Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet
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Sir Percy Florence Shelley, 3rd Baronet, (12 November 1819 – 5 December 1889), was the son of the English poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
and his second wife,
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also e ...
, novelist and author of ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
''. He was the only child of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to live beyond infancy. His middle name, possibly suggested by his father's friend
Sophia Stacey Sophia Stacey (1791– December 11, 1874) was a friend of the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, to whom he dedicated the ''Ode'' which begins: ''Thou art fair, and few are fairer, ''Of the nymphs of earth or ocean,'' ''They are robes that fi ...
, came from the city of his birth,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
in Italy. He had two elder half-siblings, by his father's first marriage to Harriet Westbrook, and three full siblings who died in infancy.


Early life and education

Shelley was born as the fourth child of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, his namesake, and his wife, author Mary Shelley. His elder siblings, consisting of a premature girl who died at a few weeks old and a brother and a sister who died in childhood, left him as the only surviving child after his mother suffered a miscarriage in 1822. His parents lived in Italy for several years, until his father drowned near
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
(then known to the English as Leghorn), whereupon his mother moved back to England with him. Mary Shelley never remarried; Percy had no further siblings. He joined
Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...
in 1832, and went up to
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 ...
, in October 1837.


Adult life

Shelley inherited the baronetcy upon the death of his grandfather,
Timothy Shelley Sir Timothy Shelley, 2nd Baronet (7 September 1753 – 24 April 1844) was an English politician and lawyer. He was the son of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring and the father of Romantic poet and dramatist Percy Bysshe Shelley. ...
, in 1844, becoming the 3rd Baronet, of
Castle Goring Castle Goring is a Grade I listed country house in Worthing, in West Sussex, England about northwest of the town centre. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to be of exc ...
, Sussex. In 1845, giving his address as
Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...
(then a riverside village in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
just upstream of
Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...
), he was elected to the
Royal Thames Yacht Club The Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) is the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world, and the oldest yacht club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park. The club ...
. On 22 June 1848, he married Jane Gibson, one of nine illegitimate children of Thomas Gibson, a wealthy
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
banker, by Ann Shevill; Jane was the widow of the Hon. Charles Robert St. John, son of the 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke and the Viscountess Bolingbroke, Baroness Hompesch. The couple had no children, although they adopted Jane's niece, Bessie Florence Gibson, the youngest child of Jane's brother Edward Gibson.The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda, ed. Peter W. Hammond, Sutton Publishing, 1998, p. 9. Bessie Gibson married Lieutenant-Colonel Leopold James Yorke Campbell Scarlett (grandson of the 1st Baron Abinger, a politician and judge), and was the mother of Shelley,
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 ...
and Hugh Scarlett, the 5th, 6th and 7th barons Abinger respectively. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Sussex The office of Sheriff of Sussex was established before the Norman Conquest. The Office of sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office ...
in 1865. He appeared in the 'Men of the Day' series in '' Vanity Fair'' in 1879 as "The Poet's Son", a caricature by "Ape", Carlo Pellegrini. The caption reads: "But he delights above all in yachting and in private theatricals, and is even now engaged in building a theatre for amateur performers. He is a gentleman." His London house he fitted with a private theatre; this was in
Tite Street Tite Street is a street in Chelsea, London, England, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, just north of the River Thames. It was laid out from 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, giving access to the Chelsea Embankment. Hist ...
, Chelsea, a favoured and fashionable location for people of an artistic and literary disposition, according to ''
The London Encyclopedia ''The London Encyclopaedia'', first published in 1983, is a 1100-page historical reference work on the United Kingdom's capital city, London. The encyclopaedia covers the Greater London area. Development The first edition of the encyclopaedia wa ...
''. While it was occupied by him and used for private performances, it caused no trouble. During a later period, however, it was rented to a tenant that used the facility for charity fund-raising performances where tickets were publicly sold, thus contravening the local bylaws. According to ''
Yachting World ''Yachting World'' is a monthly English language magazine published since 1894. Owned by Future plc, it features articles on sailing and yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Ya ...
'', Shelley was a member of the prestigious and exclusive
Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...
at
Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...
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 ...
.


Death

Shelley died in 1889 and was buried in the family vault in the churchyard of
St Peter's Church, Bournemouth St Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church located in the Bournemouth Town Centre, centre of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It is a Grade I listed building classed as a 'major parish church', and was completed in 1879 to a design by ...
, reputedly with the heart of his father alongside him. In that vault, in addition to the patrilineal family, lie the remains of his maternal grandparents, namely
Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...
and
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...
; Shelley and his wife were instrumental in moving their bones from
St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church i ...
in London. The Shelley baronetcy passed to his first cousin,
Edward Shelley Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
(1827–1890), of Avington House, Hampshire, a Captain in the
16th Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...
, son of John Shelley (1806–1866), JP, DL, of Avington House,
High Sheriff of Hampshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959. List of High Sheriffs *1070–1096: Hugh de Port "Domesday Book Online" *1105: Henry de Port (son of Hugh) *1129: W ...
in 1853, the younger brother of
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
.


Legacy

A
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
was installed, by
Bournemouth Borough Council Bournemouth Borough Council was the local authority of Bournemouth in Dorset, England and ceased to exist on 1 April 2019. It was a unitary authority, although between 1974 and 1997 it was an administrative district council with Dorset. Previou ...
, on 30 June 1985, in honour of Shelley, at the entrance to his former home Boscombe Manor, now the Shelley Manor Medical Centre.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley, Percy, 3rd Baronet 1819 births 1889 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Godwin family High Sheriffs of Sussex Shelley baronets, of Castle Goring