Arms of Wyndham, Baron Leconfield and Egremont

Charles Henry Wyndham, 3rd Baron Leconfield, (17 February 1872 – 16 April 1952) was a British peer, army officer and political figure. He succeeded his father as third Baron Leconfield in 1901.

Ancestry

Wyndham was born at the family estate,

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

, in Sussex. A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he was the second but eldest surviving son of

Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield, (31 July 1830 – 6 January 1901) was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament. A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, Leconfield was the eldest son of George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield, ...

, and Constance Evelyn Primrose, daughter of Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny. His grandfather, the first Baron Leconfield, was the adopted heir of

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, from whom the family derived their considerable wealth.

Military career

He served in the 1st Life Guards from 1892 to 1898 and He was appointed a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of the Reserve on 27 January 1900,. In 1901, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, he became the commanding officer of the newly-reformed

Sussex Yeomanry The Sussex Yeomanry is a yeomanry regiment of the British Army dating from 1794. It was initially formed when there was a threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. After being reformed in the Second Boer War, it served in the First Wo ...

(originally raised at Petworth by the 3rd Earl of Egremont).''Army List'', various dates. Wyndham served and was wounded during the

in 1900. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he rejoined the 1st Life Guards and commanded the Royal Sussex Volunteers from 1917 to 1918. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion of the Border Regiment (representing

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, of which he held significant lands), and of the 98th Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Sussex This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. From 1677 until 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Sussex. Lord Lieutenants of Sussex to 1974 * Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel 1551–? ''jointly with ...

between 1917 and 1949.

Properties

Lord Leconfield inherited the family seat,

, as well as significant land in

, including

Cockermouth Castle Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. History The first castle on this site was built by the ...

and

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell Pi ...

. In 1919, he placed Scafell Pike—the highest peak in England—under the custody of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in honour of the soldiers of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

who served in World War I. Lord Leconfield also opened the state rooms of Petworth House, the 17th-century marvel with considerable artwork, to the public. In 1947, he gave Petworth and its 735-acre park to the National Trust as well.

Later life

Lord Leconfield married Beatrice Violet Rawson, daughter of Colonel Richard Hamilton Rawson, in 1911. Wyndham had two adopted children, Peter and Elizabeth Geraldine Wyndham (born Betty Seymour). He was a dedicated sportsman, a master of foxhounds, and served as president of the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

for the 1927–1928 season. He also served as president of the

Pratt's Pratt's is a gentlemen's club in London. It was established in 1857, with premises in a house in Park Place, off St James's Street, and close to the Ritz London. History The club takes its name from William Nathaniel Pratt, who lived ther ...

club in London. He died in April 1952, aged 80, after a lengthy illness. Wyndham was succeeded in the barony by his younger brother Hugh (1877–1963) as his adopted son Peter was disqualified from inheriting his adoptive father’s titles and estates. Wyndham left an estate of £2,136,439 (). His adopted daughter Elizabeth Wyndham was a socialite and civil servant, born on 15 December 1922. She died on 13 May 2008, aged 85 in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. As an accomplished

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she worked as a linguist in the British codebreaking department at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

References

Book source

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leconfield, Charles Henry Wyndham, 3rd Baron 1872 births 1952 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Leconfield Leconfield is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Beverley town centre on the A164 road. The civil parish consists of Leconfield, the village of Arram and the hamlet of Scorborough. The 2011 ...

Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Sussex Masters of foxhounds in England Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Younger sons of barons