Bernard Granville (4 March 1631 – 14 June 1701) of

Birdcage Walk Birdcage Walk is a street in the City of Westminster in London. It runs east–west as a continuation of Great George Street, from the crossroads with Horse Guards Road and Storey's Gate, with the Treasury building and the Institution of Mecha ...

, Westminster, and Apps Court, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, a member of an ancient and prominent

Westcountry The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

family, was a courtier of King Charles II who served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for several Cornish constituencies.

Origins

He was born the 4th son of Sir

Bevil Grenville Sir Bevil Grenville (23 March 1596 - 5 July 1643) was an English landowner and soldier who sat as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1620 to 1642, although during those years there were few parliamentary sessions. When t ...

(1596–1643) of

Stowe, Kilkhampton Stowe House in the parish of Kilkhampton in Cornwall, England, UK, was a mansion built in 1679 by John Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701) and demolished in 1739. The Grenville family were for many centuries lords of the manor of Kilkh ...

in Cornwall, and

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of the

manor of Bideford The Manorialism, manor of Bideford in North Devon was held by the Grenville family between the 12th and 18th centuries. The full Lineal descendant, descent is as follows: Anglo-Saxons Ubba, Hubba the Dane was said to have attacked Devon in the a ...

in Devon, a Royalist soldier and MP for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

who died in heroic circumstances at the

Battle of Lansdowne The First English Civil War battle of Lansdowne, or Lansdown, was fought on 5 July 1643, at Lansdowne Hill, near Bath, Somerset, England. Although the Royalists under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller to ret ...

(1643). His elder brother was

John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath PC, 29 August 1628 – 22 August 1701, was an English landowner who served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was rewarded for his services after the 1660 Stuart Restoration with a title ...

, who played an important role in effecting the Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II in 1660, and whose descendants died out in the male line on the death of the 3rd Earl in 1711. The 1st Earl of Bath, having become interested in his family's history and examined his supposed descent from Sir Richard de Grenville (died after 1142) (''alias'' de Grainvilla, de Greinvill, etc.) one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan who served under

Robert FitzHamon Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon (literally, 'Robert, son of Hamon'), Seigneur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was the first Norman feudal baron of Gloucester and the Norma ...

(died 1107), in the conquest of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

in Wales, changed the spelling of the family name to "Granville" from "Grenville" apparently to conform with the spelling of the Norman manor at which his family originated at the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

Career

He was educated at Angers Academy and became a courtier, holding various public offices.

Serves the king in exile

He rendered useful service to King Charles II and his family during his exile in France during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, and served as Gentleman of the Bedchamber to

Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (8 July 164013 September 1660) was the youngest son of Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France. He is also known as Henry of Oatlands. From the age of two, Henry, ...

(1640-1660) (the King's youngest brother), during his exile. The Restoration of the Monarchy was effected in 1660 by his elder brother the 1st Earl of Bath, the principal directing role being played by their first cousin

George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cru ...

. It was to Bernard Granville that the Duke entrusted the last vital task in the process, of carrying a despatch to the King in exile informing him that all was ready for his reception in England.

Royal courtier

After the Restoration he served in several prominent roles as a courtier of King Charles II, namely

Gentleman of the Horse Gentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of the Horse. It existed from 1693 until abolished in 1782, and carried a salary of £256. The post was revived in 1828, wi ...

and

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

from 1672 to 1688. He also obtained several lucrative royal offices, including: Underkeeper of

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous c ...

, a royal park adjoining

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

in Westminster, for life from 1660; joint surveyor and receiver of green wax fines (1678–79); Master of the Swans (1683–1692) and comptroller-general of wine licences (1685–1690).

Political career

He was elected an MP for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

in 1661, after which he was returned almost continuously as MP for a series of Cornish constituencies ( Launceston, 1679,

Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...

, 1681,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, 1685, Saltash, 1689, Launceston, 1690 and

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

, 1695). In 1675 he was appointed envoy extraordinary to Florence, Genoa and Savoy. He had a London house in

, Westminster (looking onto St James's Park) and purchased an estate at Apps Court in Surrey.

Marriage and children

He married Anne Morley (died 20 September 1701), only daughter and heiress of The Hon. Col. Cuthbert/Cutbert Morley (buried in St Mary's Church, Lambeth, 30 June 1669) of Hawnby/Hornby, Yorkshire, which brought him several Yorkshire properties. Her mother was Catherine Leke, a daughter of

Francis Leke, 1st Earl of Scarsdale Francis Leke, 1st Earl of Scarsdale (1581–1655) of Sutton Scarsdale Hall, was an English peer who fought for the Royalist cause in the Civil War. Origins He was the son and heir of Sir Francis Leke (d.1626) by his first wife Frances Swifte, a d ...

(1581–1655), a Royalist during the Civil War. By his wife he had three sons and two daughters as follows: *Sir

Bevil Granville Sir Bevil Granville (3 May 1665 – 15 September 1706) was an English soldier and politician from Cornwall, who was MP for Fowey and Lostwithiel from 1690 to 1698. He also served as Governor of Pendennis Castle from 1693 to 1703 and Governor of ...

(d.1706), eldest son and heir, a soldier who served as

Governor of Pendennis Castle The Governor of Pendennis Castle was a military officer who commanded the fortifications at Pendennis Castle, part of the defences of the River Fal and Carrick Roads, on the south coast of Cornwall near Falmouth. Originally fortified under Henry V ...

in Cornwall and as

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

. He was a Member of Parliament for Fowey, Cornwall, in 1685. Died childless. *

George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne PC (9 March 1666 – 29 January 1735), of Stowe, Cornwall, was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 until 1712, when he was raised to the peerage as Bar ...

(d.1734), 2nd son, elevated to the Peerage in 1711 as "

Baron Lansdowne 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 ...

of Bideford", named after the

at which his grandfather had met a heroic death and after his father's Devonshire seat which the family had held since Norman times. He served as Secretary at War and Comptroller and Treasurer of the Household to Queen Anne. Died without children, when his title became extinct. *Col. Bernard Granville (c.1670-1723), 3rd son, of Buckland, Gloucestershire, Lieutenant-Governor of Hull, an MP for

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by ...

and

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

in Cornwall. He married Mary Westcombe (d.1747) (buried in Gloucester Cathedral), a daughter of Sir Martin Westcombe, 1st Baronet, Consul at Cadiz. His daughter was

Mary Delany Mary Delany ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. Early life Mary Delany was born at C ...

(1700-1788), an artist, letter-writer, and

bluestocking ''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eliz ...

, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. His eldest son was Bernard Granville (d.1775) of

Calwich Abbey Calwich Abbey, previously Calwich Priory, was in turn the name of a medieval Augustinian priory and two successive country houses built on the same site near Ellastone, Staffordshire. Calwich Priory It was founded circa 1130 as a satellite cell o ...

, Staffordshire, which he purchased from the Fleetwood family, who died unmarried in 1775, being the last surviving male of the ancient Granville family. He bequeathed his estates to his nephew Rev. John D'Ewes (1774-1826), who in 1786 in accordance with the terms of the bequest, assumed the surname and arms of Granville in lieu of his patronymic. However he too died without surviving children, leaving as his heir his nephew Court D'Ewes (1779-1848) of Chadley,

Wellesbourne Wellesbourne is a large village in the civil parish of Wellesbourne and Walton, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of the UK. In the 2021 census the parish, which also includes the hamlet of Walton, had a population of ...

, Warwickshire, his brother's son. Court also assumed the surname and arms of Granville. His children, the family of "Granville of Wellesbourne" continued at that seat until after 1937. *Anne Granville (d.1730), wife of

Sir John Stanley, 1st Baronet Sir John Stanley, 1st Baronet (1663 – 30 November 1744) of Grangegorman, Co. Dublin was an Irish politician. Biography Stanley was born in Tickencor, County Waterford, the son of Sir Thomas Stanley of Grangegorman, Dublin and his wife, Jane ...

(d.1744) of Grangegorman, childless. *Elizabeth Granville, a

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen r ...

who died unmarried.

Death and burial

Granville died on 14 June 1701, aged 71 and was buried on 22 June 1701 in St Mary's Church, Lambeth, Surrey, next to

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

, the London residence of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. He was buried in the same grave as his father-in-law who died in 1699 and his wife, who died on 20 September 1701. His monument is described in Thomas Allen's 1827 work ''History and Antiquities of the Parish of Lambeth'', 1827 as "a beautiful monument of white marble ornamented with cherubs, fruit, flowers, etc.", situated on the "north side of the stairs leading to the north gallery". In 1872 it was described as "out of sight and partially dismantled". No mention was made of it in the 1951 work Survey of London: Church of St Mary, Lambeth.Church of St Mary, Lambeth, pp. 104–117, Volume 23, Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall. Originally published by London County Council, London, 195

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Bernard 1631 births 1701 deaths

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth