Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre (1689 – 22 March 1713) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

peer, the son of

Thomas Petre, 6th Baron Petre Thomas Petre, 6th Baron Petre (1633–1706) was an English Catholic peer, the third son of Robert Petre, 3rd Baron Petre and Mary Brown. Inheriting the title from his elder brother, Petre held the title for 21 years. Soon after Petre inherited hi ...

(1633–1706) and his wife Mary Clifton, daughter of Sir Thomas Clifton. He succeeded to his title, at the age of 17, upon the death of his father. Robert is said to have spurned wearing a wig in the conventional way, spending instead six hours every day dressing his own hair. He caused an uproar of indignation and outrage in the family when, in 1711, out of reckless mischief, the twenty-year-old cut off a lock of hair from the head of a celebrated beauty, his distant cousin, the sixteen-year-old Arabella Fermor, daughter of Henry Fermor of

Tusmore, Oxfordshire Tusmore is a settlement about north of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is the location of the Tusmore country house and estate. Manor Tusmore was settled in Saxon times. The toponym comes from Old English, either ''Thures mere'' ("Thur's pool") ...

''The Rape of the Lock''

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

, a friend of the family, was prevailed upon to write one of his humorous heroic verses about the incident in the hope that laughter would defuse the situation. The result was ''

The Rape of the Lock ''The Rape of the Lock'' is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope. One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque, it was first published anonymously in Lintot's ''Miscellaneous Poems and Translations'' (May 1712) ...

'' (first published in ''Lintot's Miscellany'' in May 1712), which was an enormous public success, selling 3,000 copies in four days. The first version of the poem, however, so lampooned all those involved that it upset the Petres even more and Arabella, flattered to be cast as a heroine by the distinguished Mr. Pope, is said to have become "very troublesome and conceited". She became the wife of Francis Perkins of

Ufton Court Ufton Court is a manor house in the civil parish of Ufton Nervet, in the county of Berkshire, England. It is the home to an educational charity, the Ufton Court Educational Trust, which operates historical and environmental education, as well ...

, near

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

in about 1716 and died in 1738.

Personal life

It is known that Petre lived at

Ingatestone Hall Ingatestone Hall is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Essex, England. It is located outside the village of Ingatestone, approximately south west of Chelmsford and north east of London. The house was built by Sir William Petre, and ...

, but on the strength of his marriage on 1 March 1712, to Catherine Walmesley (1697 – 31 January 1785), an extremely rich Lancastrian heiress. Not long after, they acquired the manor of

Dunkenhalgh The Dunkenhalgh is a country manor in Lancashire, on the outskirts of Clayton-le-Moors near the river Hyndburn. Originally a large country house in Tudor style, later converted into a hotel. It is grade II listed. History The name ''Dunkenha ...

. Lord Petre intended to move back to

Thorndon Hall Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London. Formerly the country seat of the Petre family who now reside at nearby In ...

, the family seat, but died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, at the age of 23, before doing so. His 16-year-old bride was 6 months pregnant. His son,

Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre (3 June 1713 – 2 July 1742) was a renowned horticulturist and a British peer. Petre was responsible in the late 1730s for the layout of the gardens at Worksop Manor in Nottinghamshire. He was also responsib ...

, was born three months after his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petre, Robert Petre, 7th Baron 1689 births 1713 deaths

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Deaths from smallpox People from Ingatestone Place of birth missing 7