Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (28 September 1770 – 30 July 1825) was a British soldier.

Early life

Craven was the eldest son of William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Berkeley. Among his siblings was Maria Craven (wife of

William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton William Philip Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton (18 September 1772 – 20 November 1838), also known as Lord Dashalong, was a sportsman, gambler and a friend of the Prince Regent. Personal life Born in 1772, Lord Sefton was the only son of Charles ...

) and Arabella Craven (wife of General the Hon. Frederick St John). In 1780, after thirteen years of marriage, and reported affairs on both sides, his parents parted permanently. After the death of his father in 1791, his mother married Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Charles' wife,

Princess Frederica Caroline of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Frederica Caroline of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess in Saxony () was a princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by birth and, through marriage, the last Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Bayreuth. Biography Frederica Caroline was the f ...

, also died earlier in 1791. His paternal grandfather was the Rev. John Craven, brother of William Craven, 5th Baron Craven, who his father succeeded as

Baron Craven Earl of Craven, in the County of York, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1664 in favour of th ...

in 1769. His maternal grandparents were

Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley, KT (18 February 1715 – 9 January 1755) was the son of Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley, and the former Lady Louisa Lennox. Biography He was made an ensign in the ...

and the former Elizabeth Drax (a daughter of Henry Drax).

Career

He succeeded his father as seventh

in 1791. In 1801 he was created Viscount Uffington, in the County of Berkshire, and Earl of Craven, in the County of York. The earldom was a revival of the title held by his 17th-century kinsman and namesake William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven. He was commissioned into the

43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of th ...

in 1793, and subsequently served with the 80th and 84th Regiments. In 1798, Craven was appointed aide-de-camp to King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, serving until 1805. This was followed by active service in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, ultimately achieving the rank of

Major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. From 1819 until his death in 1825, Lord Craven served as

Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire. Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire *Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545 *E ...

and was opposed to Catholic emancipation.

Marriage & issue

In 1807, Craven married Louisa Brunton, a famous actress. Louisa was a daughter of John Brunton, a grocer who later became an actor and manager of the Norwich Theatre. She was one of seven sisters, several were actresses, one,

Ann Brunton Merry Ann Brunton Merry (30 March 1769 – 28 June 1808) was an English actress popular in the United Kingdom and later America. Life Ann (or Anne) Brunton was born 30 May 1769 in Covent Garden, England, one of 14 children of John Brunton (b. 1741) ...

married the poet and

dilettante Dilettante or dilettantes may refer to: * An amateur, someone with a non-professional interest * A layperson, the opposite of an expert * ''Dilettante'' (album), a 2005 album by Ali Project * ''Dilettantes'' (album), a 2008 album by You Am I * D ...

Robert Merry Robert Merry (1755–1798) was an English poet and dilettante. He was born in London. Both his father and grandfather were involved in the governance of the Hudson's Bay Company. His mother was the eldest daughter of Sir John Willes, Lord Chie ...

. Together, they were the parents of: *

William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

(1809–1866), who married Lady Emily Mary Grimston, the second daughter of

James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam (26 September 1775 – 17 November 1845), styled Lord Dunboyne from 1775 until 1808 and known as the 4th Viscount Grimston from 1808 to 1815, was a British peer and politician. Life and career He was ...

. * Hon. George Augustus Craven (1810–1836), an Army Officer who married Georgina Smythe (1814-1868), a daughter of Walter Smythe. Georgina's aunt (Walter's sister),

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, was a longtime companion of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

before he became king. After Craven's death, Georgina married Edmond, Duc de la Force. * Hon. Frederick Keppel Craven (1812–1864), a prominent

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er. * Lady Louisa Elizabeth Craven (d. 1858), who married Sir Frederick Johnstone, 7th Baronet. After his death, she married

Alexander Oswald Alexander Oswald of Changue FRSE (1777–1821) was a 19th-century Scottish landowner and advocate. Life He was born in Scotstoun House near Glasgow on 1 April 1777 the fourth son of George Oswald and his wife Margaret Smythe. Early in his l ...

, 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 o ...

for Ayrshire. Lord Craven mostly resided at Coombe Abbey, near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

in Warwickshire and occasionally at Hamstead Marshall in Berkshire. He is not entirely forgotten –

Harriette Wilson Harriette Wilson (2 February 1786 – 10 March 1845) was the author of ''The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself'' (1825). Wilson was a famed British Regency courtesan who became the mistress of William, Lord Craven, at the age of ...

begins her famous memoir, "I shall not say why and how I became, at the age of fifteen, the mistress of the Earl of Craven." He died in July 1825, aged 54, and was succeeded in his titles by his son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, William Craven, 1st Earl of 1770 births 1825 deaths British Army major generals Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire People from Coventry

7 Earls of Craven (1801 creation)