Frederick William Brook Thellusson, 5th Baron Rendlesham JP DL (9 February 1840 – 9 November 1911), was a British Conservative politician.
The Lord Rendlesham | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Lord Rendlesham, c. 1874 | |
| Member of Parliament for Suffolk Eastern | |
| In office 1874–1885 Serving with Viscount Mahon, Frederick St John Barne | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Snowdon Corrance Viscount Mahon |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick William Brook Thellusson 9 February 1840 Florence, Italy |
| Died | 9 November 1911 (aged 71) Rendlesham Hall |
| Spouse |
Lady Egidia Montgomerie
(after 1861) |
| Parent(s) | Frederick Thellusson, 4th Baron Rendlesham Elizabeth Prescott Duff |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Early life
edit
Baron Rendlesham, M.P., as caricatured by Théobald Chartran in Vanity Fair, October 1881
Frederick was born in Florence, Italy on 9 February 1840.[1] He was the only son of Frederick Thellusson, 4th Baron Rendlesham, and his wife Elizabeth Charlotte (née Prescott) Duff, a daughter of Sir George Prescott, 2nd Baronet, and former wife of General Sir James Duff. His mother died when he was less than one year old.[2]
His great-grandfather, the British merchant and banker Peter Thellusson, was perhaps best known for his "extraordinary will" which "gave rise to an act of Parliament known as the Thellusson act."[3]
Thellusson was educated in England at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1852, aged twelve, he succeeded in the barony on the death of his father. However, as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords.[4]
Career
editLord Rendlesham was appointed Sheriff of Suffolk in 1870 and elected to the House of Commons as member of parliament (MP) for Suffolk East at a by-election in March 1874, a seat he held until the constituency was abolished at the 1885 general election.[5]
Reportedly a fine footballer at Eton and Oxford, he maintained a keen interest in other sports in later life, being on the National Hunt Committee as well as a member of the Jockey Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron.[6]
On 12 February 1887 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Suffolk Artillery Militia, and retained the position until the unit was disbanded in 1909.[7]
Failing eyesight in 1911 caused him to resign from long-held positions as chairman of the East Suffolk County Council[8] and the Suffolk Quarter Sessions.[9] He subsequently contracted blood-poisoning, leading to the amputation of his left hand in July 1911.[10][11]
Personal life
editIn 1861, Lord Rendlesham was married to Lady Egidia Montgomerie (c. 1843–1880) at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square followed by a honeymoon at Peckforton Castle, the seat of John Tollemache.[12] She was a daughter of Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton and the former Theresa Howe (née Newcomen) Cockerell (widow of Capt. Richard Howe Cockerell who was an illegitimate daughter of Thomas Gleadowe-Newcomen, 2nd Viscount Newcomen).[13] They had three sons and five daughters, including:[2]
- Hon. Miriam Isabel Thellusson (d. 1950),[2] who married Godfrey Herbert Joseph Williams, eldest son of Morgan Stuart Williams, in 1901.[14] They divorced in 1923.[15]
- Hon. Cecilia Blanche Thellusson (d. 1948), who died unmarried.[2]
- Frederick Archibald Charles Thellusson, 6th Baron Rendlesham (1868–1938), who married Lilian Manley, fourth daughter of Joshua Manley. After her death in 1931, he married Dolores Olga Williams (widow of Henry Harcourt Williams), a daughter of Sir William Salusbury-Trelawny, 10th Baronet), later the same year.[16]
- Hon. Ruby Alexandrina Elizabeth Thellusson (1870–1955), who married Lt.-Col. Bernard James Petre, eldest son of James Duff MP, in 1907.[2]
- Hon. Adeline Egidia Thellusson (c. 1871–1948), who married Maj. Lewis Kerrison Jarvis, son of Sir Lewis Jarvis, of Middleton Towers, in 1891.[17]
- Hon. Mariota Thellusson (1873–1924), who married Arthur Egerton, 5th Earl of Wilton, son of Seymour Egerton, 4th Earl of Wilton, in 1895.[2]
- Percy Edward Thellusson, 7th Baron Rendlesham (1874–1943),[18] who married Gladys Dunlop Yorke, the former wife of Hon. Alfred Yorke and only child of Andrew Vans Dunlop Best, in 1922.[19]
- Hon. Hugh Edmund Thellusson (1876–1926), who married Gwynnydd Colleton, younger daughter of Brig.-Gen. Sir Robert Colleton, 9th Baronet, in 1914.[20]
Lady Rendlesham died in January 1880. Lord Rendlesham remained a widower until his death at Rendlesham Hall, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, in November 1911, aged 71.[3] He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Frederick.[21]
Notes
edit- ^ FamilySearch (1881). "England and Wales Census, 1881". FamilySearch.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. p. RG 11/1887 folio 19 page 1. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3316.
- ^ a b "A FAMOUS WILL RECALLED.; Late Lord Rendlesham's Great-Grandfather's Strange Testament". The New York Times. 12 November 1911. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Lord Rendlesham: peer, politician and public man". Lambert's Family Almanack for 1912: 49. 1911.
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 462. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- ^ "The late Lord Rendlesham". The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. No. 18 November 1911.
- ^ Army List, various dates.
- ^ "East Suffolk County Council". The Diss Express. 17 March 1911.
- ^ "A Magistrate for Fifty Years". The Leeds Mercury. 15 April 1911.
- ^ "Obituary: Lord Rendlesham". The Times. 10 November 1911.
- ^ "Lord Rendlesham: peer, politician and public man". Lambert's Family Almanack for 1912: 47. 1911.
- ^ "MARRIAGE OF LORD RENDLESHAM AND LADY EGIDIA MONTGOMERIE". The Cheltenham and County Looker-on. 6 July 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "DEATH OF THE EARL OF EGLINGTON, K.T." The Daily News. 5 October 1861. p. 4. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Court News". The Times. 27 February 1901. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "NOTED SOCIETY BEAUTY. DECREE FOR HON. MIRIAM ISOBEL WILLIAMS". Western Mail. 28 March 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "PEER'S DEATH. UNEXPECTED PASSING OF LORD RENDLESHAM. NOTED HORTICULTURIST". The West Briton. 7 July 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT RENDLESHAM HALL". The Ipswich Journal. 25 April 1891. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "LORD RENDLESHAM". The New York Times. 14 December 1943. p. 27. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Woman's World. ABOUT TWO WEDDINGS". Evening Standard. 31 March 1922. p. 13. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Society Weddings". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 29 April 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "DEATH OF LORD RENDLESHAM". The Daily Telegraph. 10 November 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
References
edit- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]