Mary Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (22 October 1697 – 1 February 1768), formerly Mary Webb, was the wife of

Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner. Family The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his fi ...

, and the mother of both the 9th and 10th dukes. Mary Webb was born at

Seend Seend is a village and civil parish about southeast of the market town of Melksham, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of Devizes and northeast of the county town of Trowbridge. The parish includes the sub-village of Seend Cleeve and the ...

, Wiltshire, the only child of Daniel Webb, of

Monkton Farleigh Monkton Farleigh is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, on high ground northwest of Bradford-on-Avon, and a similar distance east of the city of Bath. The parish includes the hamlets of Farleigh Wick and Pinckney Green. In th ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Somner, who was the daughter of John Somner of Seend. She married the duke, then Sir Edward Seymour (6th Baronet Seymour), on 8 March 1716 or 5 March 1717, at Monkton Farleigh. In December 1740, Seymour inherited his father's estates in Wiltshire and Devon. On 11 September 1744, the unexpected death of George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725–1744), the only son of

Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset General Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (11 November 16847 February 1750), styled Earl of Hertford until 1748, of Petworth House in Sussex, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until 172 ...

, made Sir Edward the heir presumptive to the

dukedom Dukedom may refer to: * The title and office of a duke * Duchy, the territory ruled by a duke * Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee Dukedom is an unincorporated community in both Graves County, Kentucky and Weakley County, Tennessee, straddling th ...

and to the barony of Seymour. On 23 November 1750 the 7th duke died, and Seymour succeeded to the dukedom, his wife then becoming a duchess. The principal

Percy family The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

estates and houses of

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

Northumberland House Northumberland House (also known as Suffolk House when owned by the Earls of Suffolk) was a large Jacobean townhouse in London, so-called because it was, for most of its history, the London residence of the Percy family, who were the Earl ...

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

, and

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence had be ...

, had been divided between the 7th duke's daughter

Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland ( née ''Seymour''; 26 November 1716 – 5 December 1776), also ''suo jure'' 2nd Baroness Percy, was a British peer. Life Percy was the only daughter of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, and ...

, and his nephew,

Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, PC (19 August 171021 August 1763), of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, Petworth House in Sussex, and of Egremont House in Mayfair, London, was a British statesman who served as Secretary of State for the Sout ...

. Their children were: *

Edward Seymour, 9th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 9th Duke of Somerset, etc. (2 January 1717 – 2 January 1792) was the eldest son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset and his wife, the former Mary Webb. He was also a baronet. He was baptized on 27 January 1717 at East ...

(1717–1792) *

Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset (3 December 1718 – 15 December 1793) was a British peer. He was Duke of Somerset from 2 January 1792 until his death. Family Webb Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset and his wife, ...

(1718–1793) *Lord William Seymour (1724–1800), who married Hester Maltravers and had children: **Hon. Edward Seymour (b. 3 May 1768) **Hon. William Seymour (b. 28 March 1769) **Hon. Hester Seymour (b. 24 November 1770) *Very Reverend

Lord Francis Seymour Lord Francis Seymour (1725 - 16 Feb 1799) was a clergyman of the Church of England and a younger son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset. He was Dean of Wells from 1766 until his death. Biography Seymour was the fifth child and fourth son of E ...

(1726–1799),

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

, who married Catherine Payne and had children; he was the ancestor of

Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset Brigadier-General Edward Hamilton Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, KBE, CB, CMG (12 May 1860 – 5 May 1931) was the son of Reverend Francis Payne Seymour and Jane Margaret Dallas. His father was the great-grandson of Lord Francis Seymour. H ...

, and of Colonel

Henry Abel Smith Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith, (8 March 1900 – 24 January 1993) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of Queensland, Australia. He married Lady May Cambridge, a niece of Queen Mary, consort of King George V. Early life and fa ...

. *Lady Mary Seymour (1744–1762), who married Vincent John Biscoe, of

Hookwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surr ...

. The duchess was a patron of several charities. The duke died in December 1757, and was buried at

Maiden Bradley Maiden Bradley is a village in south-west Wiltshire, England, about south-west of Warminster and bordering the county of Somerset. The B3092 road between Frome and Mere forms the village street. Bradley House, the seat of the Duke of Somerset, ...

. The duchess then expanded the Seend Green House (later Seend Park), which had belonged to her grandfather, John Somner. She died on 1 February 1768, aged 70, and was buried at Seend. Her will is held in the National Archives at Kew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Mary Seymour, Duchess of 1697 births 1768 deaths English duchesses by marriage People from Wiltshire