(518) Beaumont of Whitley Beaumont

Beaumont of Whitley Beaumont 

The Beaumonts of Whitley Beaumont traced their descent from Sir Robert de Beaumont (otherwise de Bellomont) (d. 1341), who was seized of the manors of Over Whitley, Crosland and Huddersfield by 1303. He became a key player in the so-called 'Elland Feud', which was the subject of a surviving ballad. It would seem that one Exley of Exley Hall had slain the nephew of John de Elland, sheriff of Yorkshire, and sought protection from his neighbours, Sir Robert de Beaumont, Sir William Lockwood and Sir Hugh Quarmby. The sheriff pursued and killed Lockwood and Quarmby and then laid covert siege to Crosland Hall, where Beaumont was living. When the drawbridge was lowered to allow a servant girl to leave the house and return home, Elland and his men stormed the house. Beaumont is said to have been beheaded in his own hall, after which Elland compelled the servants to bring him breakfast and made Beaumont's sons eat with him, or least watch him eat. One of the younger sons, Adam de Beaumont (d. 1367) pursued the feud when he grew up and killed both John de Elland and his son in 1354. He escaped from justice and subsequently joined the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes. 

The Whitley estate descended to Adam's elder brother, Sir John de Beaumont (d. 1354), and the genealogy below begins with John's great-great-great grandson, Richard Beaumont (d. 1531). Richard was a gentleman usher at the court of King Henry VII and later a soldier in the army of King Henry VIII during his early campaigns in France. He survived his eldest son, Roger Beaumont (d. 1528), and was therefore succeeded at Whitley Beaumont by Roger's son, Richard Beaumont (1510-74). This Richard evidently had some legal training, but nothing seems to be known of his career. When he died, Whitley Beaumont passed to his eldest surviving son, Edward Beaumont (c.1550-75), who died the following year leaving a young family. His widow married again, and the children were probably brought up in the household of her second husband, Alvary Copley of Batley (Yorks WR). The only son and heir was Sir Richard Beaumont (1574-1631), who was (like several of the Leicestershire Beaumonts), knighted by King James I during his progress from Scotland to London to assume the Crown in 1603. In his early years - perhaps as a result of careful thrift during his long minority - he was wealthy enough to build a new house at Whitley Beaumont and to purchase Sandal Castle near Wakefield, but he is said to have later incurred heavy debts from gambling at cards and cockfights. Some accounts even suggest he became a highwayman with the soubriquet 'Black Dick' to finance his gambling habit, but there is absolutely nothing to support this, and in the 1620s he was made a baronet (for which he would have had to pay a fee of over £1,000), so he was probably not seriously financially embarrassed. A portrait of him suggests that the nickname 'Black Dick' may have been derived from his swarthy appearance. He was unmarried, although he did have two acknowledged daughters by his mistress Mary Lewis, and so on his death his property passed to his first cousin once removed, Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt.

Sir Thomas, who also inherited Lascelles Hall and Castle Hill, Mirfield, from his father Richard Beaumont (1571-1656), sold Sandal Castle in 1639. He was an active Royalist during the Civil War, and was briefly Governor of Sheffield Castle before it was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1644. His estates were sequestrated and he had to pay fines totalling £700 to recover them. He was knighted at the Restoration and made Lt-Colonel of the Yorkshire militia. At his death in 1668 he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard Beaumont (1654-92), his eldest son Adam Beaumont having predeceased him. The short-lived Richard is said to have obtained plans for remodelling Whitley Beaumont in 1680, but nothing was done before his death, and the project was not revived by his only surviving son, Richard Beaumont (1677-1704), who indeed died without issue only a few years after coming of age.

Once again, Whitley Beaumont passed to a first cousin once removed, in this case Richard Beaumont (1670-1723), who had served in the army of King William III in the 1690s, but retired in 1698. When he inherited Whitley Beaumont in 1704, he straight away put in hand the remodelling of the house, building a grand new three-storey wing to turn the building into a courtyard house, and remodelling the old building internally. Richard and his wife Susanna had at least fifteen children, and he was succeeded in turn by his sons Henry Beaumont (1717-43), who died unmarried, and Richard Beaumont (1720-64), who was an enthusiastic but cautious Jacobite. The younger Richard married Elizabeth Holt, who was the eventual heir of her father's estates at Grizlehurst and Little Mitton Hall (Lancs), and though he sold the former he retained the latter. The youngest sister of Henry and Richard was Charlotte Beaumont (1722-66), who in 1748 became the second wife of the architect James Paine (1717-89). This no doubt explains why Paine was chosen to remodel the interior of Whitley Beaumont for Richard Beaumont in c.1752-54, and perhaps also to design garden buildings for the estate.

The Beaumont family by George Romney. Image: Tate Britain 

When Richard died in 1764 his widow and five children seem to have moved to York, and the siblings were the subject of a well-known group portrait by George Romney. The Whitley estate passed to the eldest son, Richard Henry Beaumont (1749-1810), who came of age in 1770. He became an antiquarian and bibliophile, and never married. Despite this, he invested in laying out the grounds to the designs of Capability Brown. In old age he became increasingly eccentric and retreated to a single room at Whitley, to which no servant was ever admitted. His generosity to friends and neighbours was legendary, and went so far beyond what he could afford that when he died in 1810, the estate was in debt.

R.H. Beaumont's heir was his younger brother John Beaumont (1752-1820), whose only son, Charles Richard Beaumont (1777-1814) had been born out of wedlock, although John had almost certainly subsequently married his mother. Charles trained as both a clergyman and a lawyer, but seems not to have been active in either sphere. He was yet another member of the family who died young in his father's lifetime, so on John's death in 1820 the Whitley estate and Little Mitton Hall passed to Charles's only son, Richard Henry Beaumont (1805-57). Richard tried to establish himself in a military career in the 1820s, but he quickly developed an alcohol problem which led ultimately to the failure of his marriage.

Clarence Lodge, Roehampton, in 1823, by John Hassell.

He sold Little Mitton Hall in about 1833 and seems not to have used Whitley much after about 1840, when he bought Clarence Lodge, Roehampton (Surrey), which became his principal home. When he died, the Whitley estate passed to a very distant kinsman, Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913), the youngest son of Thomas Richard Beaumont (1758-1829) of Bretton Hall, who was his godson and adopted heir. Henry Frederick Beaumont was in many ways a model Victorian gentleman and pater familias, who served as a local MP, 1865-74 and 1885-92, and was Colonel of the local rifle volunteers. After he retired from Parliament, however, he seems to have abandoned public life altogether, and devoted himself to shooting and golf. He had two sons and eight daughters, and lived at Whitley in some style. 

Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913) and family in the conservatory at Whitley Beaumont.
Image: Historic England/J. Barnes-Gorell.

His son and heir, Henry Ralph Beaumont (1865-1948), seems to have decided quickly that he could not afford to live at Whitley, and the contents of the house were sold in 1917 and the house and estate in 1924. He lived subsequently at Tetworth Hall, Ascot, which his father had bought, and near Pickering in Yorkshire. He had no sons, and he was the last Beaumont of Whitley Beaumont. The house itself was pulled down in the 1950s.

Whitley Beaumont, Yorkshire

The Beaumonts lived at Whitley from the 13th century, and built a new hall here about 1600. This consisted of a great hall flanked by cross-wings enclosing a courtyard on three sides. In 1680 Richard Beaumont obtained plans from Thomas Mann of York for a new range to complete the enclosure of the courtyard, but this was not built until 1704 and was probably not then constructed to the original design. 

Whitley Beaumont: the main range of the original house of c.1600, as altered after 1704, from an early 20th century postcard.

Whitley Beaumont: the new ranges of 1704, from an early 20th century postcard.

As built, the new façade had a Baroque nine-bay elevation of two main storeys, with an attic storey above the cornice, and the two bays at either end projecting slightly. Giant pilasters were placed at the angles and flanking the central bay, and there was a segmental pediment set against the attic over the central bay and low triangular pediments over the projecting ends of the façade. Under the central pediment was a pedimented doorcase and on the first floor a window with scrolled decoration of the frame. The reconstruction continued around the east side of the house and also involved some refenestration of the south front. The inner face of the new range, onto the courtyard, had a stone arcade connecting the rooms around the courtyard. 

Whitley Beaumont: the courtyard face of the 1704 range in 1952. Image: Historic England/A. Broadbent.

Whitley Beaumont: the former great hall, redecorated as the saloon by James Paine, c.1752-54. Image: Historic England/A. Broadbent.

The interior was partly remodelled by James Paine in the Palladian style in c.1752-54 for Richard Beaumont (1720-64), who was his brother-in-law. He converted the Tudor great hall into a grand saloon, where the height of the room was disguised or rather, perhaps, utilised by placing a deep attic above the cornice, decorated with circular picture frames draped with plaster swags: the pictures within were probably painted by Samuel Wale, who was employed elsewhere by Paine and is mentioned in a surviving bill for Whitley. One end of the room had a handsome fireplace below an elaborate plaster overmantel under a pediment. 

Whitley Beaumont: the dining parlour, decorated by James Paine in c.1752-54. Image: Historic England/J. Barnes Gorell.

Almost equally large was the dining room, which had an elaborate sideboard alcove on one side wall, flanked by paired Ionic columns supporting a short section of full entablature on one wall and the fireplace on the wall opposite it. One end of the room had a large painting in a rich frame between symmetrically placed pedimented doorcases surmounted by busts framed by plaster festoons, which are reminiscent of Paine's work in the dining room at Nostell Park.

Whitley Beaumont: 'Black Dick's Tower' when it was intact.
Image: Anna Dyson-Clarke

Paine probably also designed two garden buildings for the estate: a temple and a domed summerhouse (sometimes called Black Dick's Tower) on a hill near the house, of which ruins remain.

At this time the grounds were evidently still partly formal, with a long avenue to the north aligned on the house. A visitor in 1760 also mentions that 'the gardens abound with avenues, a green house, walks and basons'. The grounds were, however, eventually landscaped in the 1780s for Richard Henry Beaumont (1748-1810), apparently to the design of Capability Brown. Brown's plan was supplied in 1779, and although the estate accounts never mention payments to him, they do show increasing expenditure on the park and gardens up to 1782, and a local mason, Levi Sheard, was paid in 1780 for building a 'House in the park'. It is possible that Brown's plan was not followed at all, or was altered in execution, but by 1793 the avenue to the north had been transformed into two thick plantations, while to the south and east a shelter belt had been planted around the edge of the park, and there were clumps of trees within the park, so placed as to frame a distant prospect of Castle Hill in Almondbury.

It would seem that in later life, Richard Henry Beaumont become somewhat eccentric and reclusive. Marianne Stanhope recorded a visit in November 1808:

"The master of Whitley is a strange creature, half mad. He leads the life of a hermit, and has not had a brush, painter or carpenter in his house since he came into possession many, many years ago... It is more like a haunted house in a romance than anything I ever saw. He is now an old man, and has never bought a morsel of furniture; half the house never was finished; one of the staircases has got no banisters. The stables were burnt down some time ago and have never yet been rebuilt. The rooms he lives in have not been put to rights for many years—a description of the things they contain would not be easy,—hats, wigs, coats, piles of newspapers, magazines and letters, draughts, bottles, wash-hand basins, pictures without frames, apples, tallow candles and broken tea-cups...The whole house looks like a place for lumber. There are some fine rooms, but so damp and mouldy it is quite shocking. There is a chapel completely filled with old rubbish and a plaid bed which was put up for the Pretender...In the room Mr Beaumont sleeps in I saw his coffin made of cedar wood. He scarcely ever sees a living creature and quite dislikes the sight of a woman. He does everything in the room, which no housemaid ever enters, nor indeed any part of the house.”

Either Richard or his brother and successor, John Beaumont (1752-1831) was responsible for the building of a the folly known as 'The Monument' south-east of the house, which may have been intended as an eyecatcher from the southern approach to the house. It consisted of reused stonework assembled in a rough approximation of a temple front and embellished with three battered busts which may earlier have adorned the formal gardens. The Monument is not marked on the 1793 plan of the park and is shown for the first time on an estate map of 1822, but fell into disrepair in the mid 20th century and is now just an overgrown pile of stones.

Whitley Beaumont: The Monument around 1900. Image: Anna Dyson-Clarke

On the death of a later Richard Henry Beaumont in 1857, the estate passed to his extremely distant kinsman, Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913), a grandson of Thomas Wentworth Beaumont of Bretton. After his death, the house stood empty and the fittings were sold in 1917. The estate was then bought in 1924 by Charles Sutcliffe (d. 1948), a large-scale maltster, but he did not live there on a regular basis and the house gradually fell into disrepair. His son, T. Reginald Sutcliffe, inherited it but sold it in 1950 to the Bradford & Leeds Property Syndicate, who split up the estate.

Whitley Beaumont: Rococo ceiling panel attributed to James Paine
now in the Tolson Museum, Huddersfield. Image: Tolson Museum.

The hall was bought for £2,500 by James Warne of Warnegate Products, Halifax, who commenced demolition in 1952; two ceilings were acquired for the Tolson Museum in Huddersfield. The major part of the park was requisitioned by the Ministry of Fuel in 1947 for opencast coal mining, and a very large hole in the ground just east of the house still disfigures the landscape today. The ruins of the temple are all that now remains of a once significant estate.

Descent: Sir Robert de Bellomont (d. c.1347); to son, Sir John de Bellomont (d. by 1372), kt.; to son, Robert de Bellomont, who gave it to his brother Henry de Bollomont (d. c.1400); to son, Henry Beaumont (fl. 1405); to son, Richard Beaumont (d. 1472); to son, Thomas Beaumont (d. 1495); to son, Robert Beaumont (d. c.1495) or grandson, Richard Beaumont (d. 1531); to grandson, Richard Beaumont (1510-73); to son, Edward Beaumont (d. 1575); to son, Sir Richard Beaumont (1574-1631), kt. and 1st bt.; to first cousin once removed, Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt.; to grandson, Richard Beaumont (1654-91); to son, Richard Beaumont (1677-1704); to first cousin once removed, Richard Beaumont (1670-1723); to son, Henry Beaumont (1716-43); to brother, Richard Beaumont (1719-64); to son, Richard Henry Beaumont (1748-1810); to brother, John Beaumont (1752-1820); to grandson, Richard Henry Beaumont (1805-57); to kinsman, Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913); to son, Henry Ralph Beaumont (1865-1948), who sold 1924 to Charles Ernest Sutcliffe (c.1865-1948); to son, Thomas Reginald Sutcliffe (1889-1960), who sold 1950 to James Warne for demolition.

Beaumont family of Whitley Beaumont

Beaumont, Richard (d. 1531). Second son of Thomas Beaumont (d. 1494) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Neville of Liversedge (Yorks WR). A gentleman usher at the Court of King Henry VII. He paid a fine of £5 to avoid being made a Knight of the Bath, 1506, but obtained the grant of a crest, 1513. He seems to have taken part in King Henry VIII's campaign in France in 1513, and was probably present at the Battle of the Spurs. He married 1st, 1489 (contract 20 January), Joanna, daughter of John Sandford of Thorp Salvin (Yorks WR); married 2nd, 1506/7, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Harrington of Hornby Castle (Lancs) and widow of Sir John Stanley of Handford (Ches.); married 3rd, c.1521/2 (post-nuptial settlement 23 March 1522), Margaret, daughter of Robert Wyvill of Ripon (Yorks WR), and had issue:

(1.1) Roger Beaumont (d. 1528) (q.v.);

(1.2) Elizabeth Beaumont; married, 1501? (settlement 13 October), John Wood of Longley;

(1.3) Cecilia Beaumont; married 1st, 1523 (agreement 3 July), Richard Lockwood of Collersley near Huddersfield (Yorks WR), and had issue one son; married 2nd, [forename unknown] Kaye;

(3.1) Robert Beaumont (fl. 1550); lived at Southampton (Hants) and married Marianna [surname unknown]; living in 1550;

(3.2) George Beaumont (fl. 1540), a minor in 1540; living in 1550;
(3.3) Joan Beaumont; married Alvery Copley (c.1528-98) of Batley (Yorks WR) (who m2, 19 January 1556, Grace, daughter of Brian Bradforth of Handley (Yorks WR) and had further issue) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died before 1556. 
He inherited the Whitley Beaumont estate from his father in 1494, and was then evidently of age as he assigned to lands to his mother.

He died 10 December 1531 and was probably buried at Kirkheaton as he requested in his will, proved 27 January 1531/2. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife died in 1515/16 and an inquisition post mortem was held in March 1516. His widow married 2nd, Richard Nevile of Stockbridge Field; her date of death is unknown.

Beaumont, Roger (d. 1528). Only son of Richard Beaumont (d. 1531) and his first wife, Joanna, daughter of John Sandford of Thorp Salvin (Yorks). He married, 1519 (agreement 20 August), Joanna, daughter of Arthur Pilkington of Bradley (Yorks WR), and had issue:
(1) Richard Beaumont (1510-74) (q.v.);
(2) Elizabeth Beaumont (fl. 1540).
He died in the lifetime of his father, before 16 February 1528. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Beaumont, Richard (1510-74). Only son of Roger Beaumont (d. 1528) and his wife Joanna, daughter of Arthur Pilkington of Bradley, born 1519. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1542). JP for Yorkshire. He married 1st, 1528 (agreement 26 February), Katherine, second daughter of Sir Robert Nevile of Liversedge, and 2nd, Alice, daughter of Robert Nettleton of Thornhill Lees, and had issue:

(1.1) Richard Beaumont (d. 1561); died without issue and was buried at Kirkheaton, 18 October 1561;

(1.2) Edward Beaumont (c.1550-75) (q.v.);

(1.3) Rosamond Beaumont (fl. 1567) (q.v.);

(2.1) Thomas Beaumont (fl. 1574);

(2.2) Alice Beaumont.

He inherited the Whitley Beaumont estate from his grandfather in 1531.

He died intestate, 11 March 1573/4 and was buried at Kirkheaton; an inquisition post mortem was held 25 May 1574 and administration of his goods was granted 28 April 1574. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow married 2nd, 1 October 1577, Miles Burton; her date of death is unknown.

Beaumont, Edward (c.1550-75). Only surviving son of Richard Beaumont (1510-74) and his first wife, Katherine, second daughter of Sir Robert Nevile, born about 1550 (aged 24 in May 1574). He married, 16 October 1571 at Almondbury (Yorks WR), Elizabeth, daughter of John Ramsden of Longley Hall (Yorks), and had issue:

(1) Grace Beaumont (b. 1572), baptised at Almondbury, 15 September 1572; married, 10 June 1600 at Huddersfield, as his second wife, Thomas Pilkington (d. 1611) of Stanley, and had issue one son; died before 1611;

(2) Margaret Beaumont (1573-1611); married, 5 April 1600, Christopher Wray (1559-1613) of Cusworth, son of Leonard Wray of Cusworth, and had issue four sons and two daughters; buried at Sprotborough (Yorks WR), 28 April 1611;

(3) Sir Richard Beaumont (1574-1631), kt. and 1st bt. (q.v.).

He inherited the Whitley Beaumont estate from his father in 1573.

He died 3 January 1574/5 and was buried at Kirkheaton (Yorks WR); his will was proved at York, 5 February 1574/5. His widow married 2nd, Alvary Copley of Batley (Yorks WR); her date of death is unknown.

Sir Richard Beaumont (1574-1631), 1st bt. 

Beaumont, Sir Richard (1574-1631), kt. and 1st bt. Only son of Edward Beaumont (1551-75) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Ramsden, born 2 August and baptised at Kirkheaton, 5 September 1574. An officer in the West Riding Foot Militia (Capt., 1610); JP for the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1615-31.He was knighted by King James I, on his progress from Scotland to London to receive the Crown, 23 July 1603, and was created a baronet, 1628. MP for Pontefract, 1624-25; Extraordinary Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, 1628-31. He founded Kirkheaton Grammar School in 1610. According to legend, he incurred heavy debts at cards and cockfighting, and was reduced to supplementing his income as the highwayman ‘Black Dick’, but this seems unlikely in the extreme. He was unmarried and without legitimate issue, but he had two illegitimate daughters for whom provision was made in his will:

(X1) Isabella Lewes alias Beaumont (fl. 1631); living, unmarried, in 1631;

(X2) Isabella Brownsword alias Beaumont (fl. 1641), born after 1610; married John Lambert of Milnethorpe (Yorks WR); living in 1641.

He inherited the Whitley Beaumont estate from his father in 1575 and came of age in 1595. He is said to have rebuilt Whitley Hall and he purchased Sandal Castle in 1604 from his cousin, Sir Henry Savile, provost of Eton. At his death, his estates, including Whitley Beaumont and Sandal Castle, passed to his first cousin once removed, Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt. (q.v.).

He died 20 October 1631, when his baronetcy became extinct, and was buried at Kirkheaton; an inquisition post mortem was held 5 April 1632 and his will was proved at York, 6 August 1632.

Beaumont, Rosamund (fl. 1574). Only daughter of Richard Beaumont (1510-74) and his first wife, Katherine, second daughter of Sir Robert Nevile. She married, 1567 (contract 30 July), William Beaumont (1546-1621?) of Lascelles Hall (Yorks WR), son of Richard Beaumont of Elmley Park, a distant kinsman, and had issue:

(1) Richard Beaumont (1571-1656) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Beaumont (c.1575-1646), of Colnebridge, Bradley (Yorks WR), born about 1575; a soldier in the Dutch service by 1604; married, 1605 at Kirkheaton, Jeanette, daughter of Thomas Stafford of Kirkheaton and had issue three sons and three daughters; buried at Kirkheaton, 9 December 1646;

(3) Mary Beaumont (d. 1604); married, 16 February 1601/2 at Mirfield (Yorks WR), John Burton of Wistow (Yorks WR) and had issue one son; died in childbirth and was buried at Wistow, 13 July 1604;

(4) Susan Beaumont (d. 1655?); married, 5 January 1601/2 at Mirfield, Gabriel Hemsworth (1575-1614) of Garforth (Yorks WR), son of Stephen Hemsworth of Swillington (Yorks WR), and had issue two sons and two daughters; possibly married 2nd, 1615, William Birkhead and was buried at Huddersfield (Yorks WR), 11 February 1654/5;

(5) Katherine Beaumont (d. 1633); married [forename unknown] Holt; will proved 15 February 1632/3;

(6) Grace Beaumont (d. 1632); married 1st, 1594 (licence), Francis Saville of the Haigh and 2nd, 1612 (licence), Ralph Carr (fl. 1616) of Nether Haigh (Yorks WR); buried at Barnsley (Yorks WR), 30 May 1632;

(7) Alice Beaumont; apparently married, 15 May 1612 at Royston (Yorks WR), William Waynman [not Robert Gargrave as given in some pedigrees].

She lived with her husband at Lascelles Hall and Castle Hall, Mirfield.

She was living in September 1574 but her date of death is unknown. Her husband is said to have died in April 1621.

Beaumont, Richard (1571-1656). Elder son of William Beaumont (1546-1621) of Lascelles Hall and his wife Rosamund, only daughter of Richard Beaumont (1510-73) by his first wife, born 15 January 1570/1. He married 1st, 1 February 1602 at Mirfield (Yorks WR), Anne (d. 1616), daughter of Robert Kaye of Wakefield (Yorks WR), and 2nd, 3 August 1619 at Royston (Yorks WR), Elizabeth (d. 1654), daughter of Michael Wentworth of Woolley (Yorks WR) and widow of Thomas Oldfield of Pudsey (Yorks WR), and had issue:

(1.1) Rosamond Beaumont (1603-17), baptised at Mirfield, 22 August 1603; died young and was buried at Mirfield, 3 December 1617;

(1.2) Winifred Beaumont (b. 1604; fl. 1668), baptised at Kirkheaton, 14 October 1604; married, 9 January 1628/9 at Darton (Yorks WR), William Ashton of Stanton-on-the-Wolds (Notts); living in 1668;

(1.3) Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt. (q.v.);

(1.4) Richard Beaumont (b. 1607; fl. 1632), baptised at Mirfield, 10 February 1606/7; living in 1632;

(1.5) Elizabeth Beaumont (b. 1609), baptised at Mirfield, 31 August 1609; married, 18 June 1637 at Mirfield, John Beverley (1618-80) of Great Smeaton (Yorks NR), son of Vincent Beverley (d. 1634) of Great Smeaton, but had no issue;

(1.6) George Beaumont (1612-14), baptised at Mirfield, 19 March 1611/2; died in infancy and was buried at Mirfield, 14 October 1614;

(1.7) Anne Beaumont (1613-67?), baptised at Mirfield, 16 November 1613; married 1st, 1633 (licence), as his third wife, Jonah Binns of Horbury (Yorks WR) and had issue; married 2nd, 19 December 1643 at Horbury, Anthony Loraine of Horbury; and married 3rd, [forename unknown] Wetherell of Wakefield; probably the 'Mrs Ann Wetherell' buried at Wakefield, 20 July 1667;

(1.8) Mary Beaumont (b. & d. 1616), baptised at Mirfield, 15 February 1615/6; died in infancy and was buried at Mirfield, 23 May 1616, the same day as her mother.

He inherited Lascelles Hall from his father.

He was buried at Kirkheaton, 23 May 1656. His first wife was buried at Mirfield, 23 May 1616. His second wife was buried at Kirkheaton, 15 February 1653/4.

Beaumont, Sir Thomas (1605-68), kt. Elder son of Richard Beaumont (1571-1656) of Lascelles Hall (Yorks WR) and his first wife Anne, daughter of Robert Kaye of Wakefield (Yorks WR), probably born in December 1605 and baptised at Mirfield (Yorks WR), 26 January 1605/6. Educated at the Middle Temple (admitted 1626). A Royalist in the Civil War, he was appointed Serjeant Major in Sir William Savile's Regiment and was Governor of Sheffield Castle, January-August 1644, when it was taken by the Parliamentarians. His estates were sequestrated and he had to pay fines totalling £700 to recover them. At the Restoration he was knighted, 27 June 1660, and made Lt-Col. of the Yorkshire militia. He married 1st, 6 September 1629 at Hartshead (Yorks WR), Elizabeth, daughter of Gregory Armytage (c.1574-1653) of Netherton (Yorks), and 2nd, 18 August 1656, Mary (d. 1682), eldest daughter of George Burdett of Denby Hall (Yorks) and widow of Richard Pilkington of Daw Green, and had issue (with two daughters who died at birth and were unnamed):

(1.1) Adam Beaumont (1631-55) (q.v.);

(1.2) Anne Beaumont (1633-37), baptised at Hartstead, 10 April 1633; died at Whitley Park, 20 December 1637 and was buried at Kirkheaton;

(1.3) Elizabeth Beaumont (1634-57), baptised at Thornhill, 23 October 1634; married, 1655 (settlement 25 April), Gervase Nevile (fl. 1686), son of Francis Neville of Chevet Park (Yorks  WR), and had issue one daughter; died May 1657;

(1.4) John Beaumont (1635-60), baptised at Kirkheaton, 26 November 1635; died without issue in the lifetime of his father and was buried at Kirkheaton, 22 March 1660;

(1.5) Richard Beaumont (1638-1706) (q.v.);

(1.6) William Beaumont (1640-83), baptised at Kirkhaton, 11 June 1640; died unmarried and was buried at Kirkheaton, 26 July 1683; will proved at York, 17 August 1683;

(1.7) Maria Beaumont (d. 1644); died young and was buried at Sheffield, 5 June 1644;

(1.8) Margaret Beaumont (b. 1644), baptised at Thornhill, March 1643/4; married, at Lambeth (Surrey), Henry Knight of Brockholes, Lambeth;

(1.9) Sarah Beaumont (1646-1717), baptised at Kirkheaton, 9/19 September 1646; married, c.1674, as his second wife, Robert Wrightson (c.1629-1708) of Cusworth (Yorks) and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 13 September and was buried at Sprotborough (Yorks WR), 17 September 1717;

(1.10) Thomas Beaumont (1650-61), baptised at Mirfield, 19 March 1650; died young and was buried at Kirkheaton, 30 March 1661.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont and Sandal Castle from his first cousin once removed in 1631 and Lascelles Hall from his father in 1656. He sold Sandal Castle for £1,100 in 1639.

He died 31 May 1668 and was buried at Kirkheaton; his will was proved at York, 1668. His first wife died between 1650 and 1656. His widow died 7 November and was buried at Woolley, 14 November 1682.

Beaumont, Adam (1631-55). Eldest son of Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt. and his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Gregory Armytage, born 17 March and baptised at Hartshead (Yorks WR), 31 March 1631. Educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (matriculated 1647). He married, 1651 (settlement 6 October), Elizabeth (b. 1628), daughter of Maj-Gen. Ralph Assheton (1606-51) of Middleton (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Richard Beaumont (1654-92) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Beaumont (b. 1652), baptised at Kirkheaton, 6 August 1652; married 1st, after 1667, as his second wife, Edward Tildesley (1635-85) of Myerscough Forest (Lancs), and 2nd, Charles Wolseley of Wolseley Bridge (Staffs), second son of Sir Charles Wolseley MP, but had no issue; 

(3) Anne Beaumont (b. 1656), born posthumously, 31 January 1655/6; married, 27 February 1676, Peter Bold (1656-92) of Bold (Lancs), MP for Lancashire, 1679,  and had issue two sons and three daughters;

He is said to have been killed in a skirmish during the Penruddock uprisings, 17 November 1655, during the lifetime of his father; he was buried at Kirkheaton, where he is commemorated by a memorial brass; his will was proved 26 February 1655/6. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Beaumont, Richard (1654-92). Only son of Adam Beaumont (1631-55) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Assheton of Middleton (Lancs), baptised at Kirkheaton, 4 May 1654. He married, 2 October 1676 at Swillington (Yorks WR), Frances (1654-1718), daughter of Sir William Lowther (1639-1705), kt., of Swillington and Great Preston (Yorks), and had issue:

(1) Richard Beaumont (1677-1704) (q.v.);

(2) Frances Beaumont (1678-89), baptised at Kirkheaton, 23 October 1678; died young and was buried at Kirkheaton, 1 June 1689;

(3) Mary Beaumont (1680-83), baptised at Kirkheaton, 15 April 1680; died young and was buried at Kirkheaton, 31 May 1683;

(4) Adam Beaumont (b. 1681), baptised at Kirkheaton, 24 May 1681; said to have died in infancy;

(5) Thomas Beaumont (b. 1687), baptised at Kirkheaton, 18 July 1687; said to have died in infancy.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his grandfather in 1668 and came of age in 1675. He obtained designs for the remodelling of the house which were apparently not executed.

He died 1 March and was buried at Kirkheaton, 7 March 1691/2, where he is commemorated by a monument attributed to John Nost. His widow died at Horsforth and was buried at Kirkheaton, 8 February 1717/8; her will was proved 18 July 1719.

Beaumont, Richard (1677-1704). Only surviving child of Richard Beaumont (1654-92) and his wife Frances, daughter of Sir William Lowther of Swillington (Yorks), born 2 September and baptised at Kirkheaton, 4 October 1677. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1695). He married, 11 June 1699 at Warmfield (Yorks WR), Katherine (c.1682-1731), only daughter and heir of Thomas Stringer of Sharlston (Yorks), but had no issue.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his father in 1691 and came of age in 1698. At his death his estates passed to his first cousin once removed, Richard Beaumont (1670-1723) (q.v.).

He died 27 June, and was buried at Kirkheaton, 6 July 1704, where he is commemorated by a sumptuous monument incorporating a bust by Guelfi, erected by the executors of his widow in 1731; his will was proved in the PCY, 25 August 1704. His widow married 2nd, June 1707, Thomas Fane (1680-1736), 6th Earl of Westmorland, of Mereworth Castle (Kent) and Apethorpe Hall (Northants), and died 4 February 1730/1.

Richard Beaumont (1638-1706)
Image: National Trust

Beaumont, Richard (1638-1706). Third son of Sir Thomas Beaumont (1605-68), kt. and his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Gregory Armytage, born at Whitley, 17 April 1638. An officer in Viscount Castleton's regiment of foot (Capt.), who served in Flanders during the Nine Years War. He married, 21 May 1666 at Kirkheaton, Anne (1638-1713), daughter of Thomas Ramsden of Hemsworth (Yorks WR), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Beaumont (b. & d. 1667), born at Hemsworth, 8 July 1667 but died in infancy, 13 July 1667;

(2) Elizabeth Beaumont (b. 1669; fl. 1705), born at Hemsworth, 8 June 1669; married John Jackson; living in November 1705;

(3) Richard Beaumont (1670-1723) (q.v.);

(4) Ann Beaumont (1672-75), born 20 April  and baptised at Kirkheaton, 9 May/June 1672; died young, 21 February 1675/6, and is said to have been buried at Kirkheaton;

(5) William Beaumont (1673-1706), of Lepton (Yorks WR), born 28 April 1673; died unmarried and was buried at Kirkheaton, 26 May 1706;

(6) Mary Beaumont (b. 1674), born 12 May and baptised at Kirkheaton, 25 May 1675; married, before 8 May 1713, to Matthew Mason of Halifax, gent.;

(7) Thomas Beaumont (b. 1675; fl. 1693), of London, born 7 May 1675; living in December 1693;

(8) Adam Beaumont (b. & d. 1676), born 25 May 1676; died in infancy, 5 June 1676;

(9) A son (b. & d. 1677); died in infancy and was buried 14 September 1677;

(10) Anne Beaumont (b. 1678), born 10 January 1678/9; married, 1708 (settlement 2 September and licence 8 September), Benjamin Rudyard of West Woodhay (Berks);

(11) John Beaumont (b. 1680; fl. 1709), born 10 June and baptised at Kirkheaton, 16 June 1680; an officer in the 6th Foot (Lt.) who was taken prisoner in France, but had licence from King Louis XIV to visit his friends in England for four months, 1709;

(12) A daughter (b. 1681), born 4 October 1681;

(13) Adam Beaumont (b. 1685; fl. 1705), born 28 October 1685; an officer in the 32nd Foot (Lt.), who was serving at Gibraltar in 1705.

He lived at Lascelles Hall.

He was buried at Kirkheaton, 3 January 1706. His widow was buried at Kirkheaton, 30 November 1713.

Richard Beaumont (1670-1723)
Image: National Trust

Beaumont, Richard (1670-1723). Second, but eldest surviving son of Richard Beaumont (1638-1706) and his wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Ramsden of Hemsworth (Yorks WR), born at Lascelles Hall, 8 October and baptised at Kirkheaton, 19 October 1670. He accompanied Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, to Jamaica in 1687 when the latter was appointed Lt-Governor of the island, but presumably returned to England after the duke's death the following year. He succeeded his father as a captain in Viscount Castleton's regiment, 1692-98. High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1712-13. He married, 14 October 1700 at Kirkheaton, Susanna (1683-1731), daughter and co-heir of Thomas Horton of Barkisland (Yorks WR) and his wife Everilda, and had issue:

(1) Richard Beaumont (1702-13), baptised at Kirkheaton, 10 December 1702; died young and was buried at St Andrew, Holborn, 29 October 1713;

(2) Frances Beaumont (1703-35), baptised at Kirkheaton, 11 January 1703/4; married, 23 April 1723 at Kirkheaton, George Beaumont (1696-1735) of Darton (Yorks WR) [for whom see my post on the Beaumont family of Bretton Hall and Bywell Hall, Viscounts Allendale], and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 14 April and was buried at Darton (Yorks WR), 17 April 1735;

(3) Anne Beaumont (1705-07), baptised at Kirkheaton, 7 August 1705; died in infancy and was buried at Kirkheaton, 21 January 1706/7;

(4) Thomas Beaumont (1707-08), baptised at Kirkheaton, 22 May 1707; died in infancy and was buried at Kirkheaton, 1 December 1708;

(5) Anne Beaumont (1708-33), baptised at Kirkheaton, 30 April 1708; married, 2 April 1730 at Kirkheaton, as his second wife, Francis Watts (c.1689-1738) of Colnebridge Forge, Bradley, (Yorks WR); died 24 September and was buried at Kirkheaton, 27 September 1733;

(6) Susannah Beaumont (1709-10), baptised at Kirkheaton, 15 October 1709; died in infancy and was buried at Kirkheaton, 3 July 1710;

(7) Susannah Beaumont (1711-31), baptised at Kirkheaton, 21 June 1711; married, 17 July 1729 at Kirkheaton, Rev. Samuel Allon (d. 1736), rector of Sandbach (Ches.), 1733-36, and had issue one daughter; buried at Kirkheaton, 21 May 1731;

(8) Elizabeth Beaumont (1712-80), baptised at Kirkheaton, 9 August 1712; married, 22 February 1736/7 at East Ardsley (Yorks WR), Rev. William Smith (1694-1765), rector of Burnham Westgate (Norfk), and had issue; died 2 April and was buried at Burnham Westgate, 6 April 1780;

(9) Everilda Beaumont (1714-72), born in London and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 11 March 1713/4; married Rev. John Hall (1720-65), vicar of Milborne Port (Dorset), 1748-65, son of Rev. Mark Hall (c.1691-1766) of Batheaston (Som.), but had no issue; buried at Kingston-upon-Thames (Surrey), 5 February 1772;

(10) Mary Beaumont (1715-71), born in London and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 4 January 1715/6; married, 4 May 1742 at Kirkheaton, Dr John Beaver MD; buried at Kirkheaton, 15 August 1771;

(11) Henrietta Beaumont (1716-55?), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 19 December 1716; married 1st, 23 April 1745 at Kirkheaton, John Kaye, and 2nd, [forename unknown] Mainwaring of London; possibly the Henrietta Mainwaring buried at St Pancras (Middx), 13 December 1755;

(12) Henry Beaumont (1717-43) (q.v.);

(13) Richard Beaumont (1720-64) (q.v.);

(14) Charlotte Beaumont (b & d. 1721), baptised at Kirkheaton, 2 March 1720/1; died in infancy and was buried at Kirkheaton, 17 March 1720/1;

(15) Charlotte Beaumont (1722-66), baptised at Kirkheaton, 7 June 1722; married, 1748 (licence 20 May), as his second wife, James Paine (1717-89) of London and Sayes Court (Surrey), architect, High Sheriff of Surrey in 1785, and had issue four daughters; buried at St. Marylebone (Middx), 21 August 1766.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his first cousin once removed, 1704, and remodelled the house soon afterwards.

He died 14 November and was buried at Kirkheaton, 18 November 1723; his will was proved in the PCY, 5 December 1723. His widow died 19 January and was buried at Kirkheaton, 23 January 1730/1; her will was proved in the PCY, 14 July 1731.

Beaumont, Henry (1717-43). Third, but eldest surviving, son of Richard Beaumont (1670-1723) and his wife Susanna, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Horton of Barkisland (Yorks WR), probably born in December 1717 and baptised at Kirkheaton, 16 January 1717/8. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1737). A portrait, which may be of him, is now among the Beaumont pictures in the Treasurer's House at York. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his father in 1723 and came of age in 1736. At his death he was succeeded by his younger brother.

He died 14 October 1743 and was probably buried at Kirkheaton; his will was proved in the PCY, December 1743.

Richard Beaumont (1720-64) 

Beaumont, Richard (1720-64). Fourth and youngest son of Richard Beaumont (1670-1723) and his wife Susanna, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Horton of Barkisland (Yorks WR), born at Whitley, 24 January and baptised at Kirkheaton, 4 February 1719/20. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1738). He was an enthusiastic Jacobite and in anticipation of a royal visit after the 1745 rebellion, he ordered a suite of furniture upholstered in Royal Stuart tartan, which was still in use at Whitley in the early 19th century. He married 1st, 29 November 1744 at Batley (Yorks WR), Judith (1722-46), daughter of Thomas Ramsden of Crowston, near Halifax (Yorks WR), who died without issue; and 2nd, 13 January 1747/8 at Great Harwood (Lancs), Elizabeth (1728-91), daughter and eventual heiress of William Holt of Grizlehurst and Little Mitton (Lancs), by whom he had issue:

(2.1) Richard Henry Beaumont (1749-1810) (q.v.);

(2.2) Charles Beaumont (1750-74), born 3 July and baptised at Kirkheaton, 31 July 1750; educated at Staples Inn, London, and subsequently practised as a solicitor at chambers in the Inner Temple; died unmarried, 11 July and was buried at St Andrew, Holborn, 14 July 1774; will proved in the PCC, 20 December 1774;

(2.3) Thomas Beaumont (1751-82), born 13 July and baptised at Kirkheaton, 19 August 1751; said to have been an officer in the 4th Dragoons (Lt.), but does not appear in the Army List; died unmarried at Whitley, 10 November and was buried at Kirkheaton, 15 November 1782;

(2.4) John Beaumont (1752-1820) (q.v.);

(2.5) Elizabeth Beaumont (1753-1814), born 19 October and baptised at Kirkheaton, 21 November 1753; married, 22 October 1774 at St. Saviour, York, Gen. George Bernard (1749-1820), of Heaton Lodge, Kirkheaton, Colonel of 84th Foot, son of George Bernard (1719-51) of Palace Anne (Co. Cork), but had no issue; died 5 January and was buried at Mirfield (Yorks WR), 12 January 1814.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his elder brother in 1743, and Grizlehurst and Little Mitton in right of his second wife. He sold Grizlehurst but retained Little Mitton Hall. His widow lived latterly in York.

He died 10 September and was buried at Kirkheaton, 17 September 1764; his will was proved in the PCY, November 1764. His first wife was buried at Kirkheaton, 17 June 1746. His widow died in York, 18 August and was buried at Kirkheaton, 24 August 1791; her will was proved in the PCY, August 1791 (effects under £2,000).

Richard Henry Beaumont (1749-1810) 

Beaumont, Richard Henry (1749-1810). Eldest son of Richard Beaumont (1719-64) and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter and eventual heiress of William Holt of Grizlehurst and Little Mitton (Lancs), born 20 February 1748/9 and baptised at Kirkheaton, 30 March 1749. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1767; honorary MA). JP for West Riding of Yorkshire; High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1793-94. He was a bibliophile and antiquarian and became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. In 1781 he catalogued the Dodsworth MSS. for the Bodleian Library in Oxford, to which he also gave pictures and family papers at the end of his life. He was particularly proud of the fine medieval Little Mitton Hall and contributed a view of it to Whitaker's History of Whalley. A family portrait showing Richard and his siblings by George Romney is in the Tate Gallery. He laid out the grounds of Whitley Beaumont in the 1760s and 1770s, apparently to the designs of Capability Brown, but he became an eccentric recluse in his later years, living effectively in one room at Whitley Beaumont, to which no female servant was ever admitted. He is said to have been generous in lending money he could not afford to friends and family, and left the estate in debt. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the Whitley Beaumont and Little Mitton Hall estates from his father in 1764.

He died 22 November 1810 and was buried at Kirkheaton; his will was proved in the PCY, February 1811.

Beaumont, John (1752-1820). Fourth and youngest son of Richard Beaumont (1719-64) and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter and eventual heiress of William Holt of Grizlehurst and Little Mitton (Lancs), born 29 August and baptised at Kirkheaton (Yorks WR), 31 August 1752. An officer in the 29th Foot (Ensign, 1770; Lt., 1774; retired 1775) and York Volunteers (Capt., 1778). He married, 12 December 1778 at St Mary, Lambeth (Surrey), Sarah (c.1755-1807), daughter of Humphrey Butler of Hereford, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Charles Richard Beaumont (1777-1814) (q.v.);

(2) Charlotte Beaumont (1779-1815), said to have been born 30 April 1779; married, 14 April 1801 at Holy Trinity, Micklegate, York, Capt. John McCumming (1767-1835) of 31st Foot, Seigneur of Grande Vallée des Monts, Quebec (Canada) and had issue one son and three daughters; died 16 August and was buried at Kirkheaton, 21 August 1815;

(3) Elizabeth Sarah Beaumont (1781-1831), said to have been born 31 May 1781; married, 2 October 1813 at Kirkheaton, Joseph Thomas Tuite (d. 1876), artist, of Crosland Hall, near Huddersfield, Pocklington (Yorks ER), Deighton Grove near York and later Brussels (Belgium) (who m2, 7 October 1844, Louisa (d. 1867), eldest daughter of Edward Danson); she probably died in Boulogne (France); her will was proved in the PCC, 19 February 1831.

He inherited the Whitley Beaumont and Little Mitton estates from his elder brother in 1810.

He died 12 January and was buried at Kirkheaton, 19 January 1820. His wife was buried at Kirkheaton, 19 March 1807.

Beaumont, Rev. Charles Richard (1777-1814). Only son of John Beaumont (1752-1820) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Humphrey Butler of Hereford, born before his parents' marriage, 22 May, and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 3 September 1777. It is probable but not quite certain that Sarah was his mother (this is certainly implied by the careful wording of Burke's Landed Gentry in 1835). Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1795) and Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1796; BA 1800; BCL 1803; DCL, 1808). Ordained deacon, 1800 and priest, 1801. Curate of Upper Helmsley (Yorks), 1800, but appears to have abandoned a career in the church. He married, 9 April 1802 at East Ilsley (Berks), Martha (c.1780-1827), daughter of Dr. Stephen Hemsted MD of Ilsley Hall, East Ilsley, and had issue:

(1) Martha Beaumont (1803-76), said to have been born at 'Peppard Green (Berks)', perhaps to be identified as Peppard Common, Rotherfield Peppard (Oxon), 1803; married, 14 July 1827 at Chertsey (Surrey), Patrick McMahon (c.1794-1848) of Addlestone (Surrey), surgeon, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 22 April 1876; administration of goods granted to her daughter, 18 May 1876 (effects under £2,000);

(2) Richard Henry Beaumont (1805-57) (q.v.);

(3) Sarah Beaumont (b. & d. 1810), born at Hackney, 20 June 1810; died in infancy, 11 July 1810.

Under the will of his uncle, Richard Henry Beaumont, he was entitled to a life tenancy of Whitley Beaumont on the death of his father and his aunt, Elizabeth Bernard, but he predeceased both of them. In 1802 he built Healey House at South Crosland on the estate.

He died 18 March 1814 and was buried at Kirkheaton, where he and his wife are commemorated by a monument by R.J. Wyatt. His widow was buried at Kirkheaton, 28 December 1827.

Beaumont, Richard Henry (1805-57). Only son of Rev. Charles Richard Beaumont (1777-1814) and his wife Martha, daughter of Dr. Stephen Hemsted MD, born in Camden Town (Middx), 5 August and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 6 August 1805. He was an officer in the 2nd Life Guards (Cornet & Sub-Lt., 1825; retired 1826) and later in the West Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1831). JP for the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1829. In 1840, he and his wife spent the winter on the Continent because of the delicate state of his health: this may have been a polite euphemism for his alcoholism, which was remarked by Bishop Philander Chase, and which probably led to his separation from his wife in 1846. According to his executors, he sometimes went by the alternative name 'Richard Ricardo'. He married, 3 December 1831 at Holy Trinity, St Marylebone (sep. 1846), Catherine (1810-1900), daughter of Timothy Wiggin of Harley St., London, banker, but had no issue.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont and Little Mitton Hall on the death of his grandfather in 1831 and had a town house in Grosvenor Sq., London, but after 1840 when he purchased Clarence Lodge, Roehampton (Surrey) he chiefly lived there and in Brighton. He sold Little Mitton Hall in c.1833 to John Thomas Walshman Aspinall (1812-65). At his death the Whitley estate passed to his distant kinsman, Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913) (q.v.), who was also his godson. Clarence Lodge was advertised for sale shortly after his death.

He died 4 February and was buried at Kirkheaton (Yorks WR), 13 February 1857; his will was proved in the PCC, 23 March 1857. His widow died at St. Leonards-on-Sea (Sussex), 6 January 1900; her will was proved 23 March 1900 (estate £41,939).

---

Beaumont, Henry Ralph (1807-38). Fifth son of Thomas Richard Beaumont (1758-1829) [for whom see my post on the Beaumont family of Bretton Hall and Bywell Hall, Viscounts Allendale] and his wife Diana, illegitimate daughter of Sir Thomas Wentworth, 5th bt. of Bretton Hall (Yorks WR), born 3 February and baptised at St. Marylebone (Middx), 4 March 1807. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1824; BA 1828; MA 1831). He married, 19 May 1831 at Brompton-by-Sawdon (Yorks NR), Catherine (1812-87), daughter of Sir George Cayley MP (1773-1857), 6th bt. of High House, Brompton, and had issue:

(1) Emily Beaumont (1832-95), born 24 February and baptised at Bedale (Yorks NR), 4 March 1832; married, 19 June 1855 at Kirby Misperton (Yorks NR), Rev. Richard Hugh Cholmondeley (1828-1910), vicar of Leaton (Shrops.), 1865-73, rector of Hodnet (Shrops.), 1873-96, and later of Condover Hall (Shrops.), and had issue three sons and six daughters; died 11 April 1895;

(2) Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913) (q.v.);

(3) Mary Catherine Beaumont (1834-93), born 17 June and baptised at Topcliffe-by-Thirsk, 22 June 1834; mental patient at The Briars, Sandown (IoW) from 1879; died unmarried, 16 December and was buried at Christ Church, Sandown, 19 December 1893; will proved 21 March 1894 (effects £23,972);

(4) George Edward Cayley Beaumont (1835-38), baptised at Topcliffe-by-Thirsk, 26 December 1835; died young and was buried at Topcliffe, 24 March 1838;

(5) Richard Thomas (later Thomas Richard) Beaumont (1837-1922), born 27 April and baptised at Topcliffe-by-Thirsk (Yorks NR), 18 May 1837; emigrated to Canon City, Colorado (USA) and later to Perth, Western Australia and worked as a hotel keeper and later as a mining engineer; but returned to England and lived latterly at Upper Tooting (Surrey); married, c.1878 in the USA, Hattie Aseneth Graves (1858-1940), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 20 August 1922 and was buried at Smallcombe Vale Cemetery, Bath (Som.).

He lived at Newby Park, near Ripon (Yorks WR), which he rented from the 2nd Earl de Grey.

He died in London, 21 June 1838. His widow married 2nd, 6 May 1845 at St Marylebone (Middx), Capt. James Anlaby Legard (1805-69) of Lenton Hall (Notts), son of William Legard, and had further issue two sons; she died 12 March 1887; her will was proved 29 June 1887 (effects £673).

Beaumont, Henry Frederick (1833-1913). Eldest son of Henry Ralph Beaumont (1807-38) of Newby Park, Ripon (Yorks WR) and his wife Katherine, daughter of Sir George Cayley, 6th bt. of Brampton (Yorks), born 10 March 1833. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. JP and DL (from 1860) for West Riding of Yorkshire and JP for North Riding of Yorkshire and for Lincolnshire; Liberal (Liberal Unionist from 1886) MP for West Riding South, 1865-74 and for Colne Valley, 1885, 1886-92, after which he largely retired from public life. An officer in the West Riding Rifle Volunteers (Capt., 1859; Maj., 1860; Hon. Col., 1867); awarded TD, 1893. He was made a Hon. Freeman of Huddersfield, 1894 in recognition of several gifts to the town, including 22 acres of land for the site of a public park. He was a freemason. He was noted as one of the best game shots in England, and in his later years he developed a passion of golf, which became one of his chief amusements. He married, 1 September 1857 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Maria Johanna (1835-1925), only surviving daughter of Capt. William Garforth RN of Wiganthorpe (Yorks), and had issue (with a stillborn daughter born in 1858):

(1) Maria (k/a May) Catherine Beaumont (1860-1930), born in London, 4 January and baptised at the Grosvenor Chapel, 29 January 1860; married, 24 February 1904 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), as his second wife, George Edward Darroch (1846-1932) of Cross Oak, Berkhamsted (Herts), son of Maj. Duncan Darroch of Gourock (Renfrews.), but had no issue; died 28 April 1930; will proved 11 June 1930 (estate £2,185);

(2) Emily Diana Maria Beaumont (1860-1956), born 25 December 1860 and baptised at the Grosvenor Chapel, 31 January 1861; married, 14 January 1888 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), William Graham Loyd (1863-1923) of Stonehill House, Bagshot (Surrey), son of William Jones Loyd of Langleybury (Herts), banker, and had issue four sons and one daughter; died aged 95 on 4 July 1956; will proved 8 October 1956 (estate £25,542);

(3) Dora Maria Beaumont (1862-1938), born 7 May and baptised at the Grosvenor Chapel, 10 June 1862; married, 6 October 1882 at Kirkheaton (Yorks WR), James Worsley Pennyman (1856-1924), barrister-at-law, of Ormesby Hall (Yorks NR), eldest son of James Stover Pennyman of Ormesby Hall, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 16 January and was buried at Ormsby, 18 January 1938; will proved 21 April 1938 (estate £6,719);

(4) Mary Frederica Maria Beaumont (1863-1906), born 11 July and baptised at Grosvenor Chapel, 11 August 1863; married, 26 September 1899 at Kirkheaton, Capt. William MacCarthy Maturin RN (1850-1932), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 4 April 1906; administration granted 29 June 1906 (estate £1,656);

(5) Everilda Maria Beaumont (1864-1937), born at Boothby Hall (Lincs), Oct-Dec. 1864; married, 16 June 1891 at Kirkheaton, Arthur Gorell Barnes-Gorell (1855-1920) of Glapwell Hall (Derbys) and had issue two sons and three daughters; died at Caesar's Camp, Sandy (Beds), 26 June 1937; will proved 4 November 1937 (estate £1,815);

(6) Henry Ralph Beaumont (1865-1948) (q.v.);

(7) Richard Henry Beaumont (1868-1914), born 2 January 1868; an officer in the 60th Rifles (2nd Lt., 1888; Lt., 1894; Capt., 1899; retired 1903), who served in the Boer War and was wounded, 1901; died unmarried, of cancer, 3 April 1914;

(8) Margaret Louisa Maria Beaumont (1869-1941), baptised at Irnham (Lincs), 21 March 1869; married, 18 August 1898 at Kirkheaton, George Hector Grant (1858-1943) of Melton Grange, Woodbridge (Suffk), barrister-at-law, son of George Grant, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 24 January 1941 and was buried at Brompton Cemetery; will proved 7 April 1941 (estate £455);

(9) Octavia Maria Beaumont (1871-1962), baptised at Irnham, 11 July 1871; amateur musician and artist; author of Select Poems (1930); lived at Springfield Cottage near Basingstoke (Hants); died unmarried aged 90 on 30 January 1962; administration of goods granted 5 April 1962 (estate £31,307);

(10) Haidee Maria Beaumont (1873-1934), born 23 July and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 14 September 1873; commandant of Kirkburton Auxiliary Military Hospital, 1915-18; appointed MBE, 1918; married, 9 June 1904, Rev. William Outram (1874-1958), curate of Kirkheaton, 1901-4; vicar of St George, Barnsley, 1904-09, Butterton (Staffs.), 1909-13; Kirkburton, 1913-19, Stubbings (Berks.), 1919-27; Berry Pomeroy with Bridgetown (Devon), 1927-35 and St Gennys (Cornw.), 1937-47; rector of Church Knowle (Dorset), 1947-53, fifth son of Sir Francis Outram (1836-1912), 2nd bt., and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 28 February 1934.

He inherited Whitley Beaumont from his distant kinsman and godfather, Richard Henry Beaumont (1805-57) in 1857 and owned some 5,000 acres around Huddersfield and Mirfield. In the 1860s he evidently rented Boothby Hall near Grantham and later Irnham Hall (both Lincs). He later owned Tetworth Hall, Ascot (Berks), where he lived for the last few years of his life.

He had a stroke in 1909 and although he partially recovered, he died at Tetworth Hall, Ascot, 6 October and was buried at Kirkheaton, 9 October 1913; his will was proved 15 January 1914 (estate £14,341). His widow died aged 90 on 10 July 1925; her will was proved 8 September 1925 (estate £1,404).

Beaumont, Henry Ralph (1865-1948). Elder son of Henry Frederick Beaumont (1833-1913) and his wife Maria Johanna, only surviving daughter of Capt. William Garforth RN of Wiganthorpe (Yorks), born 17 December 1865. Educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge (matriculated 1885). An officer in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (Capt.); JP (from 1891) and DL (1892-1922) for West Riding of Yorkshire and JP (from 1919) for Berkshire. He married, 29 December 1904 at Riccarton (Midlothian), Mary Helen (1880-1963), fourth daughter of Sir James Henry Gibson-Craig (1841-1908), 3rd bt., of Riccarton House, and had issue, with two other children born before 1911 who died in infancy:

(1) May Beaumont; born prematurely, 28 June 1905 but died the same day;

(2) twin, Diana Mary Beaumont (1907-83), born 19 July 1907; married, 26 February 1930 at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, Vivian Vandeleur Gilbart-Denham (c.1905-40), son of Sir James Denham, kt., author, and had issue three sons; died 20 January 1983; administration of goods granted 12 October 1983 (estate £226,144);

(3) twin, Dulcie Helen Beaumont (1907-60), born 19 July 1907; married, 28 August 1948, Thomas Arnold Steel Drake (1907-66) of Kid Royd, Shepley, Huddersfield (Yorks WR), solicitor and deputy coroner for West Riding of Yorkshire, son of Herbert Samuel Drake of Holmleigh, Honley, Huddersfield, and had issue one son; died 17 September 1960; will proved 28 December 1960 (estate £67,242);

(4) Evelyn Catherine Bridget Beaumont (1909-79), born 24 March 1909; married, 24 April 1935 at Malton (Yorks NR), Maj. Joseph Henry Goodhart MC of Keldholme Priory, Kirbymoorside (Yorks), son of Joseph Henry Goodhart of Hove (Sussex), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 31 December 1979; will proved 17 April 1980 (estate £243,998).

He lived at Welham Hall, Norton, near Pickering (Yorks NR) until he inherited Whitley Beaumont from his father in 1913. He sold the contents of Whitley in 1917 and the house and estate in 1924 and lived subsequently at Tetworth Hall, Ascot and Old Bank House, Pickering (Yorks NR).

He died 19 August 1948; his will was proved 15 February and 22 April 1950 (estate £96,205). His widow died 5 December 1963 and was buried at Kirbymoorside (Yorks NR); her will was proved 10 March 1964 (estate £1,119).

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 78-82; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, vol. 1, pp. 75-77; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 139; P. Leach, James Paine, 1988, pp. 23, 31, 215-16; G. Sheeran, Landscape gardens in West Yorkshire, 1680-1880, 1990, pp. 55-59, 65-70; D. Gerhold, Villas and Mansions of Roehampton and Putney Heath, 1997, pp. 33-35; E. Waterson & P. Meadows, Lost houses of the West Riding, 1998, pp. 52-53; L. La Zouche, Beaumont: Crusaders and Campaigners, 2020;

https://beaumontarchives.blogspot.com/

Location of archives

Beaumont of Whitley Beaumont: deeds, estate, manorial and household papers and maps and plans, 1435-1873 [West Yorkshire Archive Service, Kirklees DD/WB].

Coat of arms

Gules, a lion rampant argent, armed and langued azure, between eight crescents in orle of the second.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs of the interior of Whitley Beaumont prior to 1917?
• 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 7 July 2022 and was updated 22 March, 15 July, 16-17 and 29 October 2023, 17 June, 17 September and 11 November 2024. I am grateful to Andrew Drake and Ch. David Waterton-Anderson for corrections, and to Edward Beaumont for an additional image.