General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Alexander Nelson Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, 4th Duke of Bronte, (23 December 1814 – 4 June 1904) of
Cumberland Lodge
Cumberland Lodge is a 17th-century Grade II listed country house in Windsor Great Park 3.5 miles south of Windsor Castle. Since 1947 it has been occupied by the charitable foundation known as Cumberland Lodge, which holds residential conferences ...
, Windsor, of
Cricket St Thomas
Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district.
The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...
in Somerset and of 12
Wimpole Street, London, was a British soldier and
courtier.
Origins
He was the eldest and only surviving son and heir of
Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport
Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport (7 September 1788 – 6 January 1868), of Redlynch House in Wiltshire, of Cricket House at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset, and of 12 Wimpole Street in Westminster, was a British politician and peer.
Family backgro ...
(1788–1868) of
Redlynch in Wiltshire and of
Cricket St Thomas
Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district.
The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...
in Wiltshire, a younger grandson of Admiral
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral in the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of , he drove a ...
(1724–1816) of
Catherington in Hampshire, elder brother of Admiral
Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, 1st Baron Bridport (1726–1814), of Cricket St Thomas. His father Samuel was the heir to the estates his childless great-uncle Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, and by
special remainder
In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...
to his title
Baron Bridport
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
in the
Peerage of Ireland.
His mother was
Charlotte Hood, 3rd Duchess of Bronte
Charlotte Mary Hood, Baroness Bridport, 3rd Duchess of Bronte ( née Nelson; 20 September 1787 – 29 January 1873) was the daughter of William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson and Sarah Yonge. She died at the age of 85 in Cricket St. Thomas, Somers ...
(1787–1873), only child of Rev.
William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson, 2nd Duke of Bronte (1757–1835) of
Standlynch
Trafalgar Park (also known as Trafalgar House, formerly Standlynch Park) is a large Georgian country house about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northeast of the village of Downton in south Wiltshire, England, and 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of th ...
in Wiltshire, elder brother and heir of the great Admiral
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (1758–1805). Although his mother Charlotte had inherited her father's Sicilian dukedom, his British titles descended by
special remainder
In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...
, together with his British estates, to his nephew Thomas Bolton (1786–1835), who having assumed the surname "Nelson" in accordance with the terms of the bequest became
Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson
Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton (7 July 1786 – 1 November 1835), was the 2nd Earl Nelson.
He was the son of Thomas Bolton of Wells, Norfolk, and Susannah Nelson, daughter of the Rev. Edmund Nelson. He was educated at Norwich ...
.
Created Viscount Bridport
In 1868 he succeeded his father as 3rd
Baron Bridport
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
and six months later in the same year the viscountcy held by his great-great-uncle was revived when he was created
Viscount Bridport
Viscount Bridport is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation became extinct in 1814, while the second creation is still extant.
History
...
, "of Cricket St Thomas in the County of Somerset and of Bronte in the Kingdom of Italy". In 1873 he also succeeded his mother as 4th
Duke of Bronte.
Career
Military career
He was commissioned into the
Royal Scots Fusiliers
The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...
in 1831 and achieved the rank of captain in 1836,
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in 1847,
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in 1854,
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in 1862,
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 1871 and general in 1877.
Career at court
He was a courtier to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
and later to her son King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
. He served as a Groom-in-Waiting from 1841 to 1858, Clerk Marshal to
Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Albert I of Belgium ...
from 1853 to 1861,
Equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to Queen Victoria from 1858 to 1884, was a Permanent
Lord-in-waiting
Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...
to Queen Victoria from 1884 to 1901 and Honorary Equerry to King Edward VII from 1901 to 1904. He served as a
Deputy Lieutenant of
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. He was appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
in 1885 and a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
in 1891.
Sells Cricket St Thomas
In the 1883 publication ''
The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
''The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland'' (originally ''The Acre-Ocracy of England'') is a reference work published by John Bateman in four editions between 1876 and 1883, giving brief details of individuals owning land in the United K ...
'' his estate is listed as 5,512 acres (3,103 in Somerset, 2,356 in Dorset and 53 in Devon) valued at £8,098 per annum. His Bronte estate in Sicily was about 25,000 hectares (61,774 acres), with considerable feudal powers.
In 1898, six years before his death, he sold his heavily mortgaged seat and estate at
Cricket St Thomas
Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district.
The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...
in Somerset to the chocolate manufacturer Francis Fry (d.1918). The estate had been purchased in 1775 by the 1st Viscount Bridport who in 1786 had rebuilt the house to the designs of the architect Sir
John Soane (1753–1837).
Visits to Sicilian estate
In 1864, during the lifetime of his mother the 3rd Duchess of Bronte, he made a short visit, accompanied by his wife and sons Arthur and William, to her Sicilian estate comprising the Duchy of Bronte, created for Admiral Lord Nelson in 1799 by King
King Ferdinand III of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. Although the Admiral had been enthusiastic about his new duchy and had ordered the monastic buildings which formed its seat to be restored and embellished at his great cost, neither he nor his brother and heir the 2nd Duke ever set foot on the property, the first to have done so having been the 3rd Duchess, who paid a short visit in the 1830s or 1840s, but was unfavourably impressed with the primitive nature of the countryside and the entire absence of roads on the estate which necessitated travel by mule litter. The estate was run by a local agent and by correspondence. He made a second visit in Autumn 1868, again during the lifetime of his mother, accompanied by his daughter Adelaide and his 14-year-old son Alexander, who took an instant liking to it and whom he later appointed as 5th Duke.
Marriage & issue
![Marquess of Downshire COA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Marquess_of_Downshire_COA.svg)
In 1838 he married Lady Mary Penelope Hill (1817-1884, died at 12
Wimpole Street, London), a daughter of
Arthur Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire
Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire KP (8 October 1788 – 12 September 1845) was an Anglo-Irish peer, styled Viscount Fairford from 1789 until 1793 and Earl of Hillsborough from 1793 to 1801.
Early life
He was born ...
, by whom he had issue six sons and four daughters as follows:
Sons
*
Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood, 2nd Viscount Bridport (1839–1924), eldest son and heir, who lived in
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
,
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. He inherited, under law, his father's British titles, but not his Sicilian dukedom which was able to be bequeathed to whomsoever the holder desired.
*Commander Hon. Horatio Nelson Sandys Hood (24 Mar 1843 - 3 Feb 1881)
*Lt. Hon. William Nelson Hood (6 Jan 1848 - 25 Oct 1921)
*Hon. Sir
Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of Bronte (28 Jun 1854 - 1 Jun 1937), of
Castello di Maniace
Maniace (Italian: ''Maniace''; Sicilian dialect: ''Maniaci'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
The municipality be ...
,
Bronte and "La Falconara",
Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
, both in Sicily, a
courtier. He was bequeathed by his father the Sicilian dukedom and its vast estate and was the first in his family to make his home there. He died unmarried.
*Hon. Alfred Nelson Hood (1 Oct 1858 - 1 Dec 1918).
*Hon. Victor Albert Nelson Hood (14 Nov 1862 - 1 May 1929),
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III.
...
(CMG) (1916), lived for 25 years in Australia where he served as Private Secretary to the Governor of South Australia (1903-5), Private Secretary to the Governor of Victoria (1906–20), Chamberlain to the Governor-General of Australia (1911), Private Secretary to the Governor of Western Australia (1912–13), Private Secretary to the Governor of New South Wales (1913). He later served under his brother the 5th Duke of Bronte in the administration of the Bronte estate in Sicily. He married Mrs Violet Annie McBean, widow of Alec McBean of Kirndean, New South Wales, Australia, but left no issue.
Daughters
*Hon. Nina Maria Hood (d. 5 Jun 1923)
*Hon. Adelaide Fanny Hood (d. 17 Jan 1927)
*Hon. Rosa Penelope Hood (d. 17 Mar 1922), wife of William Herbert Evans (d.1900), DL, of
Forde Abbey in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
. She died at her brother's house in Taormina, in the garden of which she was initially buried with him, before being transferred to the ducal graveyard at Maniace following the sale of "La Falconara" in 1948.
*Hon. Mary Hood (4 Jun 1846 - 6 Apr 1909)
Death, burial & succession
He died in June 1904, aged 89, at
Royal Lodge,
Windsor, having survived his wife by twenty years. He was buried in the churchyard of
Cricket St Thomas
Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district.
The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...
, next to the church, where his monument survives, comprising a lifesize white marble standing figure of
St Michael the Archangel. A note in the church states that for many years the statue was laid flat, as the white figure at night scared too many locals.
He was succeeded in his British titles by his eldest son
Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood, 2nd Viscount Bridport (1839–1924) and was succeeded in his Sicilian dukedom by his 4th son Hon. Sir
Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of Bronte (1854–1937).
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
www.thepeerage.com
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridport, Alexander Hood
1814 births
1904 deaths
Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Gentlemen Ushers
Alexander
Royal Scots Fusiliers officers
British Army generals
Equerries
Deputy Lieutenants of Devon
Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset
Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset
Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria