Walter Long of

South Wraxall South Wraxall is a village and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, north of Bradford on Avon. The village is to the east of the B3109 road from Bradford on Avon to Corsham. The parish includes the village of Lower Wraxall, to the south of Sou ...

, near

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

( 1712–1807), the great-great-great grandson of Sir Walter Long of South Wraxall and Draycot, was born in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, and inherited along with other family estates, the 15th-century house known as

South Wraxall Manor South Wraxall Manor is a Grade I listed country house which dates from the early 15th century, at South Wraxall in the English county of Wiltshire, about north of Bradford on Avon. According to popular legend, the house was the first place t ...

. His ancestors made their wealth initially as clothiers. He served as

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

for 1764. Long died in Bath in 1807, aged at least 93 years. He bequeathed the bulk of his fortune to the sons of his cousin Richard Long of Rood Ashton, Wiltshire.”Old Walter Long of Bath (1712–1807) - A Man of Parsimonious Habits” in Cheryl Nicol, ''INHERITING THE EARTH: The Long Family's 500 Year Reign in Wiltshire'' (2016), chapter 6

Marriage controversy

At the age of about sixty, and never previously married, Long became engaged to

Elizabeth Ann Linley Elizabeth Ann Sheridan ( Linley; September 1754 – 28 June 1792) was an 18th-century English singer who was known to have possessed great beauty. She was the subject of several paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, who was a family friend, Joshu ...

, a celebrated singer of the town of Bath, and a great beauty. She was about sixteen years old. The engagement was arranged by her father Thomas Linley, an impoverished composer, who had his eyes on Long's great wealth. The marriage did not take place, however: Long is said to have dissolved the contract after Elizabeth secretly told him she would never be happy as his wife, taking on himself the entire blame for breaking off the alliance. He reputedly paid her father, who was proceeding to bring the transaction into court, a settlement of £3,000. Elizabeth was allowed to keep the jewels and other gifts Long had showered upon her during their engagement.Suzanne (2004), Aspden, "Linley heridan Elizabeth Ann (1754–1792)", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online edition by Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25364 Long knew that Elizabeth Ann was in love with a young playwright,

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

, with whom she later eloped in 1772. The whole business was well publicised at the time, and soon became the subject of a satirical play '' The Maid of Bath'' written by

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a British dramatist, actor and theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic opportunity. Early l ...

, which opened in 1771 at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in London. Sheridan was one of Foote's favourite targets. Long's character, played by Foote himself, was named Solomon Flint, described as a "fat, fusty, shabby, shuffling, money loving, water drinking, mirth-marring, amorous old huncks", who "owns half the farms in the country", being 60 at least and "a filthy old goat! He supposedly has a rumbling old family coach and a moated haunted old house in the country."Thornton Hall, ''Love Romances of the Aristocracy'' (London: T. Werner Laurie, 1911) Foote was frequently threatened with libel suits. Long heard about the play before it was produced and tried unsuccessfully to persuade Foote to abandon the whole thing, even threatening violence against him. He commenced an action for damages against Foote, but the affair seems to have ended there.

Sources

, ''The Maid of Bath'' (John Wheble, 1778; first performed, 1771) * Thomas Moore, ''Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honorable Richard Brinsley Sheridan'', Vol. 1 * Frank Frankfort Moore, ''A Nest of Linnets'' (1901) * Isabelle Baudino, Jacques Carré, Cécile Révauger, ''The Invisible Woman: aspects of women's work in eighteenth-century Britain'' (2007), {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Walter 1712 births 1807 deaths People from Bradford-on-Avon

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

High Sheriffs of Wiltshire

Marriage controversy

Further reading

Sources