Francis Richard Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss GCVO DL (pronounced ''weems'', rhyming with seems) (4 August 1818 – 30 June 1914), styled as Lord Elcho between 1853 and 1883, was a British Whig politician. He founded the Liberty and Property Defence League.

Early life

He was the eldest son and heir of

Francis Wemyss-Charteris, 9th Earl of Wemyss Francis Wemyss-Charteris, 9th Earl of Wemyss, 5th Earl of March (14 August 1795 – 1 January 1883), was a Scottish peer. Early life Wemyss-Charteris was born 14 August 1795, the son of Francis Douglas, 8th Earl of Wemyss and the former Marga ...

and Lady Louisa Bingham. Among his siblings was younger brother Richard Charteris (who married Lady Margaret Butler, a daughter of Richard Butler, 2nd Earl of Glengall) and sister Lady Louisa Wemyss-Charteris (wife of William Wells, MP for

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

and

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

). His paternal grandparents were Francis Douglas, 8th Earl of Wemyss and the former Margaret Campbell (daughter of Scottish landowner Walter Campbell, 3rd of Shawfield and Islay and 9th of Skipness). His maternal grandparents were Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan and Lady Elizabeth Belasyse, third daughter of

Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg (13 April 1742 – 23 March 1802) was a British politician and peer. Family Fauconberg was the son of Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg and Catherine Betham.Arthur Collins, ''The peerage of England'' (177 ...

and former wife of Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk. He was educated at Eton and graduated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

with a B.A. degree.

Career

As Lord Elcho he was commanding officer of the London Scottish Rifles Volunteers regiment for 17 years from its formation in 1859, gaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He is credited with the design of the Elcho sword bayonet, which saw limited use in the Ashanti campaign of 1895-6. Charteris was a member of the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...

from 27 March 1848, and belonged to the management committee. He developed an interest in the alternative medical practice of

Homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

, even becoming President of the London Homeopathic Hospital until his death. The strength of his belief is evidenced by his writing in March 1914:

I wish all success to Homoeopathy, to which I attach my physical well-being in great measure. When I was 90 I was asked to what I attributed my well-being at that late period of life. My answer was, "To parentage and moderation". I should have added "AND HOMOEOPATHY," with which I have been treated since I was 20.

Between 1836 and 1866, he was trustee of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. Upon his father's death in 1883, he succeeded to the Earldom of Wemyss and March. Prior to then he was known as Lord Elcho. From 1881 to 1901, he was '' aide-de-camp'' to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, followed by ''aide-de-camp'' to King

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 ...

from 1901 to 1910. He also held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Haddington and Selkirk. File:Lordelcho.jpg, Lord Elcho File:10th Earl of Wemyss.png, Lord Elcho by Carlo Pellegrini, 1870.

Personal life

On 29 August 1843, he married Lady Anne Frederica Anson, the second daughter of

Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (20 October 1795 – 18 March 1854), known as Viscount Anson from 1818–31, was a British Whig (British political faction), Whig politician from the An ...

and the former Louisa Barbara Catherine Phillips (youngest daughter of Nathaniel Phillips of Slebech Hall). In

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, they lived at 64 Queen Street, the only four-bay townhouse on this prestigious street in Edinburgh's First New Town. Together, they were the parents of six sons and three daughters, including: * Francis Charteris (1844–1870), who died unmarried. * Arthur Charteris (1846–1847), who died in infancy. * Alfred Walter Charteris, (1847–1873), a Lieutenant in the 71st Foot who fought in the Ashanti War and died at sea. * Lady Evelyn Charteris (1849–1939), who married John Vesey, 4th Viscount de Vesci, in 1872. * Lady Lilian Harriet Charteris (1851–1914), who married Sir Henry Pelly, 3rd Baronet in 1872. After his death, she married Sir Henry Francis Redhead Yorke in 1882. * Lady Hilda Charteris (1854–1901), who married, as his first wife William Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, in 1880. * Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857–1937), who married Mary Constance Wyndham, eldest daughter of Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham. * Alan Dudley Charteris (1860–1901), a Lieutenant in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

who died unmarried. * Sir Evan Edward Charteris (1864–1940), a trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

and the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

, who in 1930 married Lady Dorothy (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Browne) Grosvenor, widow of Lord Edward Arthur Grosvenor (youngest son of the

Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

) and eldest daughter of Valentine Browne, 5th Earl of Kenmare and the former Elizabeth Baring (eldest daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke). After the death of his first wife on 22 Jul 1896, he remarried, to Grace Blackburn (–1946) in December 1900. Grace was the third daughter of Major John Blackburn and the former Maria Warburton (a daughter of

The Very Reverend The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. The definite article "t ...

Charles Warburton, Archdeacon of Tuam). Lord Wemyss died on 30 June 1914. The Dowager Countess of Wemyss died on 13 February 1946.

Descendants

Through his daughter Lady Evelyn, he was a grandfather of Mary Gertrude Vesey, the second wife of Aubrey Herbert (second son of

Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the ...

), whose daughter Laura Herbert married the writer

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

, and was the mother of

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

.John Howard Wilson, ''Evelyn Waugh: A Literary Biography'' (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001), p. 111 ff.: see als
"Lady Evelyn Charteris"
''The Peerage'', 30 May 2008.

Honours and legacy

Charteris Bay in

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the ...

was chosen as a locality name to commemorate his role in the settlement of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wemyss, Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of 1818 births 1914 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies 10 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 London Scottish officers UK MPs who inherited peerages Volunteer Force officers Members of the Canterbury Association Earls of March (Scotland) People of the National Rifle Association