Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley and 4th Baron Ward (16 June 1704 – 6 September 1731) succeeded to the titles of Baron Dudley and Baron Ward at his birth in 1704, his father having died during the period of his mother's pregnancy. He died unmarried in 1731, when the titles were passed on to his uncle, William Ward.

Life

Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley and 4th Baron Ward was the only son of Edward Ward, 8th Baron Dudley and 3rd Baron Ward and his wife Diana daughter and heiress of Thomas Howard of Ashtead, Surrey. He was born posthumously, and so succeeded to his father's baronies at birth. In 1712, during his minority, one of the first

Newcomen steam engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is often referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or simply as a Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam drawn into the cylinder, thereby creat ...

s was erected within his Coneygree Park, in

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

west of

Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but su ...

, so as to drain coal mines there. This was illustrated in a contemporary engraving by Thomas Barney, also showing the castle, so that the engine is sometimes referred to as the Dudley Castle engine. Another engine was subsequently erected for his Park colliery. Edward Ward died a bachelor in 1731. His titles were inherited by William Ward, 10th Baron Dudley, 5th Baron Ward (died 1740), on whose death the estates and titles were divided. The

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

ed estate and the title

Baron Ward Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of Stafford (now the West Midlands), is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ward family. History Dudley was first used for a p ...

passed to his heir male, a cousin William Ward (later 1st Viscount Dudley and Ward), whereas the title

Baron Dudley Baron Dudley is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created circa 1440 for John Sutton, a soldier who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The title descended in the Sutton family until the 17th century when Frances Sutton, the heir appa ...

and certain estates more recently purchased (and thus not entailed) passed to Ferdinando Dudley Lea, 11th Baron Dudley, the son of a sister of the 10th Baron.''Burke's Peerage'', s.v. Dudley, Earl of and Dudley, Baron. This led to a dispute over the ownership of a steam engine standing on the entailed property, ultimately resolved in favour of Lord Dudley, who therefore removed the engine to his own property at Russell's Hall, Dudley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Edward Ward, 9th Baron 1704 births 1731 deaths Edward 9