Arms of William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland

William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland, KG (27 July 1766 – 29 January 1842), styled Viscount Barnard until 1792 and known as The Earl of Darlington between 1792 and 1827 and as The Marquess of Cleveland between 1827 and 1833, was a British landowner, slave holder and politician.

Background and education

Styled Viscount Barnard from birth, he was the son of Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington, son of Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington and Lady Grace FitzRoy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, son of King Charles II by his mistress

Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of En ...

. His mother was Margaret Lowther, daughter of Robert Lowther, Governor of Barbados, and sister of James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. He was baptised at the Chapel Royal at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

(with the names William Harry which he later changed to William Henry). He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

.thepeerage.com Sir William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland
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Public life

Barnard was Whig Member of Parliament for Totnes from 1788 to 1790 and for Winchelsea from 1790 to 1792. The latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the House of Lords. He also succeeded his father as Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, a post he held until his death. In 1794 he was announced as the Lieutenant-colonel of a regiment to be raised, the Durham Regiment of

Fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

Cavalry. In 1810 he successfully laid claim to the Pulteney Estate in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

after the Countess of Bath died intestate in 1808. In 1827 he was created Marquess of Cleveland, a revival of the Cleveland title held by his ancestors. He was Bearer of the Third Sword at King William IV's coronation on 8 September 1831. In 1833 he was made Baron Raby, of Raby Castle in the

County Palatine of Durham The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...

, and Duke of Cleveland. He was further honoured when he was made a Knight of the Garter in 1839. His promotions through the ranks of the peerage were not uncontroversial. Greville noted in his diary on 8 September 1831:

” Howe told me yesterday morning in Westminster Abbey that Lord Cleveland is to be made a duke, though it is not yet acknowledged if it is to be so. There has been a battle about that; they say that he got his boroughs to be made a marquis and got rid of them to be made a duke".

Slave holder

According to the ''

Legacies of British Slave-Ownership The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, formerly the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership, is a research centre of University College, London (UCL) which focuses on revealing the impact of Britis ...

'' at the University College London, Cleveland was awarded compensation in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. Cleveland was associated with "T71/898 Barbados claim no. 3184 (Lowther)", he owned 233 slaves in Barbados and received a £4,854 payment at the time. Retrieved 15 September 2021.

Family

Cleveland married his cousin, Lady Catherine Powlett (1766–1807), daughter of

Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton Admiral Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton PC (6 November 1720 – 25 December 1794) was a British nobleman and naval officer. Origins He was the second son of Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Bolton by his wife Catherine Parry. Career He was educa ...

, on 17 September 1787 at her father's seat, Hackwood Park. They had eight children: * Henry, Earl of Darlington, later 2nd Duke of Cleveland (1788–1864). *Lady Louisa Catherine Barbara Vane (1791–1821), married Major Francis Forester and had issue. * Lord William Vane, later 3rd Duke of Cleveland (1792–1864). *Lady Caroline Vane (born and died 1795). *Lady Augusta Henrietta Vane (1796–1874), married Mark Milbank and had issue, including Sir Frederick Milbank, 1st Baronet. *Lady Arabella Vane (1801–1864), married

Richard Arden, 3rd Baron Alvanley Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Pepper Arden, 3rd Baron Alvanley (8 December 1792 – 24 June 1857) was a British Army officer and peer. cites . He was the son of Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley and Anne Dorothea (née Wilbraham-Bootle). As ...

. * Lord Harry Vane, later 4th Duke of Cleveland (1803–1891). *Lady Laura Vane (1807–11 November 1882), married Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Meyrick and had issue. After his first wife's death in London in June 1807, Cleveland married as his second wife, Elizabeth Russell (c. 1777–1861), daughter of Robert Russell, on 27 July 1813. There were no children from this marriage. Cleveland died at St James's Square, Westminster, London, in January 1842, aged 75, and was buried at Staindrop,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. His eldest son Henry succeeded in the dukedom. The Duchess of Cleveland died in January 1861.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, William Vane, 1st Duke Of 1766 births 1842 deaths Dukes of Cleveland Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Durham Barnard, William Vane, Viscount William British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Barons Barnard Recipients of payments from the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV