Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland (20 July 1851– 27 June 1913), styled Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower until 1858, Earl Gower between 1858 and 1861 and Marquess of Stafford between 1861 and 1892, was a British peer and politician from the

Leveson-Gower family Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a historically prominent British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family incl ...

Early life

Sutherland was the eldest son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland. He was born in London and educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Career

As Marquess of Stafford, Sutherland entered the 2nd Life Guards as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

. He retired from regular army service as a lieutenant in 1875, but was commissioned Captain in the Staffordshire Yeomanry in 1876 and commanded that regiment as Lieutenant-Colonel from 1891 to 1898, after which he became its honorary colonel. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sutherland Rifles, a volunteer regiment of his ducal county in Scotland, from 1882 to 1891. From 1911 until his death he was honorary colonel of the 5th

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

battalion of the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

. Under the name of Marquess of Stafford, Sutherland served as member of parliament for

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

from the election of 1874, when he was unopposed, standing as a Liberal, and held the seat as a Liberal until he stood down at the 1886 election. On succeeding to his father's peerages in 1892, he became a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. By then his political allegiance had shifted, and he sat on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

benches. He also served as Mayor of Longton, near

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, Staffordshire, in 1895–96, and was an alderman of the borough from 1898. For some years he was Master of Foxhounds of the North Staffordshire Hunt. Sutherland's father, the 3rd Duke, was a railway pioneer and built a 17-mile

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

with a locomotive named ''Dunrobin'' (after the family's castle). The 4th Duke had a new locomotive built, also named ''Dunrobin'', with two private railway carriages which he used on the private line and also attached to main-line trains. The Duke was President of the Staffordshire Territorial Forces Association from the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908. Despite being very rich, Sutherland became concerned that his landed estates were no longer viable. Towards the end of his life, he sold properties in Great Britain, such as

Trentham Hall Trentham Estate in the village of Trentham, Staffordshire, England, is a visitor attraction on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. History The estate was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. At the time it was a royal ...

and Stafford House, and began moving his wealth to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Honours

The Duke was appointed a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

(KG) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and was invested by

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902.

Marriage and children

He married Lady Millicent St Clair-Erskine, daughter of Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn, on 20 October 1884. They had four children: *Lady Victoria Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1885–1888), died young. * George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland (1888–1963) *Lord Alastair St. Clair Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1890–1921), married Elizabeth Demarest (former wife of John G. A. Leishman Jr., only son of John George Alexander Leishman). They were the parents of

Elizabeth Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland (''née'' Sutherland-Leveson-Gower; 30 March 1921 – 9 December 2019) was a Scottish noblewoman. She was the holder of an earldom in the Peerage of Scotland, and was chief of Clan Sut ...

. * Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1893–1930), dated Edward, Prince of WalesRachel Trethewey (The History Press, 2018) Before Wallis: Edward VIII’s other women before marrying

William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, MC TD (30 January 1894 – 26 December 1969), known as Viscount Ednam until 1932, was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Lord Dudley was the eldest son of William Ward, 2nd Earl o ...

and had issue. Died in a plane crash with

Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (26 February 1875 – 21 July 1930), styled Lord Frederick Blackwood between 1888 and 1918, was a British soldier and politician. He died in an aircraft crash in 1930 ...

. In 1900 the Duke of Sutherland owned about 1,358,000 acres (550,000 hectares) and the steam yacht ''Catania'', which was chartered by some of the super-rich of that era. The Duke died at

Dunrobin Castle Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland, that serves as the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland, Chief of Clan Sutherland. It is located north of Golspie and approximately south of Brora, overlo ...

, Sutherland, on 27 June 1913, aged 61, and was buried at Dunrobin.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of 1851 births 1913 deaths 4 22 Garter Knights appointed by Edward VII

Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland (20 July 1851– 27 June 1913), styled Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower until 1858, Earl Gower between 1858 and 1861 and Marquess of Stafford between 1861 and 1892, was a British ...

Mayors of places in Staffordshire Stafford, Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Scottish Liberal Party MPs Lord-lieutenants of Sutherland Masters of foxhounds in England People educated at Eton College Stafford, Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stafford, Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stafford, Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Sutherland, D4 Directors of the London and North Western Railway Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Staffordshire Yeomanry officers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople People from Longton, Staffordshire Military personnel from London 19th-century British Army personnel Volunteer Force officers