(568) Cavendish-Bentinck of Welbeck Abbey, Dukes of Portland - part 3

This post has been divided into three parts. Part 1 consists of my introduction to the family and its property, and an account of  Welbeck Abbey and Bolsover Castle. Part 2 contains histories of the other houses built or acquired by the family. This part gives the biographical and genealogical details of the family.

Cavendish-Bentinck family, Earls and Dukes of Portland

Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland 

Bentinck, General Hans William (1649-1709) KG, 1st Earl of Portland. Fourth, but third surviving, son of Bernhard Bentinck (d. 1668), Baron Bentinck, lord of Diepenheim, Schoonheten etc. in the province of Overyssel (Netherlands) and his wife Anna (d. 1685), daughter of Hans Hendrik van Bloemendaal, Seneschal of Vianen, born 20 July 1649. Page of Honour, c.1664 and Nobleman of the Chamber, 1672, at the Dutch court. He was a confidential adviser to Prince William of Orange, whom he accompanied on a visit to England in 1670 (when he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University (DCL)) and who he nursed through an attack of smallpox in 1675. He acted as an envoy to England to arrange the marriage of William of Orange to Princess Mary in 1677, and again in 1683 and 1685. He was bailiff of Breda, 1674 and of Lingen, 1675, and was called to the States General as Lord of Drummelen, 1676, when he joined the Order of Nobility of the Netherlands; in 1681 he was appointed Verderer of Holland. He served as an officer in the Dutch Horse Guards (Cornet, 1668; Capt. 1672; Colonel. 1675; Maj-Gen., 1683; Lt-Gen., 1689; Gen., 1697; retired 1699). He brought his regiment to England when Prince William was invited to take the English throne in 1688, and was present at the Battle of the Boyne, 1690, and also at Steinkirk, 1692, Landen, 1693, and the Siege of Namur, 1695, but gave up his command when the regiment returned to the Netherlands in 1699. After King William III's accession to the throne he was created Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock and Baron Cirencester, 9 April 1689, and appointed Groom of the Stole, First Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and Keeper of the Privy Purse, appointments which he held until 1700 and which brought him £3,000 a year. He was also appointed Superintendent of the Royal Gardens in June 1689, with George London as his deputy and William Talman as his comptroller, and in 1697 and 1699 respectively he was made Ranger of Windsor Great and Little Parks, posts worth £1,500 a year, which he held until 1702. In 1696/7 he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1698 he was sent as ambassador and the king's plenipotentiary to France, negotiating the Partition Treaties with Louis XIV and the States General, for his part in which the House of Commons voted to impeach him on 1 April 1701, although the proceedings were dismissed by the House of Lords in June that year. In 1700 he resigned all his offices in the Royal Household, apparently in a fit of pique about being supplanted as the king's chief adviser by Arnold Joost van Keppel (1670-1718), 1st Earl of Albemarle. A good-looking man, he was staunchly loyal to King William III, but 'never possessed any of the graces of the courtier' and did not greatly care for the ways or character of the English, with whom he made no attempt to ingratiate himself. It is no surprise, therefore, that he was widely regarded with suspicion and unpopularity as a 'foreign favourite'. He married 1st, 1 February 1677/8 at The Hague, Anne (1651-88), Maid of Honour to Princess Mary of Orange (later Queen Mary II), daughter of Sir Edward Villiers (1620-89), kt. and sister of Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey; and 2nd, 12 May 1700 at Chiswick (Middx), Jane Martha (1672-1751), Maid of Honour and later Governess to the daughters of King George II, sixth daughter of Sir John Temple, kt. of East Sheen (Surrey) and widow of John Berkeley (c.1663-97), 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, and had issue:

(1.1) Lady Mary Bentinck (1679-1726), born 1679; married 1st, 28 February 1698, Algernon Capel (1670-1710), 2nd Earl of Essex, of Cassiobury House (Herts), Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, and had issue one son and two daughters; married 2nd, August 1714, as his first wife, Hon. Sir Conyers d'Arcy MP (c.1685-1758) of Aske Hall (Yorks NR) (who m2, 12 September 1728, as her third husband, Elizabeth, daughter of John Rotherham of Great Waltham (Essex)), but had no further issue; died 20 August 1726;

(1.2) Willem Bentinck (1681-88), born before 3 March 1680/1; died young, 26 May 1687/8;

(1.3) (William) Henry Bentinck (1682-1726), 2nd Earl and 1st Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(1.4) Lady Anne Margaretta Bentinck (1683-1763), born 1683; married, 1701, Baron Arent van Wessenaer (1669-1721) of Duivenvoorde Castle (Netherlands), Ambassador of the States General to Great Britain, and had issue three daughters; died 3 May 1763;

(1.5) Lady Frances Wilhelmina Bentinck (1684-1712); born 18 February 1684; married, 19 December 1706, as his second wife, William Byron (1669-1736), 4th Baron Byron, but had no surviving issue; died 31 March 1712 and was buried at Hucknall (Notts);

(1.6) Lady Eleanora Sophia Bentinck (b. 1687), born 8 April 1687; died unmarried;

(1.7) Lady Isabella (k/a Belle) Bentinck (1688-1728), born 4 May 1688; married, 2 August 1714, as his second wife, Evelyn Pierrepont (1667-1726), 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, and had issue two daughters; died 23 February 1727/8;

(2.1) Lady Sophia Bentinck (1701-48), born at Whitehall, Westminster, 4 April 1701; married, 24 March 1728/9, as his second wife, Henry de Grey (1671-1740), 12th Earl, 1st Marquess and 1st Duke of Kent, of Wrest Park (Beds), and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and one daughter; died 14 June and was buried at Flitton (Beds), 20 June 1748;

(2.2) Lady Elizabeth Ariana Bentinck (1703-65), born at Whitehall, 27 June and baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, 30 June 1703; married, 18 December 1720, Rt Rev. and Hon. Henry Egerton (1689-1746), Bishop of Hereford, 1724-46, fifth son of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, and had issue five sons and one daughter; died 9 November, and was buried at Bruton (Som.), 15 November 1765; will proved in the PCC, 11 December 1765;

(2.3) Hon. William Bentinck (1704-74), 1st Count Bentinck [for whom see my post on the Bentinck family of Indio House];

(2.4) Lady Henrietta alias Harriet Bentinck (1705-92), born at Whitehall, 12 December 1705; married, 15 October 1728 at The Hague, Rt. Hon. James Hamilton (1694-1758), 1st Baron Clanboye, 1st Viscount Limerick and 1st Earl of Clanbrassil of the second creation, MP for Dundalk, 1715-19, Wendover, 1735-41, Tavistock, 1741-47 and Morpeth, 1747-54, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 10 June 1792;

(2.5) Hon. Charles John Bentinck (1708-79), born at Bulstrode Park, 2 June 1708; married, 11 January 1739, Lady Margaret Cadogan (1707-82?), daughter and co-heir of Lt-Gen. William Cadogan (1672-1726), 1st Baron and 1st Earl Cadogan; died at Zorgvliet (Netherlands), 9 March 1779; will proved in the PCC, 24 April 1779;

(2.6) Lady Barbara Bentinck (1709-36), born at Bulstrode Park, 20 October 1709; married, 18 February 1733/4, Hon. Francis Godolphin (1706-85) (who m2, Lady Anne Fitzwilliam (1722-1805)), MP for Helston, 1741-66 and later 2nd Baron Godolphin, of Baylies (Bucks) and Godolphin House (Cornw.), but had no issue; died 1 April 1736.

In 1674 he bought the estate of Zorgvliet near The Hague, which remained his main residence in Holland. In 1676 William granted him Drimmelen, a lordship entitling him to a place in the Dutch nobility. In 1683, he purchased the lordships of Rhoon and Pendrecht and just before embarkation, in October 1688, William granted him several other Dutch lordships. In England he was granted Theobalds Park (Herts) in 1689. In London he had a house in Pall Mall and bought another in St James's Square for his son, but he also had apartments in several of the royal palaces. In 1695 he was granted a large estate in Wales, but a parliamentary outcry led to this being revoked; instead, the king quietly compensated him with more scattered lands in Cheshire, Cumberland, Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire. In 1697 he was made Ranger of Windsor Great Park, and the Great Lodge (later Cumberland Lodge) became his favourite residence until he was obliged to give it up in 1702. In 1698 he was granted lands in Westminster (Middx) which were valued at over £376,000 in 1709. In 1702 he moved to Bagshot (Surrey) and in 1706 bought the Bulstrode Park (Bucks) estate.

He died of pleurisy at Bulstrode Park, 23 November, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 3 December 1709; his will was proved 22 December 1709. His first wife died in Holland, 20 November 1688 and was buried at Rhoon. His widow died 26 May 1751 and was buried at Mortlake (Surrey); her will was proved 20 April 1751.

2nd Earl and 1st Duke of Portland 

Bentinck, (William) Henry (1682-1726), 2nd Earl and 1st Duke of Portland. Second, but eldest surviving, son of Baron Hans William Bentinck (1649-1709), 1st Earl of Portland, and his first wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Villiers (1620-89), kt., born at The Hague (Netherlands), 17 March 1682. He undertook the Grand Tour in 1701-03, visiting Italy and Germany with his tutor, the historian, Paul de Rapin. Whig MP for Southampton, 1705-08 and for Hampshire, 1708-09. An officer in the Life Guards (Capt. and Lt-Col.), 1710-13. He was styled Viscount Woodstock from 1689 until he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Portland, 23 November 1709, and after the accession of King George I he was further created Duke of Portland and Marquess of Titchfield, 6 July 1716, in recognition of his father's service to the Hanoverian dynasty. A Lord of the Bedchamber, 1717-26. Unfortunately, he lost huge sums in the South Sea Bubble in 1720, and subsequently accepted the resident post of Governor and Vice-Admiral of Jamaica, 1721-26, although he did not arrive in Jamaica until 22 December 1722. He married, 9 June 1704 at Chiswick (Middx), Lady Elizabeth (c.1688-1737), elder daughter and co-heir of Wriothesley Baptist Noel, (c.1661-90), 2nd Earl of Gainsborough, of Exton Park (Rutland) and Twickenham (Middx), who brought him a fortune of £60,000 and a moiety of the Titchfield estate. They had issue*:

(1) Lady Anne Bentinck (1705-49), born 7 April and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 12 April 1705; married, 30 August 1737 at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), Lt-Col. Daniel Paul (c.1690-1749); died 7 July 1749 and was buried with her husband in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; administration of goods granted in Dublin, September 1749;

(2) Lady Mary Bentinck (c.1706-07), probably born in 1706; died in infancy and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 5 February 1706/7;

(3) Lady Elizabeth Bentinck (1707-08), born 16 January and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 25 February 1706/7; died in infancy and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 10 April 1708;

(4) Lady Frances Bentinck (c.1708-10), probably born in 1708; died young and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 25 October 1710;

(5) William Bentinck (1709-62), 2nd Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(6) Hon. Henry Bentinck (b. & d. 1713), born 12 March 1712/3 and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 29 March 1713; died in infancy and was buried at Hedgerley (Bucks), 12 September 1713;

(7) Lord George Bentinck (1715-59), of Hall Place, Heston (Middx), born 24 December 1715 and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 22 January 1715/6; educated at Eton, 1725-28 and undertook a belated Grand Tour in 1739; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1735; Capt., 1743; Lt-Col., 1745; Col., 1752); ADC to King George II, 1751; Colonel-in-Chief of 5th Foot, 1754; MP for Droitwich, 1742-47, Grampound, 1747-54 and Malmesbury, 1754-59; married**, 29 June 1753 at Mayfair Chapel, Westminster and again, 9 October 1753 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Mary, eldest daughter of William Davies, but had no issue; died at Bath, 1 March 1759 and was buried at Heston (Middx); his will was proved in the PCC, 2 March 1759 (the day after his death!), and made his widow chief beneficiary and executrix; she quickly remarried, 17 April 1759 at St Clement Danes, London, Joseph Griffith (b. c.1728);

(8) Lady Anne Isabella Bentinck (1719-83), born 20 December 1719 and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 16 January 1719/20; married, 8 November 1739, Henry Monck (c.1715-87) of Charleville (Co. Wicklow) and had issue one daughter; died in Ireland, 1783;

(9) Lady Amelia Catherine Bentinck (1726-56), born at St Jago de la Vega (Jamaica), 5 April 1726; married, December 1747, Jacob Arend van Wassenaer (1721-67), Baron de Wessenaer, of The Hague (Netherlands) (who m2, Catherina van der Heim), and had issue one daughter; died 10 January 1756.

He was granted the Clancarty estate (135,000 acres) at Woodstock in Ireland during his father's lifetime, but this was annulled by the Resumption Act in 1701. He acquired a moiety of the Titchfield (Hants) estate through his marriage in 1704, and inherited most of his father's English property in 1709.

He died at St. Jago de la Vega (Jamaica), 4 July 1726, but his body was returned to England for burial at Westminster Abbey, 3 November 1726; his will was proved 14 February 1727/8. His widow died in London, 19 March 1736/7, and was buried at Titchfield (Hants).

* Collins' Peerage says there were seven daughters, but I have found records of only six; it is possible that the seventh was born in Jamaica after 1722 and died young.

** His wife was described by his aunt as 'a common woman about the town' who had been his mistress for some years previously, and the marriage was not accepted by his family, from whom he became distanced as a result. The couple evidently felt their first, clandestine, marriage might be challenged, and so a second ceremony was held a few months later. When Lord George died, his widow obtained probate of his will (of which she was executrix and chief beneficiary) within 24 hours, and she married again just six weeks later; the haste was no doubt intended to prevent Lord George's family seeking to overturn his will. Her second marriage is normally said to have been on 24 June 1759 to Commodore Walter Griffith (d. 1779), but there is no record of such a marriage and the Commodore took command of a vessel on that day, so was probably not getting married! It is not clear whether Joseph Griffith was any relation of the Commodore; the marriage licence calls him 'esquire'.

2nd Duke of Portland

Bentinck, William (1709-62) KG, 2nd Duke of Portland. Elder son of (William) Henry Bentinck (1682-1726), 1st Duke of Portland, and his wife Lady Elizabeth, elder daughter of Wriothesley Baptist Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough, of Exton Park (Rutland), born 1 March and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 8 March 1708/9. Educated at home by John Achard, a Swiss scholar, and later at Eton; he undertook a Grand Tour in Italy and France, visiting Venice, Padua, Rome, Naples and Toulouse, 1730-32. He was styled Viscount Woodstock until 1716 and then Marquess of Titchfield until he succeded his father as 2nd Duke of Portland, 4 July 1726; appointed KG, 1740/1. A Whig in politics, but he took no part in public affairs. Harleian trustee of the British Museum (in right of his wife), 1753-62. A Fellow of the Royal Society, 1739. Awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford (DCL, 1755). By some accounts he was 'the handsomest man in England' and although a less assertive personality than his wife, was 'wise, gentle and kindly'. He married, 11 July 1734 at the Oxford Chapel, Marylebone (Middx), Lady Margaret Cavendish (1715-85), a gifted, witty, intelligent woman who was a great collector and botanist, and an accomplished craftswoman*, and who had a wide circle of friends including Garrick, Rousseau and Mary Delany; she was the only daughter and ultimate heiress of Edward Harley (1689-1741), 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. They had issue:

(1) Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck (1735-1825), born 27 July and baptised at St Margaret, Westminster, 22 August 1735; a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte 1761-93 and Mistress of the Robes 1793-1818; married, 22 March 1759, Thomas Thynne KG (1734-96), 3rd Viscount Weymouth and later 1st Marquess of Bath, of Longleat House (Wilts), Secretary of State, 1768-70 and 1775-79, and had issue three sons and five daughters; died aged 90 on 12 December 1825 and was buried at Longbridge Deverill (Wilts), where she is commemorated by a simple tablet;

(2) Lady Henrietta Cavendish Bentinck (1737-1827), born 8 February 1737; married, 26 May 1763 by special licence, at her mother's house in Whitehall, Westminster, George Grey (1737-1819), 5th Earl of Stamford and 1st Earl of Warrington, of Enville Hall (Staffs) and Dunham Massey (Ches.), MP for Staffordshire, 1761-68 and Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, 1783-1819, and had issue four sons and six daughters; died aged 90 on 4 June 1827;

(3) William Henry Cavendish Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck) (1738-1809), 3rd Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(4) Lady Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1739-56), born 26 July and baptised at St Margaret, Westminster, 22 September 1739; died unmarried, 28 April and was buried at St Margaret, Westminster, 30 April 1756;

(5) Lady Frances Cavendish Bentinck (1741-43), born 9 April 1741; died in infancy and was buried at St Margaret, Westminster, 5 March 1742/3;

(6) Lord Edward Charles Bentinck (1744-1819), born 31 March and baptised at St Margaret, Westminster, 26 April 1744; educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1761), and then undertook a Grand Tour, 1764-66; MP for Lewes, 1766-68, Carlisle, 1768-74, Nottinghamshire, 1774-96 and Clitheroe (Lancs), 1796-1802; he was several times rescued from financial difficulties by the 3rd Duke, but lived latterly in Brussels (Belgium) for reasons of economy; married, 28 December 1782 at St Marylebone (Middx), Elizabeth (1760-1837), eldest daughter of Richard Cumberland (1732-1811), dramatist and essayist, and had issue two sons (from whom descended the 8th and 9th Dukes of Portland) and two daughters; died in Brussels, 8 October 1819.

He inherited Bulstrode Park and the other Bentinck estates from his father in 1726, but sold his share in the Titchfield Place estate to the Duke of Beaufort c.1734-41. His wife acquired Welbeck Abbey on the death of his mother-in-law, the Countess of Oxford, in 1755, but as a widow lived at Bulstrode Park.

He died 1 May and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 8 May 1762; his will was proved 12 May 1762. His widow died at Bulstrode Park, 17 July, and was buried at Westminster Abbey, 30 July 1785; her will was proved 4 August 1785.

* Her particular skill lay in the turning of wood, jet and amber. She also inherited the Harley passion for collecting, with an enthusiasm for paintings (both old masters and family portraits), gems and snuff-boxes. Her acquisitions included the famous Portland Vase, which she bought in 1782. Her interests extended to the natural world and she formed a museum of shells, beetles, insects, rare plants and flowers and a menagerie of exotic animals and birds, employing the Rev. John Lightfoot FLS to manage her collections. Mary Delany made hundreds of botanical illustrations for her, and she also employed a professional artist to make drawings of exotic plants. After her death, her museum was dispersed at an auction which lasted 38 days.

3rd Duke of Portland

Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck), Rt. Hon. William Henry Cavendish (1738-1809) KG, 3rd Duke of Portland. Elder son of William Bentinck (1709-62), 2nd Duke of Portland, and his wife Lady Margaret Cavendish (d. 1785), only daughter and heiress of Edward Harley (1689-1741), 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, born 14 April 1738. Educated at Westminster, 1747-54 and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1755; MA 1757; DCL 1792) and then travelled in Germany, Poland and Italy, 1757-61. Whig MP for Weobley (Herefs), 1761-62. He was styled Marquess of Titchfield until he succeeded his father as 3rd Duke of Portland, May 1762. He was sworn of the Privy Council, 1765, and served as Lord Chamberlain, 1765-66, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Apr-Aug 1782, and Prime Minister, Apr-Dec 1783; leader of the Whig opposition, 1784-90. The repercussions of the French Revolution slowly drove a wedge between the duke and Charles James Fox, splitting the Whig party and leading Portland to an initially reluctant support of Pitt the younger, whose ministry he joined as Home Secretary, 1794-1801. He played a significant part in securing the Union of Great Britain and Ireland by acting as a channel for the payment of secret service funds to the Irish administration, where it was used to bribe Irish MPs and others into support for the Union. He further served as Lord President of the Council, 1801-05, and as Prime Minister, 1807-09, but by the time of his second premiership he was in ill-health and was no longer up to the demands of the role, dying shortly after leaving office. Throughout his political career he was a competent administrator and an adroit and principled politician, sustaining the Whig principle of opposing any increase in the influence of the Crown in public life, and refusing to pander to popular clamour in the interest of political advantage. Unfortunately, his political abilities were not matched by his business skills, and by the time of his death he was £500,000 in debt. He was Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, 1795-1809, Harleian trustee of the British Museum, 1764-1809, Chancellor of Oxford University, 1792-1809, Recorder of Nottingham, 1794, and Elder Brother of Trinity House, 1797-1809 (Master 1807-09), and was appointed High Steward of Bristol, 1786, Fellow of the Royal Society, 1766, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1775, and Knight of the Garter, 1794. He took the surname Cavendish-Bentinck informally in 1755 and by royal licence, 5 October 1801. He married, 8 November 1766 at Burlington House, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Lady Dorothy (1750-94), only daughter of William Cavendish (1720-64), 4th Duke of Devonshire, and had issue, with a daughter who was stillborn in 1786:

(1) William Henry Cavendish Bentinck (later Scott-Bentinck and Scott-Cavendish-Bentinck) (1768-1854), 4th Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(2) General Lord William Henry Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck) (1774-1839), born at Burlington House, Piccadilly, Westminster, 14 September, and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 19 October 1774; educated at Dr. Goodenough's School, Ealing (Middx) and Westminster School, 1788-91; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1791; Capt., 1792; Lt-Col., 1794; Maj-Gen., 1805; Lt-Gen, 1811; Gen., 1825) who played important liaison and political roles in Italy, 1799-1801, 1811-14; Col in Chief of the 11th Dragoons; MP for Camelford, Mar-May 1796, for Nottinghamshire, 1796-1803, 1812-14 and 1816-26, for Kings Lynn, 1826-27, and for Glasgow, 1836-39; Governor of Madras, 1803-07 and Governor-General of Bengal, 1827-33, where he abolished the practice of suttee and imposed many other reforms; first Governor-General of India, 1833-35; appointed KB, 1813, GCB, 1815 and GCH, 1817, but declined a peerage on his return from India; married, 19 February 1803 at St Marylebone, Lady Mary (1778-1843), second daughter of Arthur Acheson (c.1745-1807), 1st Earl of Gosford, but had no issue; died at his house in Paris (France), 17 June, but was buried at St. Marylebone, 26 June 1839; will proved in the PCC, 5 November 1839;

(3) Lady Charlotte Bentinck (1775-1862), born 2 October and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 30 October 1775; married, 31 March 1793, Charles Greville (1762-1832), son of Fulke Greville of Wilbury (Wilts) and had issue three sons (the eldest of whom was Charles Greville (1794-1865), the famous diarist) and one daughter; died at Hatchford near Cobham (Surrey), 28 July 1862; will proved 5 September 1872 (effects under £25,000);

(4) Lady Mary Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck) (1778-1843), born 13 March and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 13 April 1779; died unmarried, 6 November, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 14 November 1843;

(5) Lord (William) Charles Augustus Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck) (1780-1826) (q.v.);

(6) Lord Frederick Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck) (1781-1828), born 2 November 1781; educated at Westminster School; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1798; Lt., 1798; Capt., 1799; Maj., 1804; Lt-Col., 1804; Col., 1813; Maj-Gen., 1819); MP for Weobley (Herefs), 1816-24 and for Queenborough-in-Sheppey (Kent), 1824-26; married, 16 September 1820 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Lady Mary (1785-1862), daughter of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, and had issue one son; died in Rome, 11 February 1828.

He inherited Welbeck Abbey and the other Bentinck estates from his father in 1762 and Bulstrode Park on the death of his mother in 1785. He employed John Carr and Humphry Repton to make alterations to Welbeck, but handed the estate over to his son in 1795. Much of the Bentinck property except Welbeck and the London estate was sold in his lifetime.

He died following an operation to remove a kidney stone, 30 October and was buried at St Marylebone, 9 November 1809; his will was proved in the PCC, 18 November 1809. His wife died 8 June 1794 and was buried at St Marylebone.

4th Duke of Portland

Bentinck (later Scott-Bentinck and Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck), William Henry Cavendish (1768-1854), 4th Duke of Portland. Eldest son of William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1738-1809), 3rd Duke of Portland, and his wife Lady Dorothy, only daughter of William Cavendish (1720-64), 4th Duke of Devonshire, born 24 June 1768. Educated at Dr Goodenough's School, Ealing (Middx), Westminster, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1785; DCL 1793), and in the household of Sir James Harris, ambassador to The Hague. He undertook a Grand Tour of Italy, visiting Venice, Rome, Florence and Livorno in 1789-90. MP for Petersfield, 1790-91 and for Buckinghamshire, 1791-1809, sitting as a Whig until 1793 and thereafter as a Pittite Tory. He took the name Scott-Bentinck by royal licence, 19 September 1795, and further added the name Cavendish in 1801. He succeeded his father as 4th Duke of Portland, 30 October 1809. A Lord of the Treasury, Mar-Sept 1807, Lord Privy Seal, Apr-Jul 1827, Lord President of the Council, 1827-28. Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, 1794-1842. He was an enthusiastic improving landlord, and encouraged constant experiment among his tenant farmers, but he was a man of wide-ranging interests, including shipbuilding, where he persuaded a hostile Royal Navy to adopt the new principles of naval architecture advocated by Capt. Symonds, and horse-racing, where he was the Jockey Club's tenant at Newmarket and responsible for developing the course. In 1819 he won the Derby with Tiresias, but his delight was entirely in the sport, and he is said never to have placed a bet in his life. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Having a healthy, outdoor lifestyle, he lived to a ripe old age, troubled only by gout, which became a serious affliction in his later years. He married, 4 August 1795 at Mrs Scott's house in Piccadilly, in the parish of St George, Hanover Sq,, Westminster, Henrietta (d. 1844), eldest daughter and co-heir of Gen. John Scott of Balcomie, Crail (Fife), and had issue:

(1) William Henry Cavendish Scott-Bentinck (1796-1824), styled Viscount Woodstock until 30 October 1809 and then Marquess of Titchfield, born 21 August and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 29 September 1796; educated at home and at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1815; BA 1818; MA 1821); an independent-minded Tory MP for Bletchingley (Surrey), 1819-22 and for Kings Lynn, 1822-24; Greville regarded him as indolent but clever, as he could 'master...any subject he thought fit to grapple with'; his particular interest lay in economics, and he distinguished himself in the House of Commons in debates on currency; he was unusually tall, at 6 ft 5 in; he died unmarried, 5 March 1824 and was buried at St Marylebone, 13 March 1824; administration of goods granted 1824;

(2) Lady Margaret Harriet Scott-Bentinck (later Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck) (1798-1882), born 21 April and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 20 May 1798; lived in Naples (Italy), where she was noted for her charitable works; succeeded to the Kilmarnock estates of 5th Duke in 1879; died in Naples, 9 April 1882; will proved 20 June 1882 (estate in the UK, £141,032);

(3) Lady Caroline Scott-Bentinck (later Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck) (1799-1828), born 6 July and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 7 July 1799; died at Nice (France), 23 January 1828;

(4) William John Cavendish Scott-Bentinck (later Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck) (1800-79), 5th Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(5) Lord (William) George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1802-48), born 27 February 1802; educated at home; an officer in the army (Ensign & Lt., 1818; Cornet, 1819; Capt., 1821; retired as Maj., 1826); private secretary to his uncle, George Canning as Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons, 1822-24; MP for Kings Lynn, 1828-48, but was notably active only in his last few years in the house, when he became the leader of the protectionist group within the Tory party; he had a passion for the turf and was an amateur jockey, 1824-45 and racing stud owner until 1846, who won the Thousand Guineas three times, the Two Thousand Guineas twice and the Oaks once, and was involved the reform of horse-racing; unfortunately he did not share his father's abhorrence of betting, and frequently turned to his father for payment of his debts; he was involved in at least three affairs of honour, but probably fought only once; he died unmarried of a heart attack, 21 September, and was buried at Marylebone, 29 September 1848;

(6) Lord (William) Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1804-70), born 9 June and baptised at Cuckney (Notts), 4 November 1804; MP for North Nottinghamshire, 1849-57; Harleian trustee of the British Museum; he devoted himself to sporting pursuits, hunting six days a week in the season and excelling at shooting, stalking and breeding hounds, as well as in the field; Master of the Rufford Hounds, 1835-37 and of the Burton Hunt, 1842-64; he died at Tathwell Hall (Lincs), 31 December 1870; will proved 19 January 1871 (effects under £500,000);

(7) Lady Charlotte Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1806-89), born 14 January 1806; married, 14 July 1827 at All Souls, Langham Place, Marylebone (Middx), John Evelyn Denison (1800-73), 1st and last Viscount Ossington, of Ossington Hall (Notts), MP and Speaker of the House of Commons, 1857-72, but had no issue; succeeded her elder sister in the Kilmarnock estates of the family, and took name of Scott in lieu of Denison by royal licence, 26 June 1882; died 30 September 1889; will proved 15 November 1889 (effects £410,249); 

(8) Lady Lucy Joan Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1807-99), born 27 August 1807; married, 8 November 1828 at All Souls, Langham Place, Marylebone, Charles Augustus Ellis (1799-1868), 6th Baron Howard de Walden and 2nd Baron Seaford, and had issue six sons and one daughter; died at Malvern (Worcs), 29 July 1899;

(9) Lady Mary Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1809-74), born 8 July 1809; she wished to marry her eventual husband as early as 1841, but as her father strongly disapproved she agreed not to contract such a marriage until after his death; the duke executed a deed in 1848 which attempted to prevent her benefiting, in the event of the marriage taking place after his death, from sums to which she was entitled under his marriage settlement of 1795, but this was set aside by the courts in 1862; she married, 5 October 1854, Lt-Col. Sir William Topham (1810-95) (who m2, 7 August 1879 at St Mark, South Norwood (Surrey), Anne Tomlinson (1824-96), daughter of Thomas Harrison), eldest son of Lupton Topham of Middleham (Yorks NR), but had no issue; died at Weybridge (Surrey), 20 July 1874 and was buried at Coverham (Yorks NR).

He was given Welbeck Abbey on his marriage in 1795, and inherited Bulstrode Park and the London property from his father in 1809, but finding the estates burdened by more than £500,000 of debt, he sold Bulstode to the Duke of Somerset in 1810, as well as selling other property in Northumberland and Cumberland. He also sold the lay rectorship of Marylebone to the Crown for £40,000 in 1816, allowing the Crown to promote the building of new churches in the district. His wife's trustees bought the Cessnock, Dean and Kilmarnock estates in Ayrshire for her, and she inherited Balcomie (Fife) from her father. The Duke enlarged the Ayrshire estate, notably by the purchase of Fullarton in 1803, but sold Balcomie; he developed the port of Troon on his estate and was responsible for building the first railway in Scotland between Troon and Kilmarnock.

He died at Welbeck, 27 March, and was buried at Bolsover, 4 April 1854; his will was proved in the PCC and PCY, July 1854 (effects £980,000). His wife died at Welbeck Abbey, 24 April 1844; administration of her goods was granted in 1844.

5th Duke of Portland

Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, William John Cavendish (1800-79), 5th Duke of Portland. Second, but eldest surviving, son of William Henry Cavendish Bentinck (later Scott-Bentinck and Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck), (1768-1854), 4th Duke of Portland and his wife Henrietta, eldest daughter and co-heir of Gen. John Scott of Balcomie, Crail (Fife), born in London, 17 September and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 30 September 1800. Educated at home, perhaps because was regarded as 'delicate'. An officer in the army (Ensign & Lt., 1818; Cornet, 1818; Capt., 1821; Lt & Capt., 1830). He was briefly a Canningite Tory MP for Kings Lynn, 1824-26, but he had no taste for public affairs, and when he found that his political opinions (in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws) were opposed to those of his father and brother George, he carefully suppressed his political views to avoid this dissent becoming publicly known. He was styled Marquess of Titchfield from 1824 until he succeeded his father as 5th Duke of Portland, 27 March 1854. Not until 1857 he did take his seat in the House of Lords, and shortly afterwards he called in a loan of £25,000 which his father had advanced to Disraeli for the purchase of Hughenden, apparently deliberately causing the Tory leader considerable inconvenience. He was twice offered, and twice declined, the honour of appointment as a Knight of the Garter, apparently in recognition of his charitable works. As his position demanded, he was a DL for Nottinghamshire, 1859-79. As a young man, he was keen on hunting and shooting, and he remained interested in hunting and racing in later life, although he ceased to participate in any sports. After leaving the army he travelled extensively in Germany, and developed an interest in opera. In later life, he was a noted supporter of local charities and his constant building programmes provided much needed local employment, but he became a recluse, taking the most extreme measures to avoid being seen in public, or even by his own servants. This tendency may have been inherited from his mother, who in her later years shunned all society and did not like to be observed by her servants. In the 1830s he courted the singer, Adelaide Kemble, who is said to have rejected a proposal of marriage, and he remained unmarried and without issue. Long after his death, his notorious eccentricities lent credence to false claims in 1896 that he had led a double life as a London draper called Thomas Charles Druce (d. 1864), which resulted in a celebrated peerage case.

He inherited Welbeck Abbey and the Marylebone and Ayrshire estates from his father in 1854. He bought the Langwell (Caithness) estate between 1857 and 1869. At his death most of his property passed to his first cousin once removed, who became the 6th Duke of Portland (q.v.), but the Ayrshire estate was divided between his sisters, Lady Ossington and Lady Howard de Walden, while his property in Marylebone (Middx) was bequeathed to his surviving sisters as tenants in common, passing ultimately to Lady Howard de Walden, as the last survivor.

He died at his London home, Harcourt House in Cavendish Square, 6 December 1879, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 12 December 1879; his will was proved 12 March 1880 (effects under £1,500,000).

Lord William Charles Augustus
Cavendish-Bentinck (1780-1826) 

Bentinck (later Cavendish-Bentinck), Rt. Hon. Lord William Charles Augustus (1780-1826). Third son of William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1738-1809), 3rd Duke of Portland, and his wife Lady Dorothy, only daughter of William Cavendish (1720-64), 4th Duke of Devonshire, born at Burlington House, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 20 May and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 17 June 1780. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1796; Lt., 1798; Capt., 1798; Maj., 1802; Lt-Col. 1802; retired 1811). MP for Ashburton (Devon), 1807-12; Treasurer of the Household, 1812-26; sworn of the Privy Council, 1812. He married 1st, 21 September 1808 at St Peter, Chester (Ches.), Georgiana Augusta Frederica (who used the surname Seymour) (1782-1813), daughter of the courtesan, Grace Dalrymple Elliott (c.1754-1823), reputedly by either HRH George (1762-1830), Prince of Wales (later King George IV) or George James Cholmondeley (1749-1827), 4th Earl and 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley, both of whom acknowledged paternity), and 2nd, 23 July 1816 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), after a notorious elopement and divorce*, Anne (1788-1875), illegitimate daughter of Richard Colley Wesley (later Wellesley) (1760-1842), 1st Marquess Wellesley, and formerly wife of Sir William Abdy (1778-1868), 7th bt., and had issue:

(1.1) Hon. Georgiana Augusta Frederica Henrietta Cavendish-Bentinck (1811-83), born 21 August 1811 and baptised at Heckfield (Hants), 6 September 1812; raised after her mother's death by Lord Cholmondeley at Cholmondeley Castle; died unmarried, 12 September 1883; administration of goods granted 24 January 1884 (effects £1,568);

(2.1) Anne Hyacinthe Cavendish-Bentinck (1816-88), born 1 September 1816 and baptised at St Mary Abbotts, Kensington (Middx), 14 May 1818; died unmarried at Hotel St. Charles, Cannes (France), 7 June 1888; will proved 15 September 1888 (estate £48,322);

(2.2) Rev. Charles William Frederick (Cavendish-)Bentinck (1817-65), born 8 September 1817 and baptised at St Mary Abbotts, Kensington, 14 May 1818; educated at Merton College and New Inn Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1837; BA 1845; MA 1846); ordained deacon, 1846; vicar of Husborne Crawley and Ridgmont (Beds), 1849-65; married 1st, 26 September 1839 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Sinetta (1821-50), 'a Romany princess', daughter of James Lambourne, and had issue two sons, who both died in infancy; married 2nd, 13 December 1859 at St Paul, Wilton Place, Westminster, Caroline Louisa (1832-1918) (who m2, 30 November 1870 at St Barnabas, Pimlico (Middx), Harry Warren Scott (1833-89), third son of Sir William Scott, 6th bt., of Ancrum (Berwicks)), eldest daughter of Edwyn Burnaby of Baggrave Hall (Leics), and had issue three daughters; died 17 August 1865 and was buried at Croxton (Cambs);

(2.3) Gen. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck (1819-77) (q.v.);

(2.4) Emily Cavendish-Bentinck (1820-50), said to have been born in April 1820; married, 8 November 1845 at Cuckney (Notts), Rev. Henry Hopwood (1810-59), rector of Bothal (Northbld), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died of puerperal fever following childbirth, 6 January 1850.

After retiring from the army, he lived in London. His widow lived at Norfolk St. in the Savoy until her death.

He died suddenly of an aneurysm, 28 April 1826 and was buried at St Marylebone (Middx), 3 May 1826; no will has been traced. His first wife died 10 December and was buried at St Marylebone, 17 December 1813. His widow died 19 March 1875; her will was proved 8 May 1875 (effects under £45,000).

* Sir William Abdy was awarded £7,000 in damages for 'criminal conversation' against Cavendish-Bentinck, but this seems never to have been paid.

Lt-Gen. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck 

Cavendish-Bentinck, Gen. Arthur Charles (1819-77). Second son of Lord William Charles Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck (1780-1826) and his second wife, Anne, illegitimate daughter of 1st Marquess Wellesley, and formerly wife of Sir William Abdy, 7th bt., born 10 May 1819. An officer in the army (Cornet, 1838; Lt., 1840; Capt., 1847; Maj., 1851; Lt-Col., 1854; retired as Col., 1858; Maj-Gen., 1868; Lt-Gen., 1877). He married 1st, 18 February 1857 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Elizabeth Sophie (1835-58), eldest daughter of Sir St Vincent Hawkins-Whitshed, 2nd bt., and 2nd, 10 June 1862 at Weybridge (Surrey), Augusta Mary Elizabeth (1834-93), created in 1880 Baroness Bolsover in her own right, younger daughter of Very Rev. and Hon. Henry Montague Browne, Dean of Lismore, and had issue:

(1.1) William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck (1857-1943), 6th Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(2.1) Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1863-1931) of Underley Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale (Westmld), born at Eversleigh (Hants), 28 May and baptised at All Saints, Knightsbridge (Middx), 13 July 1863; educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1881); granted the style and precedence of a duke's son, 1880 and was heir presumptive to his half-brother until 1893; Conservative MP for Norfolk NW, 1886-92, Nottingham South, 1895-1906, 1910-29; member of London County Council, 1907-10; an officer in the Derbyshire Yeomanry (Lt-Col.), who served in the Boer War and First World War; Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland, 1927-31; married, 27 January 1892 at St Margaret, Westminster, Lady Olivia Caroline Amelia DGStJ (1869-1939), daughter of Col. Thomas Taylour (1844-93), Earl of Bective, but had no issue; died 6 October 1931; will proved 12 November 1931 (estate £57,452);

(2.2) Lord William Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck (1865-1903), born 31 January and baptised at Send, Ripley (Surrey), 29 March 1865; educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1883); granted the style and precedence of a duke's son, 1880; an officer in the 10th Hussars (2nd Lt., 1887; Lt., 1889; Capt., 1893; Maj., 1902), who served in the Boer War and was awarded the DSO, 1901; died unmarried of a heart attack at sea off Ismailia (Egypt), 4 November 1903; will proved 21 November 1903 (estate £100,637);

(2.3) Lord Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (1868-1956), of Birlingham Court (Worcs) and later of Oxton Hall (Notts), born in Dublin, 7 October 1868; granted the style and precedence of a duke's son, 1880; educated at Eton; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1889; Lt., 1889; Capt., 1900; Br. Maj., 1900; retired 1906 but returned to regiment, 1914; T/Lt-Col., 1916) who served in the Boer War (wounded and mentioned in despatches) and First World War (wounded, mentioned in despatches three times); Master of Blankney Hunt, 1906-08 and of Southwold and Burton Hunts c.1920; JP (from 1930) and DL (from 1937) for Nottinghamshire; married, 27 February 1897 at Taplow (Bucks), Cecily Mary DGstJ (1872-1936), daughter of Charles Seymour Grenfell, and had issue two daughters; died 19 June 1956; will proved 14 September 1956 (estate £73,143);

(2.4) Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck (1873-1938), born 16 June and baptised at St Thomas, St Marylebone (Middx), 23 July 1873; granted the style and precedence of a duke's daughter, 1880; educated at Somerville College, Oxford; a famous literary hostess and patron of the arts, who supported and promoted the work of many young artists, sculptors, poets and authors; she was also an enthusiastic decorator, gardener and photographer; married, 8 February 1902, in an open marriage where both parties took lovers, Philip Edward Morrell (1870-1943) of Garsington Manor (Oxon), MP for Oxford South, 1906-10 and Burnley, 1910-18, only surviving son of Frederick Morrell of Black Hall, Oxford, and had issue one son (who died young) and one daughter, but she also brought up several of her husband's children by other women; she had a long affair with Bertrand Russell from 1911 until her death, but other lovers may have included Augustus John, Henry Lamb, Dora Carrington and Roger Fry, as well as a gardener and stonemason employed at Garsington; the affair with the stonemason may have influenced the plot of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928); died 21 April 1938 and was buried at Holbeck (Notts); will proved 20 July 1938 (estate £1,832).

He lived at East Court, Wokingham (Berks) and in London after retiring from the army.

He died 11 December 1877 and was buried at Holbeck (Notts); his will was proved 18 March 1878 (effects under £25,000). His first wife died at Kinnard House (Perths) following childbirth, 4 January 1858. His widow died 7 August 1893; her will was proved 27 February 1894 (effects £7,534).

6th Duke of Portland

Cavendish-Bentinck, Rt. Hon. William John Arthur Charles James (1857-1943), 6th Duke of Portland. Only child of Gen. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck (1819-77) and his first wife, Elizabeth Sophie, eldest daughter of Sir St Vincent Hawkins-Whitshed, 2nd bt., born at Kinnaird House (Perths.), 28 December 1857. Educated at Eton, 1871-73. An officer in the Coldstream Guards (Lt., 1877-80); Lt-Col. of the Hon. Artillery Company, 1881-89; Hon. Col of 4th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, 1889-91; President of Nottinghamshire Territorial Army Association. He succeeded his first cousin once removed as 6th Duke of Portland, 6 December 1879, and his stepmother* as 2nd Baron Bolsover, 7 August 1893, and was appointed GCVO, 1896 and KG, 1900, serving as Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, 1937-43. He was Master of the Horse, 1886-92, 1895-1905 and was sworn of the Privy Council, 1886. Chairman of the first Royal Commission on Horse-Breeding, 1888-1912; Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, 1889-1919 and of Nottinghamshire, 1898-1939. President of Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland, 1888-89; Provincial Grand Master of Nottinghamshire Freemasons, 1898-1933; and Harleian Trustee of the British Museum. He was Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St. John, and held foreign orders from Spain, Serbia and Belgium. He was a noted breeder of racehorses, and won the Derby in 1888 (with Ayrshire) and 1889 (with Donovan). He was the author of Men, Women and Things; Fifty years and more of sport in Scotland; Memories of Racing and Hunting; and The Red Deer of Longwell and Braemore. In his later years he fostered research into the history of Welbeck and its collections, leading to the publication of A.S. Turberville's History of Welbeck and its owners (1938-39) and catalogues of his plate and pictures. He married, 11 June 1889 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Winifred Anna DBE DGStJ JP (1863-1954), Mistress of the Robes to HM Queen Alexandra, 1913-25, only daughter of Thomas Yorke Dallas (later Dallas-Yorke) of Walmsgate (Lincs), and had issue:

(1) Lady Victoria Alexandrina Violet Cavendish-Bentinck (1890-1994), born 27 February 1890; Extra Woman of the Bedchamber to HM Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), 1937; married, 25 November 1918, Capt. Michael John Erskine Wemyss (1888-1982) of Wemyss Castle (Fife), and had issue two sons; died aged 104, 8 May 1994;

(2) William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1893-1977), 7th Duke of Portland (q.v.);

(3) Lord (Francis) Morven Dallas Cavendish-Bentinck (1900-50), born 27 July 1900; educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford and trained in estate management; an officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve (Fl-Lt.) and in the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Lt.); Chairman of Nottingham branch of Alliance Assurance; a semi-professional pianist, he was President of Mansfield & District Music Club; died unmarried, 22 August 1950; will proved 17 January 1951 (estate £56,884).

He inherited the Welbeck Abbey, Bothal Castle and Langwell properties from his first cousin once removed in 1879. He and his son agreed to break the entail on the estates so that they could pass to the 7th Duke's daughters.

He died 26 April 1943 and was buried at Holbeck (Notts); his will was proved 16 September 1943 and 26 April 1943 (estate £210,916). His widow died 30 July 1954; her will was proved 21 October 1954 (estate £87,859).

* This resulted from the unusual remainder in the Bolsover peerage patent to the heirs male of the body of Gen. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck, rather than only the heirs male by Augusta. As a result, the barony of Bolsover became merged with the dukedom of Portland until it became extinct on the death of the 7th Duke in 1977.

7th Duke of Portland

Cavendish-Bentinck, William Arthur Henry (1893-1977), 7th Duke of Portland. Elder son of William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck (1857-1943), 6th Duke of Portland and his wife Winifred Anna DBE, only daughter of Thomas Yorke Dallas-Yorke of Walmsgate (Lincs), born in London, 16 March and baptised at Welbeck, 22 May 1893. Educated at Eton. As a young man he was known as 'Sonny'. An officer in the Royal Horse Guards in the First World War, who served as an ADC on the Personal Staff, 1914-16 and later in France and Gallipoli. Lt-Col. commanding the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry, 1933-36; hon. Air Commodore, 616 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force. Unionist MP for Newark, 1922-43, who served in government as an assistant whip, 1927, junior Lord of the Treasury, 1928-29 and Aug-Nov 1931. He was styled Marquess of Titchfield until he succeeded his father as 7th Duke of Portland, 26 April 1943. Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, 1939-62; Chancellor of Nottingham University, 1955-71, which awarded him an honorary degree (LLD, 1955). Joint MFH, Rufford Hunt, 1930. He married, 12 August 1915 at Welbeck, Ivy DBE (1887-1982), Maid of Honour to HM Queen Alexandra, 1912-15, only child of Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox, and had issue:

(1) Lady (Alexandra Margaret) Anne Cavendish-Bentinck (1916-2008) (q.v.);

(2) Lady (Victoria) Margaret Cavendish-Bentinck (1918-55) (q.v.).

In 1930-32 he built a new house (Welbeck Woodhouse) in the park of Welbeck Abbey, to the designs of Brierley & Rutherford. He inherited the Welbeck Abbey, Bothal Castle and Langwell properties from his father in 1943. At his death his estates passed to his elder daughter, but his titles passed to his first cousin twice removed, Ferdinand William Cavendish-Bentinck (1888-1980).

He died 21 March 1977 and was buried at Holbeck (Notts). His widow died 3 March 1982.

Cavendish-Bentinck, Lady (Alexandra Margaret) Anne (1916-2008). Elder daughter of William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1893-1977), 7th Duke of Portland, and his wife Ivy DBE, only child of Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox, born 6 September 1916. She was a prominent supporter of charities for the blind and of the Girl Guides, who had a permanent camp at Welbeck. Appointed CStJ. She was unmarried and without issue.

She inherited the Welbeck Abbey estates from her father in 1977, and lived at Welbeck Woodhouse. Welbeck Abbey was leased to the Ministry of Defence as an army training college (Welbeck College) until 2005. At her death, her properties passed to her nephew, William Parente (b. 1951).

She died aged 92 on 29 December 2008, and was buried at Welbeck; her will was proved 26 July 2011.

Cavendish-Bentinck, Lady (Victoria) Margaret (1918-55). Younger daughter of William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1893-1977), 7th Duke of Portland, and his wife Ivy DBE, only child of Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox, born 9 October 1918. She was a trainbearer for HM Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) at the coronation of 1937, and was then granted the status of a duke's daughter (six years before her father inherited the peerages). She married, 12 April 1950 at Welbeck Abbey, Don Gaetano Parente (1909-76), Prince of Castel Viscardo (Italy), eldest son of Marchese Enrico Parente, and had issue:

(1) William Henry Marcello Parente (b. 1951) (q.v.).

She died of polio, 29 August 1955, and was buried at Holbeck (Notts). Her husband died 20 July 1976.

Parente, William Henry Marcello (b. 1951). Only son of Gaetano Parente (1909-76), Prince of Castel Viscardo, and his wife Lady (Victoria) Margaret, younger daughter of William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1893-1977), 7th Duke of Portland, born 18 February 1951. High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, 2003-04. Appointed CBE, 2017. He married, 23 January 1981, Alison Jane MBE DL (b. 1948), psychotherapist, daughter of John Fraser Swan, and had issue:

(1) Margherita Amelia (k/a Daisy) Parente (b. 1981), born 29 August 1981; educated at Bedales School; literary agent; married, 2011, Aaron David Rosenberg (b. 1982), son of Dr Dana Rosenberg of California (USA), and had issue;

(2) (Henry) Joseph Parente (b. 1983), born 12 January 1983; married, 2013, Anuszka, daughter of Mark Elland of Nether Langwith (Notts), and had issue. 

He inherited the Welbeck Abbey estates from his aunt in 2008 and undertook a major restoration programme at Welbeck Abbey, as well as the Welbeck Project, a scheme to transform listed and architecturally significant 18th and 19th century buildings on the estate into a 21st century business community combining rural and creative industries. He recently moved to Welbeck Woodhouse and the Oxford Wing is being restored to provide a home for his son.

Now living. His wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 3181-87; H. Repton, Observations on the theory and practice of landscape gardening, 1803, pp. 65-72; T. Besterman, The Druce-Portland Case, 1935; A. Hamilton Thompson, The Premonstratensian Abbey of Welbeck, 1938; A.S. Turberville, A history of Welbeck and its owners, 1938-39 (2 vols); J. Harris, William Talman: maverick architect, 1982, pp. 19, 46; M.C. Davis, The castles and mansions of Ayrshire, 1991, pp. 261-63; Sir N. Pevsner, I. Richmond, J. Grundy, G. McCombie, P. Ryder & H. Welfare, The buildings of England: Northumberland, 2nd edn., 1992, p.199; S. Daniels, Humphry Repton, 1999, pp. 166-70; P. Smith, 'Welbeck Abbey and the 5th Duke of Portland', in M. Airs (ed.), The Victorian Great House, 2000, pp. 147-64; P. Smith, ‘Lady Oxford’s alterations at Welbeck Abbey, 1741-55’, Georgian Group Journal, 2001, pp. 133-68; P. Smith, 'Welbeck Abbey and the 6th Duke of Portland', in M. Airs (ed.), The Edwardian Great House, 2001, pp. 77-92; L. Worsley & T. Addyman, ‘Riding houses and horses: William Cavendish’s architecture for the art of horsemanship’, Architectural History, 2002, pp. 194-229; P. Smith, 'The survival of the fittest: Welbeck Abbey and the great houses of Nottinghamshire in the 20th century' in M. Airs (ed.), The Twentieth-Century Great House, 2002, pp. 35-56; D.M.L. Onnekink, The Anglo-Dutch Favourite.The career of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649-1709), PhD thesis, Univ. of Utrecht, 2004; L. Worsley, ‘Female architectural patronage in the 18th century and the case of Henrietta Cavendish Holles Harley’, Architectural History, 2005, pp. 139-162; A. Gomme & A. Maguire, Design and plan in the country house, 2008, pp. 70-72; H.J. Grainger, The architecture of Sir Ernest George, 2011, pp. 315-22; R. Close & A. Riches, The buildings of Scotland: Ayrshire and Arran, 2012, pp. 326-27; C. Hartwell, Sir N. Pevsner and E. Williamson, The buildings of England: Derbyshire, 3rd edn., 2016, pp. 167-79; C. Hartwell, Sir N. Pevsner and E. Williamson, The buildings of England: Nottinghamshire, 3rd edn., 2020, pp. 678-90; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entries for 1st Earl, 2nd Duchess, and 3rd and 5th Dukes of Portland, and for Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck;

https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG24066;

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp37-41;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEXf1RgM1E;

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/cavendish-bentinck-lord-william-1802-1848.

Location of archives

Cavendish-Bentinck, Dukes of Portland: deeds, family and estate papers relating to Notts, Derbys, Bucks, Herts, Cumberland, London and Northumberland estates, 12th-20th cents [Nottinghamshire Archives, 157DD/P, DD104/1-2]; deeds, estate and family papers relating to Notts, Derbys, Bucks, Herts, Cumberland, London and Northumberland, 14th-20th cents [Nottingham University Archives, Pl, Pw]; Buckinghamshire deeds and papers, 16th cent-1810 [Buckinghamshire Archives, D-RA]; Titchfield deeds, manorial records and estate papers, 13th-18th cents [Hampshire Archives & Local Studies, 5M53]; St Marylebone estate papers, 1765-1882 [City of Westminster Archives BRA1208, D/Wh, Acc 2273, HDW]; Ayrshire estate papers, 1736-20th cent. [Ayrshire Archives, ATD1, ATD13]

Cavendish-Bentinck, Margaret (1715-85), 2nd Duchess of Portland: correspondence and papers, c.1712-81 [Longleat House Archives, PO]

Coat of arms

Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Azure a cross moline Argent (Bentinck); 2nd and 3rd, Sable three stags' heads cabossed Argent attired Or, a crescent for difference (Cavendish)

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply a good photograph of Welbeck Woodhouse?
• 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 5 February 2024 and updated 7 February 2024 and 13 July 2025. I am grateful for the assistance of Pete Smith, Alex Bond and Gregor Matheson Pierrepont with preparing the articles on this family, to Dart Montgomery for suggesting improvements, and to James Hargrave for a correction.

(450) Bathurst of Franks, and Bathurst of Hothorpe, Cirencester and Langwith, Earls Bathurst - part 2

This post is divided into two parts: part 1 includes the introduction to the family and the descriptions of the houses they built or owned over the last five hundred years; and this section contains the biographical and genealogical details of the owners.

Bathurst family of Franks Hall

Bathurst, Launcelot (1529-96). Son of Edward Bathurst (fl. 1558) of Staplehurst (Kent) and his wife Margaret (later Margaret Portriffe) (fl. 1596), born 1529. A citizen and grocer of the city of London; warden of the Grocers Company, 1592; alderman of the city of London (from 1593). He married, 30 March 1573 at St Benet Fink, London, Judith, daughter of Barnard Randolph of London and Wardis (Sussex), and had issue:

(1) Judith Bathurst (1574-1657), baptised at St Mary Abchurch, London, 27 June 1574; married, 27 November 1595 at St Botolph, Aldgate, London, Thomas Buckhurst (d. 1624?) of Staplehurst (Kent), and had issue three daughters; will proved in the PCC, 15 December 1657;

(2) Randolph Bathurst (1576-1644) (q.v.);

(3) Elizabeth Bathurst (1577-1623?), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 31 December 1577; married 1st, November 1595 at St Mary Bothaw, London, John Browne (d. 1596) and 2nd, between August 1596 and February 1596/7, Thomas Saunder (d. 1644?) of Charlwood (Surrey) (who m2, Elizabeth Hopkins of Norwich and had further issue two sons and three daughters), and had issue one son and two daughters; probably the woman of this name buried at St Clement Danes, London, 13 March 1622/3;

(4) Mary Bathurst (1579-1629), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 26 July 1579; married, 9 June 1597 at St Mary Bothaw, London, Edmund Peshall (d. 1629) of London, grocer, and had issue three sons and one daughter; buried at St Mary Bothaw, London, 15 January 1629;

(5) Susan[na] Bathurst (1582-1619?), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, 25 March 1582; married, 1601 (contract 15 June) Robert Owen, son of Edward Owen of Shrewsbury, and had issue; probably the woman of this name buried at Condover (Shrops), 7 January 1618/9;

(6) Rafe Bathurst (b. 1583), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 30 January 1583/4; educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1604); probably died unmarried;

(7) Lancelot Bathurst (1585-1668?), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 26 August 1585; lived at Hawley (Kent); living in 1596;

(8) Edward Bathurst (1588-1649?), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, 31 March 1588; married Mary, daughter of Thomas Browne and had issue one son (who may have died in the lifetime of his father) and one daughter; probably the man of this name whose will was proved 22 February 1649;

(9) George Bathurst (1589-1656) [for whom see Bathurst family, Earls Bathurst, below];

(10) Henry Bathurst (1592-1620), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 13 January 1591/2; died unmarried between 1 March and 13 March 1619/20; will proved in the PCC, 13 March 1619/20.

He acquired the manor of Franks (Kent), and built the house there, which he left to his widow for life and then to his son Randolph. He also owned a house in London, property at Chingford (Essex), the manor of Highlands at Sutton-at-Hone (Kent), and lands on Romney Marsh (Kent) and at East Bergholt (Suffk).

He died  26 September 1596 and was buried at St Mary Bothaw, London, 6 October 1596; his will was proved 5 November 1596 and an inquisition post mortem was held 22 July 1601. His widow married 2nd, Sir Edward Kynaston (d. 1641), kt. of Oteley (Shrops), but her date of death has not been traced.

Bathurst, Randolph (1576-1644). Eldest son of Lancelot Bathurst (1529-96) and his wife Judith, daughter of Barnard Randall or Randolph of London and Wardis (Sussex), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 1 July 1576. Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1596) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1596). He married, 18 September 1596 at St Bartholomew-the-Less, London, Catherine (b. 1575; fl. 1620), daughter of Robert Argall of East Sutton (Kent) and had issue:

(1) Lancelot Bathurst (1600-01), born 1600 and died in infancy, 1601);

(2) Sir Edward Bathurst (c.1603-80), kt. (q.v.);

(3) Lancelot Bathurst (1610-77), of Barnend, Wilmington (Kent); married 1st, 28 March 1637 at Sutton-at-Hone (Kent), Anne Blathwight [Blathwayt?] of Wilmington; married 2nd, 1669 (licence 14 July), Anne (d. 1708) (who m2, William Bathurst of Finchcocks (Kent)), daughter of Richard Gamon, but had no issue; buried 28 January 1677; will proved 8 February 1677;

(4) Samuel Bathurst (b. c.1614; fl. 1664), of Charlton in Wantage (Berks); married Dorothy, daughter of Edward Scoles of Charlton and had issue three sons and one daughter; living in 1664;

(5) Judith Bathurst (fl. 1620); died unmarried;

(6) Mary Bathurst; married John Halton of Kent;

(7) Elizabeth Bathurst; married Thomas Walter of Kent;

(8) Catherine Bathurst; died unmarried;

(9) Margaret Bathurst; married Sir Thomas Heath, kt., of Kent;

(10) Anna Bathurst (fl. 1620); married Philip Ward (d. 1651?) of Rochester (Kent), mayor of Rochester in 1640 and 1647-48 and a prominent figure in the town during the Civil War; he was a Presbyterian and a Parliamentarian but fell out with the County Committee and became a Royalist who was involved in the Kent rebellion of 1648; he ceased to be involved in civic affairs in 1651 and may have died then.

He inherited Franks Hall from his father in 1596, subject to his mother's life interest, and came of age in about 1597.

He died between October 1643 and March 1643/4, when his death was reported to the Committee for the Advance of Money. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bathurst, Sir Edward (c.1603-80), kt. Eldest surviving son of Randolph Bathurst (1576-1644) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Robert Argall of East Sutton (Kent), born about 1603. Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1621). He was knighted by King Charles I at Nonsuch Palace, 3 November 1625. He married, 1624 (licence 2 November), Frances (c.1607-89), daughter of Sir Thomas Wyseman of Rivenhall (Essex), and had issue:

(1) Sir Thomas Bathurst (c.1628-88), kt. (q.v.);

(2) Francis Bathurst; died young.

He inherited Franks Hall from his father in 1643 or 1644. 

He was probably the man of this name buried at St Giles, Cripplegate, London, 19 November 1680. His widow was buried at Horton Kirby, 2 March 1688/9 and her will was proved in the PCC, 26 February 1688/9.

Bathurst, Sir Thomas (c.1628-88), kt. Only surviving son of Sir Edward Bathurst (c.1603-80), kt. and his wife, born about 1628. Educated at the University of Leiden (MD, 1659); incorporated at Oxford (MD 1662); admitted to Royal College of Physicians, 1662. He was knighted by King Charles II at Whitehall, 11 February 1664/5. He married Mary (d. 1690), daughter of Sir John Maynard, and had issue:

(1) Francis Bathurst (c.1667-1738) (q.v.);

(2) Lancelot Bathurst (c.1670-1720), born about 1670; buried at Horton Kirby, 1 August 1720;

(3) Maynard Bathurst; died young;

(4) Thomas Bathurst; died young;

(5) Thomas Bathurst; died young;

(6) John Bathurst; died young;

(7) Henry Bathurst; died young;

(8) Maynard Bathurst; died young.

He inherited Franks Hall from his father in 1680.

He died 5 March and his funeral was held at St Bride, Fleet St., London, 9 March 1687/8, but he was buried at Horton Kirby, where he is commemorated by a monument; will proved 20 March 1687/8. His widow was buried at Horton Kirby, 3 March 1689/90.

Bathurst, Francis (c.1667-1738). Elder surviving son of Sir Thomas Bathurst (c.1628-88), kt. and his wife Mary, born about 1667. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1684). He married 1st, 1 May 1688 at St Katherine by the Tower, London, Susanna (1670-1707), daughter of Thomas Hibbert alias Hubbert; 2nd, 20 April 1710 at St Pancras (Middx), Martha (1660-1721), daughter of John Highlord esq. of Beddington (Surrey) and widow of William Malthus (1651-1700) of Reading; 3rd, 22 August 1723 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Frances (1680-1725), daughter of Edward Eyre and widow of Richard Hill (1660-1721) of Sutton-at-Hone (Kent); and 4th, 18 September 1726 at St Ann, Blackfriars, London, Mary Smith (d. 1748), widow, and had issue:

(1.1) Berenice Bathurst (1692-1748) (q.v.);

(1.2) Lancelot Bathurst (1693-1714), baptised in London, 5 October 1693 (but entered in the register at Horton Kirby); educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1711/2); buried at Horton Kirby, 9 December 1714;

(1.3) Bosvile Bathurst (1700-14), baptised at Horton Kirby, 14 March 1699/1700; died young and was buried at Horton Kirby, 9 December 1714.

He inherited Franks Hall from his father in 1688.

He was buried at Horton Kirby, 8 March 1738; will proved in the PCC, 9 May 1739. His first wife was buried at Horton Kirby, 2 May 1707. His second wife was buried at Horton Kirby, 26 July 1721. His third wife was buried at Horton Kirby, 20 August 1725. His widow married 3rd, 23 September 1739 at St Mary-at-Hill, London, as his second wife, Dr. Clifford Handasyde MD (1693-1772), son of Thomas Handasyde, and was buried at West Malling (Kent), 3 October 1748.

Bathurst, Berenice (1692-1748). Only daughter of Francis Bathurst (c.1667-1738) and his wife, baptised in London, 12 August 1692 (but entered in the register of Horton Kirby). She married, 20 May 1718 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London (separated by 1730), Joseph Fletcher (d. c.1739) of London, and had issue:

(1) Susan Fletcher (1721-57), born 29 November and baptised at St Gregory by St Paul, London, 7 December 1721; married, 14 June 1745 at Charterhouse Chapel, London, John Tasker (c.1720-96) (who m2, 28 April 1760 at Rochester (Kent), Anne (1739-1814), daughter of Thomas Faunce of Sutton-at-Hone (Kent)), of Grays Inn and Dartford (Kent), solicitor, but had no issue; buried at Horton Kirby, 26 May 1757; will proved 2 June 1757.

She inherited Franks Hall from her father in 1738. At her death it passed to her daughter and her husband.

She was buried at Horton Kirby, 28 August 1748; her will was proved in the PCC, 3 October 1748. Her husband was living in 1738 but was dead by 1739.

Bathurst family, Earls Bathurst

Bathurst, George (1589-1656). Son of Launcelot Bathurst (1529-96) [for whom see above] and his wife Judith, daughter of Barnard Randolph of London and Wardis (Sussex), baptised at St Mary Bothaw, London, 31 August 1589. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1605) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1607). At the time of his marriage he had only about £300 a year, but the estate he acquired by marriage enabled him to support a large family. It was said near the time that 'All his children were very ingenious and prosperous in the world, and most of them handsome', something which surviving portraits tend to bear out. He married 1st, 1610, Elizabeth (1594-1650), third daughter and co-heiress of Edward Villiers of Hothorpe (Northants) and stepdaughter of Dr. Kettel, the President of Trinity College, and 2nd, Susanna, daughter of Sir Richard Burneby, kt. of Watford (Northants), and had issue:

(1.1) George Bathurst (1612-44), baptised at Garsington (Oxon), 22 March 1611/2; educated at Trinity College, Oxford (admitted 1626; matriculated 1629; BA 1629; MA 1632; BD 1640); Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, 1634-44; a Royalist in the Civil War, who died as a result of a wound in the thigh received at the siege of Faringdon (Berks), 2 May 1644; a probate inventory of his goods was approved at Oxford, 7 August 1645;

(1.2) Rev. Edward Bathurst (1614-68), said to have been born 1 January 1614; educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1629; BA 1630; MA 1634; BD 1641; DD); 'a distinguished Royalist academic' and 'a person of singular learning and probity', he was a Fellow of Trinity College, and erected a statue of the founder over the entrance to the hall in 1665, when his brother Ralph was President; ordained deacon, 1636 and priest, 1637; vicar of Aylburton (Glos), 1638-42; vicar of Cropredy (Oxon), 1642-56, and rector of Chipping Warden (Northants), 1656-68; died 19 November 1668 and was buried at Chipping Warden, where he is commemorated by a monument; will proved in the PCC, 10 December 1668;

(1.3) Eliza Bathurst (1615-1713?), born 1615; married, 19 August 1638 at Holy Trinity, Coventry (Warks),  Abraham Bowne (1617-95?) of Coundon (Warks), son of Ralph Bowne of Coventry, and had issue three sons and one daughter; living in 1698 and said to have died aged about 97 on 28 July 1713;

(1.4) John Bathurst (1616-56), born 1616; apprenticed to Robert Garland of London, fishmonger, 1639; a citizen and fishmonger of London, who had a number of apprentices during the Civil War and Commonwealth; a member of the Common Council of the City of London; died unmarried and without issue and was buried at Theddingworth, 23 April 1656 (the same day as his father);

(1.5) James Bathurst (1618-82), of Dublin and Boulten (Co. Kildare), born 1618; married 1st, Elizabeth Clarke and had issue ten children; married 2nd, 1664, Elizabeth Blounte (d. 1691); died in Dublin in 1682 and his probate inventory was approved, 1683;

(1.6) Very Rev. Dr Ralph Bathurst (1620-1704), born 1620; educated at Gloucester Hall and Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1634; BA 1638; MA 1641; MB 1653; MD 1654; DD); Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, 1640-1704 (President, 1664-1704), where he built the wonderful chapel and the earlier part of Garden Quad; Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1673-76, in which capacity he refitted the chancel of St Mary's church; ordained 1644, but on the suppression of the church establishment by Parliament, he qualified as a doctor and practised as a physician in Oxford for many years, appointed a physician to the sick and wounded in the Navy under the Commonwealth; after the Restoration he became rector of Garsington (Oxon), 1664 and Dean of Wells Cathedral, 1670, but declined the bishopric of Bristol in 1691; Chaplain to King Charles II; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1663-1704; a friend of Sir Christopher Wren, who was consulted about his buildings for Trinity College; became blind some years before his death; married, 1664, Mary (c.1617-90), daughter and heiress of John Tristram of Baunton (Devon) and widow of Dr. John Palmer MD of Taunton, Warden of All Souls College, but had no issue; he died 14 June 1704 after breaking his leg in a fall occasioned by his blindness while walking in his garden a few days earlier, and was buried in Trinity College chapel; his will was proved 22 June 1704;

(1.7) Henry Bathurst (b. & d. 1621), baptised at Theddingworth, 6 July 1621; died in infancy;

(1.8) Mary Bathurst (1622-c.1700), born 1622; married, 23 November 1648 at Cropredy (Oxon), John Turner of Hothorpe and had issue two sons and three daughters; buried at Theddingworth, 28 May 1700; will proved at Leicester, 1700;

(1.9) Henry Bathurst (1623-76), born 1623; educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1638), Clifford's Inn and the Inner Temple (admitted 1646; called 1653); barrister-at-law; attorney general for Munster; recorder of Cork and Kinsale; lived at Castlepark (Co. Cork); married Jane [surname unknown] (fl. 1667), but died without issue; will was proved in Dublin 27 May 1676;

(1.10) Lancelot Bathurst (1624-69), born 1624; apprenticed to Robert Ostwick of London, draper, 1644; died unmarried and without issue and was buried at Theddingworth, 23 August 1669;

(1.11) Thomas Bathurst (b. 1626), baptised at Theddingworth, 29 March 1626; apprenticed to George Haynes of London, grocer, 1640; said to have been killed in the Civil War and this may be correct as there seems no sign of him afterwards; he died without issue;

(1.12) Samuel Bathurst (1627-66?), baptised at Theddingworth, 15 July 1627; apprenticed to Robert Allam of London, grocer, 1642; married Mary [surname unknown] (fl. 1650) and had issue three sons (one of whom, Villiers Bathurst (1655-1711) is said erroneously in some sources to be a son rather than a grandson of George Bathurst); known to be dead by 1668 and perhaps the man of this name whose will was proved in Dublin, 23 February 1666;

(1.13) Moses Bathurst (1628-1705), baptised at Theddingworth, 29 September 1628; merchant in London; inherited the Hothorpe estate from his father in 1656; married, by 1659, Dorothy (1640-1711), daughter of Dr. John Bathurst of Leeds (Yorks WR), and had issue two daughters; retired to Hothorpe Hall; died 28 March 1705 and was buried at Theddingworth; will proved 18 June 1705;

(1.14) Judith Bathurst (1631-1708), born 1631; lived with her brother Edward, at Chipping Warden and was his executor, and later with her brother Moses at Hothorpe; died unmarried 5 June 1708; will proved in the PCC, 9 July 1708;

(1.15) Susanna Bathurst (1633-1705), baptised at Holy Trinity, Coventry (Warks), 5 May 1633; married Rev. Joseph Guy (c.1642-1706), vicar of Speenhamland (Berks), 1670-1706; buried at Speenhamland, 10 January 1704/5;

(1.16) Joseph Bathurst (b. 1634), baptised at Holy Trinity, Coventry, 28 October 1634; apprenticed to Robert Ostwick of London, draper, 1651; owned a plantation of 1200 acres on Jamaica, 1670; joint clerk of the common pleas at Port Royal, Jamaica, 1688, and from 1692 in any town on the island, an earthquake having destroyed Port Royal; married and had issue three daughters; date of death untraced;

(1.17) Sir Benjamin Bathurst (1638-1704), kt. (q.v.).

He inherited Hothorpe Hall (Leics) in right of his first wife on his marriage in 1610.

He died 19 April, and was buried at Theddingworth, 23 April 1656, where he is commemorated by a wall monument; his will was proved 16 September 1656. His first wife was buried 5 January 1650. His second wife married 2nd, [forename unknown] Brian; her death has not been traced.

Sir Benjamin Bathurst (1638-1704)
Image: Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg 

Bathurst, Sir Benjamin (1638-1704), kt. Thirteenth and youngest son of George Bathurst (1589-1651/56) of Hothorpe (Northants) and his first wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Edward Villiers of Hothorpe, baptised at Theddingworth (Leics), 3 October 1638. His much older brothers having been active Royalists during the Civil War, he was unable to live in England without disturbance during the Commonwealth period, and settled in Cadiz and later Seville (Spain), where he became a prosperous merchant. He probably returned to England in the early 1670s. He was a Director of Royal African Company 1677-95 (deputy governor, 1680-82; sub-governor, 1682-84, 1685-86 and 1689-90); of the East India Company, 1684-98 (deputy governor, 1686-88, 1695-96; governor, 1688-90), and of the Levant Company (deputy governor, 1686-87, 1688-89, 1695). An alderman of the city of London, 1683-86 and a Deputy Lieutenant for the City, 1685-87, 1688-89 and 1702-04. MP for Bere Alston (Devon), 1685-87 and for New Romney (Kent), 1702-04. He was knighted, 17 January 1682 and was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University (DCL, 1702). His wife was an intimate friend of Princess Anne (later Queen Anne), and secured him a succession of financial appointments at Court in which he distinguished himself (according to his epitaph) ‘by his singular prudence and economy’; he also became a significant lender to the Government. He was a Commissioner for the Duke of York's revenue, 1682-85 and Treasurer to the Duke, 1684-85; Treasurer to Princess Anne of Denmark, 1683-1702 and to her husband, Prince George of Denmark, 1684-1702; Treasurer to the Duke of Gloucester, 1699-1700, and Cofferer of the Royal Household, 1702-04. He married, June 1682, Frances (1653-1727), daughter of Sir Allen Apsley, kt., and had issue:

(1) Allen Bathurst (1684-1775), 1st Baron Bathurst and 1st Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(2) Peter Bathurst (1687-1748) [for whom see my article on the Hervey-Bathursts of Clarendon Park]

(3) Ann Bathurst (1690-1729), born 1 December and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 12 December 1690; married, as his second wife, Henry Pye (1683-1749) of Faringdon House (Berks) and Knotting (Beds), and had issue sixteen children (of whom seven sons and six daughters survived to maturity); died 6 October 1729;

(4) Benjamin Bathurst (1692-1767) [for whom see my article on the Bathursts of Lydney].

He purchased the manor of Paulerspury (Northants) from Edward Hales (1645-95) in 1673-74 and in 1675 also acquired the rectory manor at Potterspury (Northants); they were settled on his wife by their marriage settlement, but she gave them to her eldest son in 1707. In 1695 he purchased the Cirencester estate for his eldest son and he also bought lands in Lincolnshire for his second son.

He died 27 April and was buried at Paulerspury, 9 May 1704; his will was proved in the PCC, 19 May 1704. His widow died 7 June and was buried at Paulerspury, 13 June 1727.

Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Rt. Hon. Allen (1684-1775), 1st Baron Bathurst and 1st Earl Bathurst. Son of Sir Benjamin Bathurst (d. 1704), kt. and his wife Frances, daughter of Sir Allen Apsley of Apsley (Sussex), born 16 November 1684. Educated privately (by the Hugeunot émigré, Abel Boyer (d. 1729)) and at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1700). Tory MP for Cirencester, 1705-12. His connections to the court of Queen Anne were strong (his father had been her Treasurer and his mother a close confidant), and in 1708 Queen Anne and her consort spent the night at Cirencester Park. He was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Bathurst of Battlesden* (Beds), 1 January 1711/2, as part of the Queen's plan to pack the House of Lords with twelve carefully selected Tory peers in order to secure the passage of the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the War of the Spanish Succession. With the death of Queen Anne in 1714 and the arrival of King George I, who favoured the Whig party, he found himself in the political wilderness and became a Jacobite, sending money and assurances of support to the old Pretender and vigorously opposing successive Whig ministries in the Lords (in an attempt to suppress evidence of his Jacobitism, his son burned almost all his correspondence, which is a sad loss). There was a restlessness about him which his brother Benjamin found annoying: ‘he has more than once, in my opinion, quitted his best friends for those I think very indifferent. He flies about in life as in his journeys, still pursuing something new, without taking the least delight in anything he once has known.’ He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1742 and was Captain of the Gentleman Pensioners, 1742-44. Later in the 1740s, he was a member of Prince Frederick’s ‘Leicester House faction’, and when the princely household was re-established for the future George III Bathurst was appointed its Treasurer, 1757-60. When George III became king, he declined office on the grounds of his age, but was awarded a pension of £2,000 a year, and some years later he was promoted in the peerage to be 1st Earl Bathurst of Bathurst (Sussex), 27 August 1772. He was a friend of both the leading Tory writers, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, and was particularly close to Pope on whose advice he relied a great deal in laying out the grounds at Cirencester. He gained a considerable reputation for his landscape design ability, and is known to have supplied designs to the Duke of Bolton for landscaping at Hackwood (Hants). He married**, 6 July 1704, his first cousin, Catherine (1688-1768), daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Peter Apsley of Apsley (Sussex), and had issue including:

(1) Catherine Bathurst (b. 1705), born 2 December and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 16 December 1705; died young;

(2) Hon. Frances Bathurst (1708-56), born 6 July 1708; married 1st, 5 August 1731, William Wodehouse MP (1705-35), son of Sir John Wodehouse, 4th bt., of Kimberley Hall (Norfk), but had no issue; married 2nd, 5 December 1738 at Bath (Som.), James Whitshed (c.1716-89), MP for St Ives, 1754-61 and for Cirencester, 1761-83 (who m2, 6 June 1770 at Walcot (Som.), Frances, daughter of Thomas Enery of Bawnboy (Co. Cavan)), son of James Whitshed of Dublin; buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 25 May 1756;

(3) Lady Catherine Bathurst (1709-1800), born 12 November and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 20 November 1709; married, 14 April[?] 1737 at St James, Piccadilly, Hon. Henry Reginald Courtenay (1714-63) of Aldershot (Hants), MP for Honiton, 1741-47, 1754-63, son of Sir William Courtenay, 2nd bt., of Powderham Castle (Devon) and but for the attainder 6th Earl of Devon, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died in London, May 1800;

(4) Hon. Benjamin Bathurst (1711-67), born 12 August and baptised 18 August 1711; educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1725); undertook a Grand Tour through France and Italy, 1729-30; Tory MP for Cirencester, 1754-61; out-ranger of Windsor Forest, 1763-65, a post from which he was removed by the Earl of Rockingham but for which he was compensated with a secret service pension of £500 a year; lived at Siddington (Glos); married, 26 November 1732, Lady Elizabeth (d. 1771), daughter of Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin and Earl of Ailesbury, and had issue one son, who died in infancy; died 22 January and was buried at Siddington, 27 January 1767;

(5) Henry Bathurst (1714-94), 2nd Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(6) Lady Jane Bathurst (1718-94), born 13 April 1718; married, 24 April 1744 at St James, Piccadilly, as his second wife, James Buller (1717-65) of Downes and Kings Nympton Park (Devon), MP for East Looe, 1741-47 and for Cornwall, 1748-65, eldest son of John Francis Buller MP, and had issue three sons and three daughters; died in London, 5 March 1794;

(7) Lady Leonora Bathurst (c.1720-98), born about 1720; married, 2 September 1752, Gen. Edward Urmston (1720-78); died at Esher, and was buried at Harrow (Middx), 5 November 1798; will proved 11 December 1798;

(8) Hon. Allen Bathurst (1721-25), born 16 February and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 6 March 1720/1; died young and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, 25 January 1724/5;

(9) Lady Anne Bathurst (1722-1803); married, 13 April 1752, Rev. James Benson LLD (c.1721-81), vicar of Siddington St Mary (Glos) and chancellor of the diocese of Gloucester, and had issue one son (who died young) and two daughters; buried at St Mary de Lode, Gloucester, 11 February 1803; will proved at Gloucester, 9 August 1811 (effects under £100);

(10) Hon. Mary Bathurst (1724-25), baptised at St James Piccadilly, 30 December 1724; died in infancy and was buried at St James Piccadilly, 20 February 1724/5;

(11) Hon. John Bathurst (1726-77), born 29 January and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 16 February 1725/6; lived at Sapperton (Glos); died unmarried, 7 May, and was buried at Sapperton, 12 May 1777; by his will proved in the PCC, 31 October 1777 he left all his possessions to his housekeeper, Mrs Ann Stockwell;

(12) Hon. Edmund Bathurst (1727-28), born 1 April and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 17 April 1727; died in infancy and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, 29 January 1727/8;

(13) Hon. and Rev. Allen Bathurst (1729-67), born 6 September and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, 24 September 1729; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1748; BCL 1756); ordained deacon, 1752 and priest, 1754; rector of Sapperton, 1754-67 and Beverstone (Glos), 1760-67; died unmarried, 22 August and was buried at Sapperton, 25 August 1767.

He inherited the Cirencester Park and Hothorpe estates from his father in 1704, and remodelled the house at Cirencester in 1723-27. He devoted much of his life to laying out the grounds at Cirencester with the help of Alexander Pope (1688-1744). He purchased the Battlesden (Beds) estate in 1706. In 1707 his mother gave him the Paulerspury estate in Northamptonshire. In 1708 he inherited in right of his wife the Richings Park (alias Riskins) estate at Iver (Bucks) and the Langwith (Notts/Derbys) estate from her brother. He sold Battlesden in 1727 and Richings Park in 1739.

He died aged 90 on 16 September and was buried at Cirencester, 21 September 1775; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 October 1775. His wife died 8 June, and was buried at Cirencester, 16 June 1768.

* The choice of this title is interesting, since they only acquired Battlesden in 1706 and sold it in 1727. It suggests that at the time they had thoughts of making Battlesden their principal seat.

** Their daughter Leonora recorded that the couple had been through a form of marriage in 1692 (when Allen was eight and Catharine was four), which was 'celebrated in jest' to please their grandmother, Lady Apsley.

Henry Bathurst, 1st Baron Apsley 
and 2nd Earl Bathurst

Bathurst, Rt. Hon. Henry (1714-94), 1st Lord Apsley and later 2nd Earl Bathurst. Second son of Allen Bathurst (1684-1775), 1st Baron Bathurst and later 1st Earl Bathurst, and his wife Catherine, born 20 May 1714. Educated at Eton, Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1730) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1730; called 1736; bencher 1746). He was also admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1743. Barrister at law (KC, 1746), practising on the Oxford circuit; Tory MP for Cirencester, 1735-54, when he withdrew in favour of his elder brother; solicitor general, 1745-48 and attorney general, 1748-51 to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and later attorney general to George, Prince of Wales, 1751-54; Judge of Court of Common Pleas, 1754-71; one of the judges who held the Lord Chancellorship in commission, 1770-71. He was sworn of the Privy Council in and raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Apsley, 24 January 1771, on being made the substantive Lord Chancellor, in which office he served until 1778. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl Bathurst, 16 September 1775, and after being removed from the Chancellorship because his views on the American War of Independence were at variance with those of the Government, he was made Lord President of the Council, 1779-82. Contemporaries felt he 'was honourable and good humoured', but that 'his abilities were perhaps unsuited to the high offices which he came to fill', although even his critic, Lord Campbell, admitted that 'his career had been without reproach and that, so far as the public could observe, he had performed his duties decently'. He married 1st, 19 September 1754 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Anne (d. 1758), daughter and heiress of [forename unknown] James and widow of Charles Philipps (d. 1753?); and 2nd, 6 June 1759 at Maidwell (Northants), Tryphena (1730-1807), daughter of Thomas Scawen of Maidwell, and had issue:

(2.1) Lady Tryphena Bathurst (1760-1834), born 23 October and baptised at St Anne, Soho, Westminster (Middx), 15 November 1760; lived with her sisters in London (Manchester Square and later 10 Upper Cadogan Place); died unmarried, 11 December, and was buried at St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), 18 December 1834; will proved in the PCC, 23 December 1834;

(2.2) Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(2.3) Lady Catharine Bathurst (1764-1837), born 14 June and baptised at St Anne, Soho, 2 July 1764; lived in London with her elder sister; died unmarried, 23 October, and was buried at Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), 30 October 1837; will proved in the PCC, 10 November 1837;

(2.4) Lady Letitia Selina Bathurst (1766-1827), born 3 January and baptised at St Anne, Soho, 1 February 1766; lived with her sisters in London; died unmarried, 7 June and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 13 June 1827; will proved in the PCC, 5 July 1827;

(2.5) Lady Susanna Bathurst (1768-1847), born 3 February and baptised at St Anne, Soho, 27 February 1768; lived with her sisters in London; died unmarried, about 30 March and was buried at St Luke, Chelsea, 3 April 1847; will proved 10 April 1847;

(2.6) Hon. Apsley Bathurst (1769-1816), born 14 October and baptised at St Anne, Soho, 10 November 1769; educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1786; BA 1789) and Inner Temple (admitted 1787); Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (BCL 1794; DCL 1801); joint Clerk of the Crown in Chancery with his brother, 1801-16; died unmarried, 24 January 1816.

He inherited the Cirencester Park, Hothorpe and Paulerspury estates from his father in 1775, and continued the laying out of the park at Cirencester. He built Apsley House to the designs of Robert Adam as his town house in 1771-78 and built or acquired Fairy Hill as a suburban residence before 1771. He sold Hothorpe in 1788 to William Cook of Enfield.

He died 6 August and was buried at Cirencester, 13 August 1794; his will was proved in the PCC, 23 September 1794. His first wife died 4 February and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 9 February 1758. His widow died 2 December and was buried at Cirencester, 17 December 1807; her will was proved in the PCC, 7 January 1808.

Rt. Hon. Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst. Elder son of Henry Bathurst (1714-94), 1st Lord Apsley and later 2nd Earl Bathurst, and his second wife, Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen of Maidwell (Northants), born 22 May 1762. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1779; Hon. DCL 1814), and then undertook a Grand Tour with his friend William Wyndham Greville, travelling through Germany and Switzerland to Italy and returning through France via Paris, 1781-83. Tory MP for Cirencester, 1783-94; a Lord of the Admiralty, 1783-89 and of the Treasury, 1789-91. He was the last Teller of the Exchequer, 1790-1834, before the abolition of that post. He succeeded his father as 3rd Earl Bathurst, 6 August 1794. He was sworn of the Privy Council, 1793 and continued to hold Government office as a Commissioner of the Board of Control for India, 1793-1802; Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, 1801-34 (jointly until 1816); Master of the Mint, 1804-06 and 1807-12; President of the Board of Trade, 1807-12; Foreign Secretary for a short period, October-December 1809; Secretary for War and the Colonies, 1812-27; and Lord President of the Council, 1828-30. He was made a Knight of the Garter, 1817. Locally, he was an officer in the Cirencester Volunteer Cavalry (Capt. commanding, 1803). He was a loyal personal friend and protégé of Pitt the younger, and was useful to successive Governments as a broker of deals across cabinet factions during the volatile Napoleonic era. In the 1820s his annual salary from active and nominal offices exceeded £10,000, and attracted hostile comment in the Liberal press, which called him "notoriously a person with the least possible claims to public honour and emoluments. He is altogether without talent, a most feeble awkward, and puzzled speaker, and, in every sense of the word, a most trifling personage." Although most contemporaries were agreed that he was not a particularly good speaker, he wrote well and appears to have been a competent administrator: he held office continuously for longer than any of his contemporaries. Charles Greville, once his private secretary, wrote of him: "He was a very amiable man and with a good understanding, though his talents were far from brilliant, a High Churchman and a High Tory, but a cool politician... greatly averse to changes but unwillingly acquiescing in many. He was nervous and reserved with a good deal of humour, and habitually a jester... I am disposed to rate his abilities more highly than the world has done". He was a book-lover, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He married, 1 April 1789 at West Stoke (Sussex), Georgina (1765-1841), daughter of Lord George Lennox and sister of the 4th Duke of Richmond, and had issue:

(1) Henry George Bathurst (1790-1866), 4th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(2) William Lennox Bathurst (1791-1878), 5th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(3) Lady Louisa Georgina Bathurst (1792-1874), born 22 September and baptised at East Lavant (Sussex), 21 October 1792; Lady in Waiting to HRH The Duchess of Gloucester; lived latterly at 4 Wilton Crescent, London; died there, unmarried, 27 March, and was buried at Cirencester, 2 April 1874; will proved 13 May 1874 (effects under £30,000);

(4) Hon. Peter George Allen Bathurst (1794-96), born 14 January 1794; died young, 22 October 1796;

(5) Hon. Thomas Seymour Bathurst (1795-1834) (q.v.);

(6) Lady Emily Charlotte Bathurst (1798-1877), born 28 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., London, 9 March 1798; married, 16 March 1825 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Maj-Gen. the Hon. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby (1783-1837), GCMB, KCB, KCH, Governor of Malta, son of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough and brother of Lady Caroline Lamb, and had issue three sons and three daughters; lived latterly at Hampton Court Palace (Middx); died 1 February 1877; will proved 9 March 1877 (effects under £45,000);

(7) Hon. and Rev. Charles Bathurst (1802-42), born 21 January and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., London, 24 February 1802; educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1821; BA 1825); Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (BCL 1825; DCL 1835); ordained deacon, 1825 and priest, 1826; vicar of Limber Magna (Lincs), 1827-30; rector of Southam (Warks), 1830 and of Siddington (Glos), 1830-42; married, 31 July 1830, Lady Emily Caroline (1810-81), daughter of Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon, but had no issue; died at Abbey House, Cirencester, 28 February 1842.

He inherited Apsley House, London, and the Cirencester Park, Paulerspury and Langwith Lodge estates from his father in 1794, and made improvements to the house at Cirencester in 1812 and the late 1820s, and also to the park, which he finally united by closing the public road between the Home and Oakley parks in 1813-14. He sold Paulerspury to Robert Shedden in 1805 and Apsley House, London to the Marquess of Wellesley in 1808, and his town house was subsequently 16 Arlington St., London.

He died in London, 27 July and was buried at Cirencester, 5 August 1834; his will was proved 1 September 1834. His widow died in London, 20 January and was buried at Cirencester, 27 January 1841; her will was proved 12 March 1841.

Henry George Bathurst, 4th Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Henry George (1790-1866), 4th Earl Bathurst. Eldest son of Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst, and his wife Georgina, daughter of Lord George Lennox, born 24 February 1790. Educated at Eton, Glasgow University (admitted 1806) and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1808; BA 1811; MA 1814; Hon. DCL 1820). An officer of the Cirencester Yeomanry Cavalry (Capt. commanding, 1810). Tory MP for Weobley, Jan-Sept. 1812 and for Cirencester, 1812-34, in which capacity he was 'a die-hard opponent' of Catholic emancipation. He joined the Government as a commissioner of the Board of Control for India, 1812-18. In April 1814 he went to Paris, where Castlereagh took him under his wing, and he accompanied Castlereagh to Vienna later in the year, returning home in May 1815. In June he he returned to the Continent to join Wellington’s staff as a civilian, and he was present at the battle of Waterloo. Lady Harriet Leveson Gower reported from Paris: "Lord Apsley is full of the battle, in which he by all accounts put himself forward as much as any who were not obliged to do so. He is a good-natured, friendly creature, and has shown great spirit where he might have got off without showing any." He succeeded his father as 4th Earl Bathurst, 27 July 1834. It is said that his 'shy and reserved' manner concealed a kind and generous personality, and he leased the site for the building of the Royal Agricultural College in the 1840s. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the Cirencester Park and Langwith Lodge estates from his father in 1834. He sold Langwith Lodge to the Duke of Portland in 1844.

He died 25 May and was buried at Cirencester, 1 June 1866; his will was proved 13 September 1866 (effects under £90,000).

William Lennox Bathurst, 5th Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, William Lennox (1791-1878), 5th Earl Bathurst. Second son of Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst, and his wife Georgina, daughter of Lord George Lennox, born 14 February 1791. Educated at Eton, Glasgow University (admitted 1806), Christ Church and All Souls College, Oxford (matriculated 1808; BA 1812; MA 1817; Hon. DCL 1870) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1812; called 1821). Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, 1812-78; Tory MP for Weobley, 1812-16, but resigned on becoming deputy (to his father) teller of the Exchequer, 1816-30, a place which provided a handsome salary of £1,200 a year and gave him the time to complete his legal studies. He qualified as a barrister-at-law, but only practised for a few years, until his father secured him further public appointments as a commissioner for victualling the Royal Navy, 1825-29; joint secretary to the Board of Trade, 1830-47 and joint Clerk to the Privy Council, 1830-60. He succeeded his brother as 5th Earl Bathurst, 25 May 1866. He was a generous benefactor of church building and restoration, and paid for the addition of a tower and spire to Watermoor church and for the restoration of the medieval reredos in All Souls College chapel, for both of which the architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott (d. 1872). He was unmarried and without issue.

He lived principally at 38 Half Moon St., London, but inherited the Cirencester Park and Scarcliffe estates from his elder brother in 1876.

He died at his house in London, 24 February, and was buried at Cirencester, 2 March 1878; his will was proved 25 March 1878 (effects under £70,000).

Lt-Col. Thomas Seymour Bathurst (1795-1834) 

Bathurst, Lt-Col. the Hon. (Thomas) Seymour (1795-1834). Fourth son of Rt. Hon. Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst, and his wife Georgina, daughter of Lord George Lennox, born 28 October and baptised at Cirencester, 21 November 1795. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Grenadier Guards (Ensign & Lt., 1814; Lt & Capt., 1821; Maj., 1823; br. Lt-Col., 1825; retired 1828), who fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815; his brother-in-law, General Ponsonby, was no doubt responsible for his later appointments as Inspecting Field Officer of Militia in the Ionian Islands, 1825-28 and Deputy Governor of Malta, 1831, both roles in which Ponsonby was his superior. He married, 6 October 1829 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Julia (1798-1877), daughter of John Peter Hankey of London, a partner in Simond & Hankey, West India merchants, and had issue:

(1) Isabel Melita Bathurst (b. & d. 1830), born 5 August 1830; died in infancy, 26 August 1830;

(2) Isabel Melita Frederica Bathurst (b. & d. 1831); died in infancy, 10 October 1831;

(3) Allen Alexander Bathurst (1832-92), 6th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(4) Mary Selina Bathurst (1834-83), born and baptised at Putney (Surrey), 14 September 1834; died unmarried at Chateau Leader, Cannes (France), 16 March 1883.

After his marriage he seems to have lived chiefly at his father-in-law's London house in Grosvenor Sq. or at his father's house, Lime Grove in Putney (Surrey), but he also acquired Hyams, Bagshot, which was later occupied by his widow and children.

He died 10 April, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 16 April 1834, but was  exhumed and reburied at Cirencester on the same day as his father, 5 August 1834. His widow died 21 February 1877; her will was proved 31 March 1877 (effects under £120,000).

Allen Alexander Bathurst, 6th Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Allen Alexander (1832-92), 6th Earl Bathurst. Only son of Lt-Col. the Hon. Thomas Seymour Bathurst (1795-1834) and his wife Julia, daughter of John Peter Hankey, born 19 October and baptised at Cirencester, 26 November 1832. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1850; Hon. MA 1853). Conservative MP for Cirencester, 1857-78; JP for Gloucestershire; County Councillor for Gloucestershire, 1889-92; an officer in the Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteers (Capt., 1860; retired 1872); Hon. Lt-Col. of North Gloucestershire Militia, 1870-78. He succeeded his uncle as 6th Earl Bathurst, 24 February 1878. He married 1st, 30 January 1862 at Tabley chapel, Great Budworth (Ches.), Hon. Meriel (1839-72), second daughter of George Leicester Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley and 2nd, 6 June 1874 at Fetcham (Surrey), Evelyn Elizabeth (1847-1927), only daughter of George James Barnard Hankey of Fetcham Park (Surrey), and had issue:

(1.1) Lady Georgina Meriel Bathurst (1863-1922), born 25 July 1863; married, 25 February 1885 at St Peter, Eaton Square, Westminster (Middx), Rt. Hon. Sir George William Buchanan GCB GCMG GCVO, diplomat, son of Sir Andrew Buchanan GCB, 1st bt., and had issue one daughter; died 25 April 1922; administration of goods granted to her husband, 10 July 1922 (effects £748);

(1.2) Seymour Henry Bathurst (1864-1943), 7th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(1.3) Hon. Lancelot Julian Bathurst (1868-1928), born 24 January and baptised at Chobham (Surrey), 25 February 1868; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1886; BA 1890); he worked in publishing for some years, owned and published Land and Water magazine, was a partner in a firm of wine merchants, before becoming manager of The Morning Post, 1910-15, from which he retired on health grounds; he was a keen sportsman, and was Master of Exmoor Foxhounds, 1889-94, the Puckeridge Hunt, 1894-96, and the Eggesford Hunt, 1896-1901; his obituarist called him 'perhaps the greatest living authority on hunting' and 'a great conversationalist'; he lived latterly near Midhurst (Sussex); he died 14 June 1928 and was buried at Cirencester, 18 June 1928; administration of his goods was granted 19 December 1928 (estate £416);

(1.4) A son (b. & d. 1870), born 31 December 1870 and died the same day;

(1.5) Hon. (Allen) Benjamin Bathurst (1872-1947), born 25 June and baptised at Chobham, 27 July 1872; educated at Eton and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester; an officer in 4th (Militia) Battn, Gloucestershire Regiment (2nd Lt, 1891; Lt., 1893; Capt., 1895; Maj., 1904; Lt-Col. 1914; retired 1921); MP for East Gloucestershire, 1895-1906, 1910-18; PPS to the Postmaster General, 1901-03; lived latterly at Queensmead, Windsor (Berks); married, 22 April 1902 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Augusta Ruby (1877-1971), daughter of Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill, and had issue one son; suffered a severe heart attack in 1945 and was an invalid until his death on 8 October 1947; will proved 13 August 1947 (estate £19,650);

(2.1) Lady Evelyn Selina Bathurst (1875-1946), born 18 October and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), 1 December 1875; married, 18 June 1898 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Maj. George Coryton Lister (1864-1903), son of Sir Thomas Villiers Lister KCMG, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 16 April 1946; will proved 30 October 1946 (estate £17,245).

He lived chiefly in London and at Hyams, Bagshot (Surrey) until he inherited the Cirencester Park (Glos) and Scarcliffe (Derbys) estates from his uncle in 1878.

He died 1 August 1892 and was buried at Cirencester; his will was proved 8 October 1892 (effects £249,425). His first wife died in London after childbirth, 6 July 1872, and was buried at Hyams, Bagshot (Surrey). His widow died 1 March 1927; her will was proved 27 April 1927 (estate £22,973).

Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Seymour Henry (1864-1943), 7th Earl Bathurst. Eldest son of Allen Alexander Bathurst (1832-92), 6th Earl Bathurst, and his first wife, the Hon. Meriel, daughter of George Leicester Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley, born 21 July and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., London, 13 August 1864. He succeeded his father as 7th Earl Bathurst, 2 August 1892. JP and DL for Gloucestershire, and a County Councillor 1890-1943. An officer in the 4th (Militia) Battn, Gloucestershire Regiment (Capt. 1889; Maj. 1894; Lt-Col. 1898; retired 1908) and saw service in South Africa (awarded CMG, 1902); Hon. Col. of 4th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, 1908-33; President of the Gloucestershire Territorial Army Association. He was a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery and president or trustee of many local organisations, including the Bingham Library Trust and the Cirencester Conservative Benefit Society. He was Master of the VWH (Earl Bathurst's Hounds) for more than half a century. As a freemason he served as Senior Grand Warden of the Gloucestershire Province and as Grand Warden of England. He was widely regarded as a model landlord and practical farmer. He married, 15 November 1893 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Hon. Lilias Margaret Frances (1871-1965), only surviving child of Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk, and after his death in 1908, owner of the strongly Conservative Morning Post until 1937, when it was merged with the Daily Telegraph. They had issue:

(1) Lady Meriel Olivia Bathurst (1894-1936), born 3 September 1894; married, 4 May 1916, Capt. Lord Alastair Mungo Graham RN (1886-1976) of Chantry Farm, Campsea Ash (Suffk)  (who m2, 24 Oct 1944 Sheelah Violet (d. 1985), daughter of Essex Edgeworth Reade), third son of Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 18 January 1936; will proved 2 April 1936 (estate £14,305);

(2) Hon. Allen Algernon Bathurst (1895-1942), Lord Apsley (q.v.);

(3) Hon. William Ralph Seymour Bathurst (1903-70), born 21 September and baptised at Cirencester, 18 October 1903; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford (BA 1925; MA 1929); banker; served in Second World War as an officer in Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (Capt.); High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1952; a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries; Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol, 1958-59; a freemason (Provincial Grand Master for Gloucestershire, 1950); lived at Cold Ashton Manor (Glos) from c.1947-70; married, 12 July 1932 at St George, Hanover Square, London, Helen Winifred (1905-72), elder daughter of Lt-Col. Harry Heathcoat-Amory of Hele Manor, Dulverton (Som.), but had no issue; killed in a car crash, 10 September 1970; will proved 27 October 1970 (estate £168,996);

(4) Hon. Ralph Henry Bathurst (1904-65), born 26 September and baptised at Cirencester, 23 October 1904; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford (MA); lived at The Cranhams, Chesterton (Glos); he was unmarried and without issue; committed suicide in the grounds of his home, 5 December 1965; will proved 29 March 1966 (estate £138,836).

He inherited Cirencester Park and the Scarcliffe estate in Derbyshire from his father in 1892.

He died 21 September 1943. His widow died 30 December 1965; her will was proved 14 April 1966 (estate £17,029).

Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley 

Bathurst, Hon. Allen Algernon (1895-1942), Lord Apsley. Eldest son of Seymour Henry Bathurst (1864-1943), 7th Earl Bathurst, and his wife Hon. Lilias Margaret Frances Borthwick, only surviving child of 1st Lord Glenesk, born 3 August and baptised at Cirencester, 15 September 1895. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (2nd Lt, 1914; Lt, 1917; Capt. 1918; Maj., 1938; Lt. Col.), who served in the First World War (awarded MC, 1917 and DSO, 1918), 1915-19 and in Second World War, 1939-42, latterly with the Arab Legion, 1941-42. Conservative MP for Southampton, 1922-29 and Bristol (Central), 1931-42; PPS to junior ministers, 1924-29, 1936; JP (from 1930) and DL (from 1923) for Gloucestershire, Bristol and the city of Gloucester. In continuance of a long family tradition, he was a director of the Morning Post, until he resigned in 1935. An enthusiastic and intrepid amateur pilot, he was President of the UK Pilots' Association, 1925, and later chairman of Western Airways and Western Air Transport Co., based at Weston-super-Mare (Som.); his career as an amateur pilot included many forced landings (including seven on one journey returning from Poland in 1938) and a crash-landing in the sea off the Isle of Wight. In the 1920s, wishing to investigate the conditions of immigrants in Australia, he sailed there under the name of George Bott and worked as a farmhand in Victoria; he was also the author (with Lady Apsley) of The Amateur Settlers (1925) about his travels in the Northern Territory of Australia. He married, 27 February 1924 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Viola Emily Mildred CBE MP (1895-1966), elder daughter of Capt. Bertram Charles Christopher Spencer Meeking of Richings Park (Bucks), and had issue:

(1) Henry Allen John Bathurst (1927-2011), 8th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(2) Hon. George Bertram Bathurst (1929-2010), of Hullasey House, Tarlton (Glos), born 12 March 1929; educated at Eton, Ridley College (Canada), Trinity College, Oxford (MA) and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester; an officer in the Royal Armoured Corps (2nd Lt., 1949; Lt., 1949; ret. 1949) and and Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (2nd Lt, 1951; Lt. 1952; Capt. 1956; retired 1967); obtained a private pilot's licence, 1948; married, Jul-Sept 1973 (div. 1989 but remarried November 2005), Susan Mary (b. 1945), daughter of Malcolm Messer CBE of Tarlton, and had issue one son; died 22 February 2010; will proved 29 July 2011.

His father gave him Franks Hall as a wedding present in 1923, but he and his wife only lived there for a few months and it was sold in the 1930s. He lived later at Petty France, Badminton (Glos). His widow lived latterly at Hullasey House, Tarlton (Glos).

He was killed on active service in the lifetime of his father, 17 December 1942, and was buried at Kalkara Naval Cemetery, Malta; his will was proved 21 February 1945 (estate £3,559). His widow, who was left an invalid after spinal damage in a hunting accident before the Second World War, succeeded him as MP for Bristol (Central), 1943-45 and as a director of Western Airways, and was MFH of the Vale of White Horse Hunt, 1946-53 and National Chairman of the Women's Section of the British Legion, 1942-48; she died 20 January 1966; her will was proved 24 April 1967 (estate £88,258).

Henry Bathurst, 8th Earl Bathurst

Bathurst, Henry Allen John (1927-2011), 8th Earl Bathurst. Elder son of Allen Algernon Bathurst (1895-1942), Lord Apsley, and his wife Viola Emily Mildred, elder daughter of Capt. Bertram Charles Christopher Spencer Meeking of Richings Park (Bucks), born 1 May 1927. Educated at Eton, Ridley College (Canada) and Christ Church, Oxford. He succeeded his grandfather as 8th Earl Bathurst, 21 September 1943. Landowner and farmer. An officer in the 10th Royal Hussars (2nd Lt, 1946) and Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (2nd Lt., 1948; Lt., 1950; Capt., 1954; retired 1959). A Lord in Waiting (Government whip), 1957-61; Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary at Home Office, 1961-62; he was one of the ministers dismissed by Harold Macmillan in the 'Night of the Long Knives'. DL for Gloucestershire, 1960-86. Governor of St Lawrence Hospital, Cirencester, 1944-2011, and of Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, 1948-2003. Chairman of the Gloucestershire branch of the Country Landowners Association, 1968-71. President of Royal Forestry Society, 1976-78, of the Association of Professional Foresters, 1983-86 and 1995-98, and of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management, 1981-92; joint MFH of Vale of White Horse Hunt, 1949-65. He married 1st, 20 March 1959 (div. 1976), Judith Mary (d. 2001), only daughter of Amos Christopher Nelson of Springfield House, Foulridge (Lancs) and 2nd, 17 January 1978, Gloria Wesley (1927-2018), only daughter of Harold Edward Clarry of Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) and widow of David Rutherston (d. 1975) of Jaynes Court, Bisley (Glos), and had issue:

(1.1) Allen Christopher Bertram Bathurst (b. 1961), 9th Earl Bathurst (q.v.);

(1.2) Lady Henrietta Mary Lilias Bathurst (b. 1962), born 17 October 1962; fashion designer; lives in South Africa; married, 2000, Neil Stephen Palmer (b. 1963), son of Colin Palmer of Morecambe (Lancs), and had issue one son and one daughter;

(1.3) Hon. Alexander Edward Seymour Bathurst (b. 1965), of Tarlton Farm, Tarlton (Glos), born 8 August 1965; educated at Harrow, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester; an officer in Royal Hussars (2nd Lt, 1985; Lt., 1987; Capt., 1991; retired 1993); married, Apr-Jun 1992, Emma Gae (b. 1968), daughter of J.L. Sharpe FRCS, and had issue one son and one daughter.

He inherited Cirencester Park from his grandfather in 1943, and made the estate and house over to his eldest son in 1988, living latterly at Manor Farm, Sapperton.

He died 16 October 2011; his will was proved 21 September 2012. His first wife died 25 April  2001; her will was proved 5 September 2001. His widow died 27 December 2018 and was buried at Sapperton; her will, proved 1 November 2019, left the majority of her estate to two friends, Grant White and Geoffrey Bradfield, rather than the family; a major sale was held at Christies in July 2020.

Allen Bathurst, 9th Earl Bathurst 

Bathurst, Allen Christopher Bertram (b. 1961), 9th Earl Bathurst. Elder son of Henry Allen John Bathurst (1927-2011), 8th Earl Bathurst, and his first wife, Judith Mary, only daughter of Amos Christopher Nelson of Springfield House, Foulridge (Lancs), born 11 March 1961. Educated at Harrow, Wye College, University of London and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Landowner and farmer. A Governor of the Royal Agricultural College, 2003-date; President of the Three Counties Agricultural Society, 2008 and President of the Gloucestershire Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group; President of Cirencester Housing; trustee of the St Lawrence Hospital Trust, Cirencester; founding Director of the annual Cotswold Show; Steward of the Cirencester Society in London; and hon. President of many local cultural and sports organisations. He married 1st, 31 May 1986 (div. 1995), Hilary Jane, younger daughter of John F. George of Weston Lodge, Albury (Surrey) and 2nd, 8 June 1995, Sara Lucille, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 2016-17, daughter of Christopher Chapman of Ilminster (Som.), and had issue:

(1.1) Benjamin George Henry Bathurst (b. 1990), Lord Apsley, born 6 March 1990; educated at Eton, Bristol University and Said Business School, Oxford University; an officer in the Royal Marines (Lt.);

(1.2) Lady Rosie Meriel Lilias Bathurst (b. 1992), born 20 April 1992.

He inherited Cirencester Park (now some 15,500 acres) from his father in 2011.

Now living. His first wife is now living. His second wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp.; A. Kippis, Biographia Britannica, 1778, vol. 1, p. 692; J.A. Hankey, History of the Apsley and Bathurst families, 1889; G.E. C[okayne], The complete peerage, vol. 2, 1912, pp. 28-32; Country Life, 26 July 1913, p. 126; Country Life, 16 June 1950, p. 1796; G. Sherburn (ed), The correspondence of Alexander Pope, 1956, ii, p. 116; J. Lees-Milne, Earls of Creation, 1962, pp. 22-33;  C. Hussey, English gardens and landscapes, 1700-50, 1967, pp. 78-83; Sir N. Pevsner & J. Sherwood, The buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974, pp. 202-07; T. Friedman, James Gibbs, 1984, p. 301; A. Everitt, The community of Kent and the Great Rebellion, 1640-60, 1986, pp. 189-90, 200; M. Batey & D. Lambert, The English garden tour, 1990, p. 152; D. King, The complete works of Robert and James Adam, 1991, pp. 264, 279-85; N.W. Kingsley, The country houses of Gloucestershire: vol. 2, 1660-1830, 1992, pp. 100-03;  Sir N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, The buildings of England: Buckinghamshire, 2nd edn., 1994, p. 415; J. Ingamells, A dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy, 1701-1800, 1999, pp. 60-61; Sir H.M. Colvin, ‘The Townesends of Oxford’, Georgian Group Journal, x, 2000, p. 48; E. Harris, ‘Adam at No 1 London’, Country Life, 1 Nov. 2001; N.W. Kingsley, The country houses of Gloucestershire: vol. 1, 1500-1660, 2nd edn., 2001, pp. 71-72; T. Mowl, Historic gardens of Glos, 2002, p. 12, 67-72; VCH Northamptonshire, vol. 5, 2002, pp. 245-89; T. Warrener, A History of Langwith, Nether Langwith & Whaley Thorns, 2008; W.A. Brogden, Ichnographia Rustica: Stephen Switzer and the designed landscape, 2017, pp. 51-55, 81-90.

Location of archives

Bathurst of Cirencester, Earls Bathurst: deeds, estate papers (Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) and family papers, 14th-20th cents [Gloucestershire Archives, D2525, D4483]; Hothorpe estate deeds and estate papers, 17th-18th cents [Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland DE30]; family correspondence and papers, 18th-19th cents [British Library, MS Loan 57]; business correspondence re Morning Post, 20th cent. [Leeds University Library, Special Collections, MS Dep 1990/1]

Coat of arms

Bathurst of Cirencester: Sable, two bars ermine, in chief three crosses pattée or.

Can you help?

• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated. 
• Any additions or corrections to the text above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from descendants of the family who can supply information from their own research for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 22 March 2021 and was updated 30 March, 21 April and 28 April 2021 and 9 April 2025. I am particularly grateful to my friends Mike Hill and Freddie Hervey-Bathurst for their assistance with this entry, and to Adrian Brockett and Jacqueline Pearson for corrections.