Albany Savile (c. 1783 – 26 January 1831), known until about 1798 as Albany Atkinson, was an English
landed gentleman,
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
, and
master of foxhounds
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...
who sat as one of the members of Parliament for
Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based i ...
from 1807 to 1820.
Savile was the only legitimate son of
Christopher Atkinson Saville
Christopher Atkinson (''c.'' 1738 – 23 April 1819), from about 1798 known as Christopher Atkinson Savile or Saville, was an English merchant and politician.
Born in Yorkshire, Atkinson moved to London and married the niece of a corn merchant, ...
, of 3
Park Street, Mayfair, and Hill Hall,
Hales
Hales is a small village in Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 479 in 192 households as of the 2001 census, which had reduced to 469 at the 2011 census.
History
The villages name means 'Nooks of land'.
The manor ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, by his second wife, Jane, daughter and coheiress of John Savile, linen draper of Clay Hill, Enfield, Middlesex. While he was a boy, his father changed his surname from Atkinson to his wife’s, Savile. He was educated at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, where he matriculated on 11 May 1802, aged 18, and at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
, which he joined in 1804. In 1807 he was elected as a member of Parliament for Okehampton, a
pocket borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
with two seats in parliament where his property gave him complete control, and was appointed as the borough’s
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, but he was not
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
until 1817.
[David R. Fisher]
“SAVILE, Albany (?1783-1831), of Sweetlands and Oaklands, nr. Okehampton, Devon”
in D. R. Fisher, ed., ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832'' (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Savile was an enthusiast for
fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...
, serving as a master of foxhounds and writing on the subject.
Savile was independent-minded in his politics. In 1818, he and his father were both elected for Okehampton. In 1819, his father died, and Savile inherited the whole of his father’s estate, valued at almost £60,000, . In 1820, he was commissioned as a Captain into the East Devon militia. At the general election of 1820 he had himself elected again for Okehampton, together with
Lord Dunalley, a supporter of Lord Liverpool’s ministry, but only seven weeks later by
taking the Chiltern Hundreds he gave up his seat for
Lord Glenorchy, a Whig and a fellow member of
Brooks's
Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world.
History
In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...
. After that he sold the two seats in parliament provided by his borough and died in January 1831 from “an inflammatory affection”.
[
On 7 March 1815, Savile married Eleanora Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey, of Tawstock Court, ]Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
, Devon, and they had eight sons and five daughters. Most of his estate, valued at under £25,000, including his property in the borough of Okehampton, went to his eldest son, Albany Bourchier Savile, who was a minor.[
One of Savile’s younger sons, Lieutenant-Colonel John Walter Savile, was the father of ]Leopold Halliday Savile
Sir Leopold Halliday Savile, KCB (31 August 1870 – 28 January 1953) was a Scottish civil engineer.
Savile was born at Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Walter Savile and Sarah Emma Stoddart. He was a great gr ...
(1870–1953), a civil engineer. Other sons were Bourchier Wrey Savile
Rev. Bourchier Wrey Savile (11 March 1817–14 April 1888) was a Church of England clergyman and theological writer.
Origins
He was born on 11 March 1817, the second son of Albany Savile (d. 1831), a Member of Parliament for Okehampton in De ...
(1817–1888), a clergyman, and Brigadier-General Walter Clare Savile.
Arms
Savile’s coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
is blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ed ''Argent, on a bend sable three owls of the field''.[Charles Kidd, ed., ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (London: 2015), p. 846]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savile Albany
1780s births
1831 deaths
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Fox hunting writers
Masters of foxhounds in England
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1818–1820