on his own. He declined to take the name Norris in lieu of Beauclerk as requested in his mother's will. He was a bibliophile, employing Robert Adam to built a room behind his house in Great Russell St., Bloomsbury, to hold his collection, which amounted to more than 30,000 volumes by the time of his death. His collection was sold after he died and realised £5,011, which only just covered the mortgage he had raised on the collection from his brother-in-law, the Duke of Marlborough. He was a close friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson, the lexicographer, and was a member of The Club, founded by Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds, from 1764. He was elected to the Society of Dilettanti in 1765 and the Royal Society in 1770, having 'a passionate fondness for scientific experiments'. He was a dandy and a dazzling conversationalist, but he was also an inveterate gambler, reputedly losing £10,000 in a single night while in Venice, and several contemporaries report that he ill-treated his wife and cruel and unfeeling to his children. As he became older, he grew more misanthropic, and Horace Walpole, who called him 'the worst tempered man he ever knew', took pity on his wife, whose talent as an artist he admired. Walpole also noted that he took laudanum in vast quantities, and that he was 'remarkably filthy in his person': one Christmas, when he was staying at Blenheim Palace he was found to be the source of an outbreak of lice among the guests. He married, 12 March 1768 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, his former mistress, Lady Diana (1735-1808), elder daughter of Charles Spencer (1706-58), 3rd Duke of Marlborough and divorced wife* of Frederick St. John, 3rd Viscount St. John and 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, and had issue (of whom the first was born prior to their marriage):

(1) Mary Beauclerk (1767-1851), born 19 June 1767**; in the 1780s she had an incestuous long-term relationship with her married half-brother, George St. John, 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke, by whom she had four sons, all born abroad; after he abandoned her about 1794, she married, 29 June 1797 at Heidelberg (Germany), Francis Jenison (later Count Franz Jenison von Walworth (1764-1824) of Heidelberg, diplomat and Grand Chamberlain of the Household to King of Württemberg, 1797-1816, and had two sons and four daughters; died 23 July and was buried at Schlierbach, Baden (Germany), 26 July 1851;

(2) Elizabeth Beauclerk (1769-93), born 19 March and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 17 April 1769; married, 8 April 1787, her first cousin George Augustus Herbert (1759-1827), 11th Earl of Pembroke and 8th Earl of Montgomery (who married 2nd, 25 January 1808, Countess Catherine Romanovitch (1783-1856), only daughter of Simon Romanovitch, 3rd Count Woronzow, the Russian ambassador to London, and had further issue one son and five daughters), and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 25 March 1793, and was buried at Wilton where she is commemorated by a monument;

(3) Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845) (q.v.).

He inherited Clewer Manor (with land in Windsor, Burnham and Sunninghill) and Speke Hall on the death of his mother in 1766. He sold his Windsor property to Sir Edward Walpole in 1766, and allowed Speke to fall into disrepair. Instead he lived in London, where he had houses in the Adelphi, Hertford St., and later Bloomsbury (altered by Robert Adam) and a villa at Muswell Hill (also altered by Adam).

He died 11 March 1780 and was buried at Garston (Lancs); his will was proved in the PCC, 31 March 1780. His widow died 1 August 1808.

* Lord Bolingbroke divorced her by Act of Parliament in 1768, on the grounds of her adultery with Beauclerk. She had left Lord Bolingbroke, however, because of his violence towards her when he was drunk, which was most of the time. On learning of her marriage to his friend Beauclerk just two days after the divorce, Dr. Johnson observed "The woman's a whore, and there's an end on't", a remark which embodies more of his characteristic pithiness than his common humanity.

** The date is often given as 20 August 1766, based on her age at death which was recorded as 84 years, 11 months and 3 days, but the evidence presented at Lady Bolingbroke's trial for adultery seems to leave no doubt.

Beauclerk, Charles George (1774-1845). Only son of Topham Beauclerk (1739-80) and his wife Lady Diana, elder daughter of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough and divorced wife of Frederick St. John, 3rd Viscount St. John and 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, born 20 January and baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, 21 February 1774. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1790). In 1793 he travelled to Naples (Italy) for his health, and subsequently travelled with Lord Holland to Rome, Florence and Venice, before returning to Naples. He was a Foxite Whig in politics, and was MP for Richmond (Yorks), 1796-98. An officer of the North Bramber Volunteers, 1803 (Maj.). He was described as 'clever, well-educated  and perfectly a gentleman', although he suffered from 'an invincible shyness' which made him awkward in company; he took the Chiltern Hundreds to resign from Parliament after sitting for just two years. Following his marriage he lived in almost complete retirement, and Lady Holland considered his a wasted talent, 'as he has a most acute perception, and an uncommon degree of subtlety in his arguments'. He married, 29 April 1799 at St Marylebone (Middx), Emily Charlotte (1778-1832), second daughter of William Ogilvie of Ardglass Castle (Co. Down), and had issue:

(1) Emily Elizabeth Frederica Beauclerk (1800-16), born 19 February and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 5 April 1800; died unmarried, 16 September 1816;

(2) Aubrey William Beauclerk (1801-54) (q.v.);

(3) Charles Robert Beauclerk (1802-72) (q.v.);

(4) George Robert Beauclerk (1803-71) (q.v.);

(5) Caroline Anne Beauclerk (1804-69), born 12 January or 7 February* and baptised at Nuthurst (Sussex), 23 March 1804; married, 20 October 1829 at Cowfold (Sussex), Robert Aldridge (1801-71) of New Lodge (later St Leonard's House) (Sussex), only son of Capt. John Aldridge, and had issue four sons and three daughters; died 11 September 1869; will proved 17 November 1869 (effects under £20);

(6) Georgiana Beauclerk (1805-47), born 25 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 9 March 1805; married, 10 October 1826 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Sir John Dean Paul (1802-68), 2nd bt. (who married 2nd, 17 January 1849, Susan (d. 1854), daughter of John Ewens of Brighton (Sussex) and 3rd, 17 October 1861 at Christ Church, St Marylebone (Middx), Jane Constance (d. 1879), daughter of Thomas Budgen of Holmesdale House (Surrey), but had no further issue), a banker who was sentenced to be transported for 14 years for fraud in 1855 but obtained a ticket of leave after serving only part of his sentence; they had issue one son; died 25 December and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 31 December 1847;

(7) Diana Olivia Beauclerk (1806-75), born 22 June and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 6 July 1806; married, 10 April 1823, Sir Francis Fletcher-Vane (1797-1842), 3rd bt., of Armathwaite Hall and Hutton-in-the-Forest (Cumbld), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 9 February 1875; administration of goods granted 26 June 1875 (effects under £1,500);

(8) Jane Elizabeth Beauclerk (1807-92), baptised at Nuthurst (Sussex), 28 July 1807; married, 24 July 1830 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Henry Fitzroy (1806-77) of Salcey Lawn (Northants), eldest son of Rev. Lord Henry Fitzroy and grandson of the 3rd Duke of Grafton, and had issue including three sons; died 15 July 1892 and was buried at Little Easton (Essex);

(9) Isabella Elizabeth Beauclerk (1808-64), born 10 October and baptised at Cowfold, 23 November 1808; married, 12 March 1840 at St Leonard's Lodge, Adm. John William Montagu (1790-1882), second son of Adm. Sir George Montagu (1750-1829), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 21 July and was buried at Wilcot (Wilts), 28 July 1864;

(10) Amelius Beauclerk (1809-10), baptised at Cowfold, 29 November 1809; died in infancy and was buried at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 17 February 1810;

(11) Ferdinand Beauclerk (1811-29), born 19 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 7 April 1811; officer in Bengal Light Cavalry (Acting Cornet); died unmarried in Calcutta (India), 5 October 1829;

(12) Katherine Katinka Beauclerk (1812-82), born May and baptised at Cowfold, 28 July 1812; married, 5 April 1845, Col. Sir George Ashley Maude KCB (1817-94), equerry to HM Queen Victoria, and had issue six sons and one daughter; died 1 June 1882; administration of goods granted 25 July 1882 (effects £133);

(13) Augustus Beauclerk (1813-14), born 1813; died in infancy and was buried at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 21 February 1814.

He inherited Speke Hall (Lancs) from his father in 1780 and three Leicestershire manors (Wigston Magna, Galby and Frisby) from the 3rd Duke in 1786; he came of age in 1795. He sold the Speke estate in 1797 and the manors of Wigston and Frisby before his death. He purchased about 1,000 acres of the St. Leonard's Forest estate in about 1801, where he built St Leonard's Lodge to the designs of John Johnson before 1808. 

He died 25 December 1845; his will was proved in the PCC, 6 February 1846. His wife died 22 January and was buried at Cowfold, 28 January 1832.

* Burke's Peerage gives the earlier date; the parish register gives the later date.

Beauclerk, Aubrey William (1801-54). Eldest son of Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845) and his wife Emily Charlotte (d. 1832), second daughter of William Ogilvie of Ardglass Castle (Co. Down), born 20 February 1801. An officer in the 99th Foot (Ensign, 1818; Lt., 1820; Capt., 1824; retired as Maj., 1826). A radical Whig in politics, he was MP for East Surrey, 1832-37, but did not stand again thereafter. He married 1st, 13 February 1834 at Washington (Sussex), Ida (1814-39), fourth daughter of Sir Charles Foster Goring, 7th bt., and 2nd, 7 December 1840 at St Ann, Kew (Surrey), Rose Matilda (1818-78), daughter of Joshua Robinson, and had issue:

(1.1) Ida Beauclerk (1835-43), born 29 January and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), 22 April 1835; died young and was buried at Cowfold (Sussex), 19 June 1843;

(1.2) Diana Arabella Beauclerk (1836-55); baptised at Cowfold, 22 August 1836; died unmarried, 26 May, and was buried at Cheltenham (Glos), 31 May 1855;

(1.3) Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (1837-1919) (q.v.);

(1.4) Augusta Beauclerk (1838-1915), born Oct-Dec 1838 and baptised at Cowfold, 24 April 1839; married, 4 January 1866 at St James, Paddington (Middx), Thomas Edward Howe (c.1832-83), barrister-at-law, son of Thomas Howe, solicitor, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 6 November 1915; will proved 17 December 1915 (estate £217);

(2.1) Louisa Katherine Beauclerk (1842-1929), born 24 June 1842; lived at Millbeck Cottage, Keswick (Cumbld); died unmarried, 24 December 1929; administration of goods granted 10 March and 26 July 1930 (estate £12,461) and again 2 March 1965;

(2.2) Isabella Julia Beauclerk (c.1845-1930), born about 1845; married, 19 October 1867 at Christ Church, Virginia Water (Surrey), Surgeon-Maj. Chevalier George Albert Palatiano MD (c.1832-1910) of Corfu (Greece), son of Constantine Palatiano, surgeon, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 13 March 1930 and was buried at Hampstead Cemetery; will proved 2 July 1930 (estate £12,593).

He also had at least two illegitimate children by Charlotte Bury:

(X1) Charlotte Beauclerk (c.1830-55), born about 1830; brought up with his legitimate family; died unmarried at Ardglass Castle, 11 January 1855;

(X2) Rev. Charles Beauclerk (c.1832-80), born about 1832; an officer in the Kent Regiment of Militia Artillery (2nd Lt., 1856; Lt., 1856; Capt., 1858); acted as agent to his half-brother at Ardglass and developed a brickfield there, 1860; ordained deacon, 1860 and priest, 1861; perpetual curate of Dunsverick (Co. Antrim), 1861-66 and Glencraig (Co. Down), 1866-69; vicar of St Mary, Belfast (Co. Down), 1869-75; English chaplain of Holy Trinity, Boulogne (France), 1875-80; married, 8 November 1860 at Magheralin, Elizabeth Maria (c.1843-88), fourth daughter of Rev. Henry Murphy, and had issue at least twelve children of whom five died in infancy; died at Boulogne (France), 27 January 1880; will proved 24 March 1880 (effects under £3,000).

He inherited Ardglass Castle from his maternal grandfather in 1832. He purchased the Wigston Magna estate from his father and inherited St. Leonard's Lodge in 1845, but sold it before 1853. 

He died 1 February 1854. His first wife drowned accidentally in one of the ponds at St. Leonard's Lodge, 23 April 1839. His widow married 2nd, 20 August 1864 at Bishops Waltham (Hants), John James Johnson of Chester Place, Hyde Park, London, son of Joshua Johnson, and lived latterly at Chagford (Devon); she died 20 July 1878 and administration of her goods was granted 5 September 1878 (effects under £3,000).

Beauclerk, Aubrey de Vere (1837-1919). Only son of Aubrey William Beauclerk (1801-54) and his first wife, Ida, fourth daughter of Sir Charles Foster Goring, 7th bt., born 5 October 1837. Educated at Rugby, Cheltenham and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1855). JP (from 1860) for Co. Down; High Sheriff of Co. Down, 1863. He married 1st, 1 December 1858 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx) (separated 1870 and divorced in 1895 on the grounds of his adultery and desertion), his first cousin, Evelyn Georgiana Matilda (1841-1931), third daughter of Henry Fitzroy of Hartwell (Northants), and 2nd, 16 November 1895, Katherine Lucy (1841-1919), daughter of Capt. Hildebrand Barnham and widow of Capt. John Collier-Tucker RN (d. 1873), and had issue:

(1.1) Sidney de Vere Beauclerk (1866-1903), born 8 May 1866; educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1884; BA 1887) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1887); died unmarried, 4 July 1903; will proved 27 July 1903 (estate £21,803).

He inherited Ardglass Castle from his father in 1854 and came of age in 1858. The house was leased to Armar Henry Lowry-Corry (1836-93) by 1864, and although Beauclerk used it as an occasional residence in the 1880s, he let it in 1896 to the Ardglass Golf Club.

He died 9 July and was buried at St John the Evangelist Cemetery, Bath, 12 July 1919. His first wife married 2nd, 16 December 1895 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx) (div. 1905), George Simon Arthur Watson-Taylor of Erlestoke Park (Wilts), and died at Cannes (France), 10 January 1931; her will was proved 22 January 1931 (estate £6,076). His second wife died 23 January 1919.

Beauclerk, Charles Robert (1802-72). Second son of Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845) and his wife Emily Charlotte, second daughter of William Ogilvie of Ardglass Castle (Co. Down), born 6 or 30 January* and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 30 March 1802. Educated at Halnaker (Sussex), Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1819; BA 1823; MA 1827) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1823; called 1829). Barrister-at-law**; Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, 1822-42. A director of the Edinburgh Life Assurance Co. He married, 16 March 1842 at the British Consulate in Paris (France), Joaquina (c.1823-81), second daughter of Don José Maria de Zamora, chief magistrate of Cuba, and had issue:

(1) Sidney Joseph Beauclerk (1848-51), born 22 December 1848; died young, 7 August 1851;

(2) Ferdinand Beauclerk (1851-1920), born 15 January 1851; an Anglican in religion; an officer in the Royal Engineers (Lt., 1869; Capt., 1881; retired 1884); served in First World War with Sussex Volunteer Training Corps; President of Western India Industrial Association; Guardian, Trustee and Secretary to Salar Jung Minors and Estates, Hyderabad (India); married, 9 February 1872 at St Paul, Valetta (Malta), Emily Johanna Frances (d. 1916) (who divorced him in 1896 on grounds of desertion), youngest daughter of Col. Robert Clifford Lloyd; they had no issue but he adopted Helen Mary Dorothea (1892-1969), novelist, the daughter of his friend Maj. Sydney Edwin Bellingham (d. 1893); lived latterly at Dibden (Hants); died 3 May and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 5 May 1920;

(3) Rev. Charles Sidney Beauclerk SJ (1855-1934), born 1 January and baptised at Chelsea RC church, 12 February 1855; educated at Beaumont College and Stonyhurst and joined the Jesuits, 1875; ordained as a RC priest, 1888; priest at Holywell (Flints), 1890-98 where he played a leading role in developing St Winifrede's Well as a RC shrine, but following a dispute with the writer Frederick Rolfe his position became untenable and he was transferred to serve at Boscombe (Hants), Manresa House, Roehampton (Surrey), Malta, Clitheroe (Lancs), Richmond and Accrington (Lancs); died unmarried, 22 December 1934;

(4) Rev. Henry Sidney Beauclerk SJ (1857-1909), born 25 November 1857; educated at Beaumont College and Stonyhurst and joined the Jesuits; ordained as a RC priest, 1890; missionary in Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Maryland (USA); vicar-general to Bishop Galton and Father Superior of the Society of Jesus in Guiana and Barbados; died unmarried, 30 September 1909;

(5) Robert Sidney de Vere Beauclerk (1858-1934), born 14 December 1858; educated at Beaumont College and joined the Jesuits but left the order before completing his training for ordination; Headmaster of Kenilworth School, Cape Town (South Africa); author of A summary of English History to 1802; married, 30 October 1894, Beatrice Annie Elliot (1870-1947), second daughter of Arthur Richard Hollebone, and had issue one son, who was killed in the First World War; lived latterly in Egypt; died 26 March 1934; administration of his goods granted to his widow, 9 October 1934 (estate in England, £10);

(6) Mary Beauclerk (1861-1920), born 17 April 1861; died unmarried, 17 October 1920; will proved 24 December 1920 (estate £290);

(7) William Topham Sidney Beauclerk (1864-1950), born in Biarritz (France), 3 July 1864; educated at Beaumont College; engineer in Argentina; married, 17 December 1910 in Spain, María de los Dolores de Peñalver y Zamora (1875-1972), 7th Marquesa de Arcos, only surviving child of Enrique, Count de Peñalver and 6th Marqués de Arcos in Spain, and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 5 May 1950.

He lived at Dover House, Warningcamp (Sussex).

He died 22 February 1872 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London; his will was proved 5 March 1872 (effects under £6,000). His widow died 16 November 1881; her will was proved 10 December 1881 (effects £68).

* Burke's Peerage says 6 January but the parish register entry for his baptism gives his date of birth as 30 January.

** The Alumni Cantabrigiensis says he was also in holy orders, but this may be a confusion with his illegitimate nephew, the Rev. Charles Beauclerk (c.1832-80).

Beauclerk, George Robert (1803-71). Third son of Charles George Beauclerk (1774-1845) and his wife Emily Charlotte, second daughter of William Ogilvie of Ardglass Castle (Co. Down), born 24 or 28 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 13 March 1803. An officer in the 23rd Foot (2nd Lt., 1823; Lt., 1825; Capt., 1826; retired 1833). Author of Beauclerk's Journey to Morocco (1828), describing a journey he undertook in 1826. He married, Jan-Mar 1865* at Gravesend (Kent), Maria Sarah (1832-1923), younger daughter of Ralph Lonsdale, and had issue:

(1) Georgiana Beauclerk (1862-1942), born before her parents' marriage, 10 July 1862 and baptised at St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), 10 March 1865; lived with her mother in Brighton and latterly with her widowed sister at Oaklands, Brading (IoW); died unmarried, 10 May 1942; will proved 21 August 1942 (estate £1,852);

(2) Caroline Elizabeth Beauclerk (1865-1952), born 12 June and baptised at Chapel Royal, Brighton, 8 December 1865; married, 24 April 1895 at Brighton (Sussex), Rev. Alfred Norris Cope (1855-1936), vicar of Dormington with Bartestree (Herefs), 1886-1929, but had no issue; lived latterly with her elder sister at Oaklands, Brading (IoW); died 8 November 1952; will proved 3 January 1953 (estate £2,255);

(3) Emily Kathleen Beauclerk (1867-1953), born 25 January 1867; married, 26 December 1917, George Duguay (1889-1944) of Ryde (IoW), a French Canadian soldier who had been badly wounded at the battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917; they had no issue; died 16 April 1953 and was buried at Ryde (IoW); will proved 15 July 1953 (estate £3,287);

(4) Ida Beauclerk (1869-1955), born 7 June 1869; married, 30 July 1891 at St Marylebone (Middx), George Francis Berney (1861-1931) of Croydon (Surrey), solicitor and mountaineer, son of Edward Berney FRCS, and had issue two sons and two daughters; lived latterly at Northleach (Glos); died 5 August 1955; will proved 12 October 1955 (estate £4,751);

(5) Amelius George de Vere Beauclerk (1871-1939), born 1 October 1871; served in the Labour Corps (Cpl.) in First World War; married, 26 August 1918 at Dormington (Herefs), Margeurite Olive Claire (k/a Margot) (1887-1978), daughter of Louis Antoine Bertrand of Matfield (Kent), and had issue one son; died at Stanway (Essex), 26 August 1939; will proved 1 December 1939 (estate £7,091).

He lived at King's Castle, Ardglass (Co. Down), where he rebuilt a ruined tower house as a neo-Tudor villa about 1863. He also had a London town house at 14 Hobart Place, Pimlico (Middx).

He died at King's Castle, 5 December 1871, and was buried at Ardglass; his will was proved 22 June 1872 (effects under £8,000). His widow died aged 91 on 18 October 1923; her will was proved 27 November 1923 (estate £6,372).

* Burke's Peerage says they were married on 2 June 1861, but this seems to be a pretty fiction to disguise the fact that their actual marriage took place three years after the birth of their eldest daughter.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 3460-61; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, vol. 1, pp. 73-74; W. Harris, The Antient and Present State of the County of Down, 1757, pp. 20-22; P. Ferriday, Victorian Architecture, 1963, p.65; D. Noy, Dr. Johnson's Friend and Robert Adam's client: Topham Beauclerk, 2016; E. Williamson, T. Hudson, J. Musson & I. Nairn, The buildings of England: Sussex - West, 2nd edn., 2019, pp. 497-98; P. Smith, Buildings of South County Down, 2019, p. 160.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Quarterly, 1st and 4th grand quarters, the arms of Charles II (1st and 4th, France and England quarterly, 2nd Scotland, 3rd, Ireland) all over a sinister baton gules, charged with three roses argent, barbed and seeded proper; 2nd and 3rd, quarterly, gules and or, in the first quarter a mullet argent.

Can you help?

• Does anyone know of a view of St. Leonard's Lodge before it was rebuilt in 1853-55?
• Can anyone provide photographs or 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 15 April 2022 and updated 12 October 2023.