Hugh Charles Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (29 May 1790 – 28 February 1858) was a British peer and author.

Early life

Clifford was born on 29 May 1790 at New Park,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was the eldest son of

Charles Clifford, 6th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, of Chudleigh in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Thomas Clifford. The title was created as "Clifford of Chudleigh" rather than simply "Clifford" to differentiate ...

, and the Hon. Eleanor Mary Arundell, a daughter of

Henry Arundell, 8th Baron Arundell of Wardour Henry Arundell, 8th Baron Arundell of Wardour (31 March 1740 – 4 December 1808) was an English peer and landowner. Biography Henry Arundell was born on 31 March 1740, to Henry Arundell and Mary Bellings-Arundell. He married Mary Christ ...

.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume III, page 306. He was educated at the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

college of

Stonyhurst Stonyhurst is a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish church, St ...

, and in 1814 attended

Cardinal Consalvi Ercole Consalvi (8 June 1757 – 24 January 1824) was a deacon and cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served twice as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Papal States and who played a crucial role in the post-Napoleonic reassertion of the legiti ...

to the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

Career

He served as a volunteer through a large portion of the

Peninsular campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

s. On succeeding to his father's estates and the title upon his death on 29 April 1831, he took his seat in 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 ...

. He gave his general support to the ministry of Lord Grey and afterwards of

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

, but seldom took part in the debates except on questions connected with Roman Catholicism. In his later years he lived chiefly in Italy, where he had a house near Tivoli. Clifford was the author of a ''Letter to

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

on the Repeal of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

'' (1824); Letters addressed to Lord Alvanley on his pamphlet, "The State of Ireland considered" (1841) and Letters to the Editor of the ''

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...

'' on the East Indian Question, as well as several published speeches.

Personal life

On 8 February 1819, he married Mary Lucy Weld, the only daughter of Thomas Weld of

Lulworth Castle Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, England, situated south of the village of Wool, is an early 17th-century hunting lodge erected in the style of a revival fortified castle, one of only five extant Elizabethan or Jacobean buildings of ...

Dorsetshire Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to th ...

, and his wife, Lucy (née Clifford). Together, they were the parents of six sons and two daughters:Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 821. *

Charles Hugh Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1819–1880), who married Hon. Agnes Petre, daughter of

William Petre, 11th Baron Petre William Henry Francis, 11th Baron Petre (22 January 1793 – 3 July 1850) was an English nobleman, based in Essex. He was the first Baron Petre to take his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. Fa ...

, in 1845. * Hon. Eleonora Mary Clifford (1820–1871), who became a Roman Catholic nun of Sacré Coeur. * Hon. Thomas Hugh Clifford (1822–1833), who died young. * Rt. Rev. William Hugh Joseph Clifford (1823–1893), the 2nd

Bishop of Clifton The Bishop of Clifton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton in the Province of Birmingham, England. The see is in the suburb of Clifton in the city of Bristol where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of SS ...

. * Hon. Mary Constantia Clifford (1825–1898), who married William Joseph Vavasour, a son of

Sir Edward Vavasour, 1st Baronet The Honourable Sir Edward Marmaduke Joseph Vavasour, 1st Baronet DL (formerly Edward Marmaduke Joseph Stourton; 6 May 1786 – 16 March 1847) was an English landowner and baronet. Early life Vavasour was born on 6 May 1786 as Edward Marmaduke Jos ...

and grandson of the 17th Baron Stourton. * Sir Henry Hugh Clifford (1826–1883), who married Josephine Anstice, a daughter of Joseph Anstice, in 1857. * Edmund Hugh Clifford, who died in infancy. * Hon. Walter Clifford (b. 1830), who became a Roman Catholic priest. He died at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 28 February 1858 from an injury. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles Hugh, who became the 8th Baron Clifford.

Descendants

Through his son Henry, he was a grandfather of Sir Hugh Charles Clifford, and Brig.-Gen. Henry Frederick Hugh Clifford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford Of Chudleigh, Hugh Clifford, 7th Baron 1790 births 1858 deaths People educated at Stonyhurst College 7

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...