Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden and 3rd Baron Seaford (9 August 1830 – 3 November 1899), was a British landowner and at one point "the wealthiest peer in England".

Life

Frederick was the son of

Charles Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden Charles Augustus Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden and 2nd Baron Seaford (5 June 1799 – 29 August 1868), was a British diplomat and politician. Lineage Ellis was the son of Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford and his wife, the Honourable Elizabe ...

and his wife, Lady Lucy Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, daughter of

William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Go ...

. He attended

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. As a young man, Frederick assisted his father in overseeing the family's holdings of Jamaican

sugar plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

. He visited Jamaica in 1846 and 1853–1834, installing new machinery in an attempt to boost falling sugar production. However,this was abandoned in 1855 and Frederick seems to have lost interest in the Jamaican estates, preferring to pursue a military career. By 1867, Frederick had become a major in the

4th Light Dragoons Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He succeeded his father in the baronies of Howard de Walden and Seaford on the latter's death on 29 August 1868. He also inherited his father's indebted estate. Frederick's mother, Lucy, undertook to discharge her late husband's debts in return for title to the plantations which Frederick conveyed to her in 1872. Having in some measure restored the Jamaican estates, now used for pasture and livestock instead of sugar, she gave them to her youngest son and Frederick's brother, Evelyn Henry in 1891. Thus they passed out of the main Howard de Walden line and were sold by Evelyn in 1912. Frederick and his younger brother William realized the worth of the

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

estate of the

Duke of Portland 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 sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and lands in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

owned by the Duchess of Portland and that, on the death of the current Duke (who was childless) they would pass first to their mother, Lucy, and her childless sister, Viscountess Ossington. This happened in 1879 when the Duke of Portland died. William married and had a son in 1875, but Frederick foiled his hopes by marrying, at the age of forty six, a young girl twenty five years his junior. In 1876, Frederick married Blanche, daughter of William Holden. In 1880, they had a son, Thomas Evelyn. In 1893, Blanche sued for divorce and Lord De Walden countersued, in what was viewed as the "cause celebre of the year". Frederick accused Blanche of "undue intimacy" with Count Jenan de Madre of Paris and Captain Winter. Blanche alleged cruelty by her husband as grounds for separation and her counsel cited physical abuse by Frederick, allegations of theft he made against Blanche, and threats to shoot her. According to press reports of the trial, "he frequently returned home drunk and vomited in bed, and developed filthy and hoggish habits, preventing Lady Blanche from sleeping with him." Frederick's mother died on 29 July 1899, and he inherited the Marylebone and Ayrshire estates, making him for a little more than three months "the wealthiest peer in England". Lord Howard de Walden died on 3 November 1899, aged 69, and was succeeded by his son Thomas. He is buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

. Lady Blanche married

Henry Lopes, 2nd Baron Ludlow Henry Ludlow Lopes, 2nd Baron Ludlow (30 September 1865 – 8 November 1922), was a British barrister and politician. Lopes was the only son of Henry Lopes, 1st Baron Ludlow, by Cordelia Lucy, daughter of Erving Clark, of Efford Manor, Plymouth. ...

in 1903 and she lived until 1911.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard de Walden, Frederick Ellis, 6th Baron 1830 births 1899 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Seaford, Frederick Ellis, 3rd Baron Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Barons Howard de Walden Eldest sons of British hereditary barons