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William Beckford (novelist)
William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art collector, patron of decorative art, critic, travel writer, plantation owner and for some time politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's richest commoner. The son of William Beckford and Maria Hamilton, daughter of the Hon. George Hamilton, he served as a Member of Parliament for Wells in 1784–1790 and Hindon in 1790–1795 and 1806–1820. Beckford is remembered for a Gothic novel ''Vathek'' (1786), for building the lost Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire and Lansdown Tower ("Beckford's Tower") in Bath, and for his art collection. Biography Beckford was born in the family's London home at 22 Soho Square on 29 September 1760. At the age of ten, he inherited a fortune from his father William Beckford, who had been twice a Lord Mayor of London. It consisted of £1 million in cash, an estate at Fonthill in Wiltshire (including the Palladian mansion Fonthill Splendens), several s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soho Square
Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered statue of the monarch has stood in the square, with an extended interruption, since 1661, one year after the restoration of the monarchy. Of the square's 30 buildings (including mergers), 16 are listed (have statutory recognition and protection). During the summer, Soho Square hosts open-air free concerts. By the time of the drawing of a keynote map of London in 1746 the newer name for the square had gained sway. The central garden and some buildings were owned by the Howard de Walden Estate, main heir to the Dukedom of Portland's great London estates. At its centre is a listed mock "market cross" building, completed in 1926 to hide the above-ground features of a contemporary electricity substation; small, octagonal, with Tudorbethan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest to maintain himself, but a mansion is no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare a Roman or medieval villa). '' Manor'' comes from the same root—territorial holdings granted to a lord who would "remain" there. Following the fall of Rome, the practice of building unfortified villas ceased. Today, the oldest inhabited mansions around the world usually began their existence as fortified houses in the Middle Ages. As social conditions slowly changed and stabilised fortifications were able to be reduced, and over the centuries gave way to comfort. It became fashionable and possible for homes to be beautiful rather than grim and forbidding allowing for the development of the modern mansion. In British Engl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Beckford Wildman
James Beckford Wildman (19 October 1789 – 25 May 1867) was an English people, English landowner and Tory (British political party), Tory politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Colchester (UK Parliament constituency), Colchester from 1818 to 1826. His properties included plantations in Jamaica and Chilham CastleBurke, John (1832)"A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire" H. Colburn and R. Bentley. in Kent, England, which he sold in 1861. The Jamaican plantation, Quebec Estate, was obtained by the Wildman family from William Thomas Beckford, William Beckford. Beckford claimed to have been swindled by the Wildmans, who pressured him to sign over the property under threat of calling in outstanding mortgages. Quebec Estate wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The newspaper was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to the Russian oligarch and former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev in 2010. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in it. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The website and mobile app had a combined monthly reach of 19,826,000 in 2021. History 1986 to 1990 Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330 It was produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Chambers (architect)
__NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. Biography William Chambers was born on 23 February 1723 in Gothenburg, Sweden, to a Scottish merchant father. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making three voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration. Returning to Europe, he studied architecture in Paris (with J. F. Blondel) and spent five years in Italy. Then, in 1755, he moved to London, where he established an architectural practice. In 1757, through a recommendation of Lord Bute, he was appointed architectural tutor to the Prince of Wales, later George III, and in 1766 also, along with Robert Adam, Architect to the King, (this being an unofficial title, rather than an actual salaried post with the Office of Works). He wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louisa Pitt
Louisa Pitt (1754/56–1791) was the second daughter of the British diplomat and politician George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers (1721–1803), and his wife, Penelope Atkins. Pitt was born in 1754 (or 1756) in Stratfield Saye, Southampton, Hampshire, England. She married Sir Peter Beckford (1740–1811) on 22 March 1773 in Dorset. Sir Peter Beckford was a writer, a huntsman, and the cousin of the English novelist William Thomas Beckford (1760–1844), author of the famous Gothic novel ''Vathek''. They had several children, of whom the surviving son became the 3rd Baron Rivers, succeeding his maternal uncle and maternal grandfather by special remainder. After her marriage, Louisa Beckford had an affair with her husband's cousin William Beckford; at one point, totally smitten and desperate to regain his attention, she offered to participate in a ''ménage à trois'' at an infamous house party at Fonthill. She died of tuberculosis in 1791 in Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Beckford (hunter)
Sir Peter Beckford (1740–1811) of Iwerne Stepleton in Dorset, was a British landowner, huntsman, writer, collector and the patron of the Classical composer and pianist Muzio Clementi. He kept his own pack of hounds and his 1781 work '' Thoughts upon Hunting'' is a classic and authoritative detailed guide to foxhunting. Biography Peter Beckford was born the only son of Julines Beckford of Iwerne Stepleton, Dorset in 1740. He was a nephew of William Beckford, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and cousin of William Thomas Beckford (1760–1844), author of the Gothic novel ''Vathek'' and builder of the folly Fonthill Abbey. In 1765, on the death of his father, Beckford inherited his estate at Stepleton House in the parish of Iwerne Stepleton near Blandford Forum in Dorset, and set out on his first visit to Italy. On the way he met Voltaire and Rousseau at Geneva, and hunted with the king of Savoy. In 1766 he visited Rome, where he was escorted by James Byres, bought severa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Tour William Thomas Beckford
Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand Concourse (other), several places * Grand County (other), several places * Grand Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone * Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a parkway system in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States * Le Grand, California, census-designated place * Grand Staircase, a place in the US. Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Grand'' (Erin McKeown album), 2003 * ''Grand'' (Matt and Kim album), 2009 * ''Grand'' (magazine), a lifestyle magazine related to related to grandparents * ''Grand'' (TV series), American sitcom, 1990 * Grand piano, musical instrument * Grand Production, Serbian record label company * The Grand Tour, a new British automobile show O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be confused with the title of Earl of Devonshire, held, together with the title Duke of Devonshire, by the Cavendish family of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, although the letters patent for the creation of the latter peerages used the same Latin words, ''Comes Devon(iae)''. It was a re-invention, if not an actual continuation, of the pre-Conquest office of Ealdorman of Devon. Close kinsmen and powerful allies of the Plantagenet kings, especially Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V, the Earls of Devon were treated with suspicion by the Tudors, perhaps unfairly, partly because William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1475–1511), had married Princess Catherine of York, a younger daughter of King Edward IV, bringing the Earls of Devon ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Courtenay, 9th Earl Of Devon
William "Kitty" Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon (c. 1768 – 26 May 1835), was the only son of William Courtenay, ''de jure'' 8th Earl of Devon, 2nd Viscount Courtenay and his wife Frances Clack. He attracted infamy for a homosexual affair with art collector William Beckford from boyhood when it was discovered and publicised by his uncle. From October 1788 until 1831, his official title was The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Courtenay of Powderham. Family Courtenay was baptized on 30 August 1768, the fourth of 14 children (his siblings all being girls) and was known as "Kitty" to family and friends. On his father's death, he became the 3rd Viscount Courtenay of Powderham. With his new title and wealth, the young Lord Courtenay led an excessively flamboyant lifestyle. He was responsible for the addition of a new Music Room at Powderham Castle, designed by James Wyatt, which included a carpet made by the newly formed Axminster Carpet Company. Homosexuality Courtenay was in his time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, which is also known as '' pansexuality.'' The term ''bisexuality'' is mainly used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward both men and women, and the concept is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation along with heterosexuality and homosexuality, all of which exist on the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other also identify themselves as bisexual. Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and env ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Gordon, 4th Earl Of Aboyne
Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne (c. 1726 – 28 December 1794). The eldest son of John Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aboyne and Grace Lockhart, he succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Aboyne on 7 April 1732. On his death in 1794 he was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son. His family home was Aboyne Castle, but he had an Edinburgh townhouse in the newly built St Andrews Square in the New Town. Family He married firstly, Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway and Lady Catherine Cochrane, on 22 April 1759, and had issue: *Lady Catherine Gordon (1760–1764), died in infancy, buried in Restalrig churchyard *George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly (1761–1853) *Lady Margaret Gordon (c. 1763–86), married William Beckford (1783) His first wife died on 12 August 1762. He married secondly, Lady Mary Douglas, daughter of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, PRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish ast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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