Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset (1825 – 7 July 1884) of
Bagborough
West Bagborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. In 2011 the village had a population of 358.
The parish of West Bagborough lies on the south-west slopes of t ...
in Somerset, 22nd
Scottish feudal baron
In Scotland, a baron or baroness is the head of a feudal barony, also known as a prescriptive barony. This used to be attached to a particular piece of land on which was situated the ''caput'' (Latin for "head") or essence of the barony, normal ...
of
Lessendrum
Lessendrum is a ruinous fortified house situated to the north of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is on the Buildings at Risk Register.
History
Lessendrum was the ancestral home to the Bisset of Lessendrum family who were granted the estate ...
in Aberdeen, Scotland, was a British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
and a famous west-country Master of Staghounds.
Origins
He was the only son of the Venerable
Maurice Fenwick Bisset
:''This person's surname is ''Fenwick'' (pre-1821) or ''Fenwick Bisset'' (after 1821), not ''Bisset'' (alone).''
Maurice George Fenwick Bisset (né Fenwick, also spelt Fenwicke), a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, was an Irish Anglican prie ...
(1797–1879), Rector of
Drumholm
The Parish of Drumholm (sometimes spelled Drumhome or referred to as Ballintra) ( ga, Droim Thuama) is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe. It is also a civil parish, with the variant spelling of Drumhome, in the barony of Tirhugh, ...
and Archdeacon of
Raphoe
Raphoe ( ; ) is a historical village in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of R ...
, both in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
, Ireland, son of William Fenwick of
Lemmington Hall,
Edlingham, Northumberland, by his wife Elizabeth Bisset. Maurice had married his first cousin Jane Harriot Bisset (d.1866), the eldest daughter and co-heiress of
Maurice George Bisset
Maurice George Bisset (1757–1821) of Knighton Gorges on the Isle of Wight, and of Lessendrum in Aberdeen, Scotland, 18th Scottish feudal baron of Lessendrum, is famous for his involvement in the scandalous court case involving his mistress Sey ...
(1757–1821) of
Knighton Gorges House on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, and of
Lessendrum
Lessendrum is a ruinous fortified house situated to the north of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is on the Buildings at Risk Register.
History
Lessendrum was the ancestral home to the Bisset of Lessendrum family who were granted the estate ...
in Aberdeen, Scotland, 18th
Scottish feudal baron
In Scotland, a baron or baroness is the head of a feudal barony, also known as a prescriptive barony. This used to be attached to a particular piece of land on which was situated the ''caput'' (Latin for "head") or essence of the barony, normal ...
of Lessendrum, (which barony and estate had been held by the
Clan Bisset since 1252) by his wife Harriat (sic) Mordaunt (b.1753) one of the illegitimate children of
Charles Mordaunt, 4th Earl of Peterborough
Charles Mordaunt, 4th Earl of Peterborough, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1708 – 1 August 1779) was a British peer and Member of Parliament, styled Viscount Mordaunt from 1710 to 1735.
He was the son of John Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt and Lady France ...
(1708–1779) by his mistress Robiniana Brown, who became his second wife in 1755. Maurice Fenwick adopted the additional name of Bisset following his wife's inheritance of the estate of Lessendrum from her cousin, not having inherited directly from her father due to entails which passed it first to two other male relatives, who died childless. His son Mordaunt Fenwick-Bisset inherited as well as Lessendrum, the residual estate, including the Wiltshire manor of
Dauntsey
Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in t ...
, of
Charles Mordaunt, 5th Earl of Peterborough
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 "f ...
(1758–1814), his natural great-uncle and the first legitimate son of the 4th Earl by Robiniana, who died without issue, and whose brothers, legitimate and otherwise, had all predeceased him. The titles all became extinct. The Mordaunt property was left to Jane in trust as a life-interest, which was inherited absolutely on her death in 1866 by her son Mordaunt.
The arms of Fenwick-Bisset of Lessendrum are: ''Quarterly 1st & 4th: Azure, a bend argent (Bisset), 2nd & 3rd: party per fesse gules and argent, six martlets counterchanged (Fenwick)''.
Career
He was elected as a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
West Somerset
West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...
at the
1880 general election,
but
resigned
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
from the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 18 November 1883 by becoming
Steward of the Manor of Northstead
The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden ...
.
Marriage
He married in 1851 Susan Popham, daughter and heiress of Francis Popham of
Bagborough House
Bagborough House in West Bagborough, Somerset, England was built ''circa'' 1730. It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 4 May 1984.
Bagborough House was built in 1739 by the Popham family, next to St Pancras Church. The saloon has deco ...
,
Bagborough
West Bagborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. In 2011 the village had a population of 358.
The parish of West Bagborough lies on the south-west slopes of t ...
, Somerset, and rented for his residence
Pixton Park
Pixton Park is a country house in the parish of Dulverton, Somerset, England. It is associated with at least three historically significant families, successively by descent: Acland, amongst the largest landowners in the Westcountry; Herbert, po ...
, near Dulverton, Somerset, from the
Earl of Carnarvon
Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' havi ...
, which is famous as the historic centre of West country staghunting when the seat of
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet (14 August 1722 – 24 February 1785) of Killerton in Devon and Petherton Park in Somerset, was Member of Parliament for Devon, 1746–1747, for Somerset, 1767–1768, and was High Sheriff of Somerset in 1751. ...
(1722-1785) of
Killerton
Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortab ...
, Devon and
Petherton Park
Petherton Park (also known as North Petherton Park or Newton Park) was a Deer park around North Petherton within the English county of Somerset.
The origins are unclear but the area was part of an earlier Royal Forest stretching from the River P ...
in Somerset, who acquired Pixton by his marriage to the heiress Elizabeth Dyke (d.1753) and who in 1746 took over mastership of the Staghounds following the death of Edward Dyke. He had no surviving progeny by Susan Popham and his heir was his sister Janet.
Sporting career
He served as Master of the
Devon and Somerset Staghounds
The red deer of Exmoor have been hunted since Norman times, when Exmoor was declared a Royal Forest. Collyns stated the earliest record of a pack of Staghounds on Exmoor was 1598. In 1803, the "North Devon Staghounds" became a subscription pack. ...
from 1855 to 1881. He accepted the mastership when west-country stag-hunting was at a low ebb. In 1824 the entire pack of staghounds, of an ancient native bloodline, was sold by a previous master to a German Baron. Following this action, the wild deer were almost poached to extinction, the lack of sport having removed the main reason for their preservation in the eyes of the hard-pressed farmers whose crops they damaged. Mr Froude Bellew, MFH, offered a draught from his own pack of foxhounds to anyone who would re-established a pack of staghounds. Mr Bisset accepted the offer. His mastership was instrumental in increasing wild red deer numbers on Exmoor, he improved the breeding of the hounds and built permanent new kennels at
Exford, which he donated to the Committee. In 1878 an outbreak of
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...
occurred in the kennels, and he took the difficult decision to put-down all the hounds on 22 January 1879. He immediately started a new pack the same year, made up from a draught from Lord Rothschild's Staghounds.
He left 13 large volumes of his hunting diaries which became the property of Viscount Ebrington, later
4th Earl Fortescue his successor as Master, whose brother Hon. John Fortescue used them as a basis for his work ''Record of Staghunting on Exmoor, London, 1887''.
Portraits
His portrait was painted by Samuel John Carter and was exhibited at the
Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
in London in 1871, under the catalogue description: ''"A September evening, Exmoor Forest". A wild stag at bay with portraits; to be presented to the master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, Mordaunt Fenwick-Bisset Esq., at the beginning of his seventeenth season by upwards of 400 deer preservers and friends"''. The painting was presented to him at a dinner at
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...
on 14 September 1871. He is shown on his hunter ''Chanticleer'' surrounded by his favourite hounds, with a stag at bay at Badgworthy Water, Exmoor Forest. An engraving of Bisset standing on a North Devon beach watching a hunted stag swimming away into the sea is published in Fortescue, op.cit., opposite p. 87, with the caption: ''And there stood the stalwart form of Mr Bisset''.
Death and burial
He died on 7 July 1884 at Bagborough House and was buried at Bagborough.
Footnotes
Sources
*Marshall, H.J. Exmoor Sporting and Otherwise, London, 1948
*Fortescue, Hon. John. Record of Staghunting on Exmoor, London, 1887
*Temple, Rev. William. The Thanage of Fermartyn, quoted o
rootsweb.ancestry.com
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisset, Mordaunt Fenwick
1825 births
1884 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1880–1885