Charles Dillon-Lee, 12th Viscount Dillon,
KP, PC (Ire) (1745–1813) conformed to the established religion in 1767.
Birth and origins
Charles was born on 6 November 1745 in London. He was the eldest child of
Henry Dillon and his wife Charlotte Lee. His father was the 11th Viscount Dillon. Charles's mother was the eldest daughter of
George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield
George Henry Lee I, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (1690–1743) was a younger son of Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II by his mistress, the celebrated courtesan Barbara Vil ...
. His parents had married on 26 October 1744 in London.
Early life
In January 1766
Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...
ended the Catholic Church's support for the Jacobites and recognised the
Hanoverian Dynasty as the rightful rulers of England. On 4 December 1767, in Dublin, Charles conformed to the
established church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
. In that same year he was also elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.
Charles, in his youth, liked racing and gambling and made huge debts. He moved to Brussels to avoid his debtors.
In 1770 he was elected MP for the
Westbury Borough constituency in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England.
In 1776 Charles changed his surname from Dillon to Dillon-Lee and quartered his arms accordingly to comply with the will of his maternal uncle
George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield
George Henry Lee II, 3rd Earl of Lichfield PC (1718–1772) was a British politician and peer. He was made a Privy Councillor and Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms in 1762, holding both honours until death. Previously, he had served as member o ...
. In that same year, his mother inherited the Lichfield estate at the death of her uncle the
fourth Earl, who died childless.
First marriage and children
Charles married twice. He married firstly on 19 August 1776 in Brussels Henrietta-Maria Phipps, daughter of
Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
and his wife Lepel Hervey. She was
illegitimately descended from James II.
Charles and Henrietta Maria had two children:
#
Henry Augustus Dillon-Lee (1777–1832), succeeded him as the 13th Viscount
#Frances Charlotte Dillon-Lee (1780–1819), married Thomas
Webb, Baronet
Lichfield inheritance
On 4 November 1776
Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield
Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706–1776) was an English politician and peer, the last of the Earls of Lichfield.
Birth and origins
Robert was born on 3 July 1706 in St. James Street, Westminster, London. He was one of the ten ch ...
, died and the earldom became extinct. The nearest relatives of the last earl were his nieces. Charles's mother, née Lee, inherited the estate as she was the eldest surviving of these nieces.
Second marriage and children
His first wife died in 1782. In 1787 he married, secondly, Marie Rogier of
Mechelen
Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
. She had been an actress in Brussels and had been his mistress in the time before his first marriage.
Charles and Marie had at least three children:
#James William Dillon-Lee (1792–1812), seems to have died unmarried
#Henrietta Dillon-Lee (died 1811), seems to have died unmarried
#Charlotte Dillon-Lee (died 1866), married in 1813
Frederick Beauclerk (1773–1850), a younger son of
Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans
Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) was a British landowner, and a collector of antiquities and works of art.
Early life
Aubrey Beauclerk was born in 1740, the son of Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Ve ...
and an early cricketer
Later life
In 1787 he served as
High Sheriff of Mayo
The High Sheriff of Mayo was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Mayo, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Mayo County Sheriff. The sheriff ...
. On 3 November 1787, his father,
Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon
Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon (1705–1787) was an Irish peer and a soldier in French service. He was the colonel proprietor of Dillon's Regiment, an Irish regiment of foot in French service, in 1741–1744 and again in 1747–1767. In the ...
, died and Charles succeeded as the 12th Viscount Dillon. He was solemnly confirmed in the Viscountcy in 1788 by the
Irish House of Lords
The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland.
It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...
. He was invested as a Knight of the
Order of St. Patrick
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by George III of the United Kingdom, King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Irelan ...
in 1798.
In 1794 Charles inherited the Lichfield estate from his mother.
Ditchley
Ditchley Park is a country house near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The estate was once the site of a Roman villa. Later it became a royal hunting ground, and then the property of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley. The 2nd Earl of Lichfield buil ...
became the seat of the Viscounts Dillon. It would remain in the possession of the family until 1934.
During the passing of the
Acts of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
Lord Dillon supported the union.
In 1802 Lord Dillon sold the manor of
Quarendon, where the seat of the Lee family had once stood, to
James Du Pré of Wilton Park. Quarendon was of course part of the land inherited from his mother. In 1806 Lord Dillon raised a
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
, namely the
101st Regular, recruited from the inhabitants of his Irish lands and surrounding areas near
Loughglinn
Loughglinn or Loughglynn ( ; ) is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is named after the lake to the north of the village.
History
Loughglinn House was the main residence of the Dillon family, built circa 1715, extended in the 1820s a ...
,
County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
.
Death, succession, and timeline
Lord Dillon died at Loughglinn, on 9 November 1813. Despite his conversion, he was buried in the Dillon Family Vault in the Cemetery at the Augustinian Friary,
Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line linking Dublin to Westport and Ballina.
It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augus ...
, County Mayo, Ireland. His widow died in London in 1833. He was succeeded by his only son, Henry Augustus, as the 13th Viscount Dillon.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
* – Dacre to Dysart
* – England
* – Scotland and Ireland (for Dillon)
*
* – (for timeline)
* – (for the subject as MP)
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount
1745 births
1813 deaths
British MPs 1768–1774
Earls in the Jacobite peerage
Fellows of the Royal Society
High Sheriffs of Mayo
Knights of St Patrick
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Charles 12