William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (22 June 1788 – 1 July 1857) was an
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
nobleman notorious for his dissipated lifestyle.
Ancestry
One of his great-grandfathers was
Henry Colley (d.1700) (or Cowley) of Castle Carbery,
King's County, Ireland
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
. That family from
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, England settled in Ireland '
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, where they were distinguished soldiers and administrators. Henry's sister Elizabeth married Garret (or Gerald) Wesley I of Dangan, Meath, younger son of Valerian Wesley and Ann Cusack (see legacy below). Henry's youngest son by Mary Usher, only daughter of Sir William Usher of Dublin, was
Richard Colley (d.1758) who in 1728, on the death without issue of his first cousin
Garret Wesley II inherited the Wesley estates with the proviso in the will that he and his heirs should adopt the name and arms of Wesley. He made the necessary formal declaration in 1728 and became known as Richard Wesley. In 1746 he was created 1st
Baron Mornington
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
, an ancient barony of the Wesleys. His sister Ann married William Pole of
Ballyfin
Ballyfin ( or alternatively "town of Fionn") is a small village and parish in County Laois, Ireland. Located in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the village is in the midlands of Ireland. It is located on the R423 regional road midway between the ...
,
Queen's County. Mornington married Elizabeth Sale, producing as heir
Garret Wesley, 2nd Baron Mornington, who was created in 1760 1st
Earl of Mornington
Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; si ...
in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
. In 1759 he married Ann Hill and produced five successful sons; of these, the most prominent, are:
*firstly
Richard Wesley
Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.
Early life
Wesley w ...
later Governor General of India and was created 1st
Marquess Wellesley
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
*thirdly
Hon. William Wesley (later William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington), father of the 4th Earl;
*fifthly
Arthur, Duke of Wellington.
William, above, inherited the Pole estates from William Pole (d. 1778) of Ballyfin, the childless brother of his aunt Ann Colley. The will of Pole required the family name to honour the inheritance, here Pole, thus William Wesley became in 1778 William Wesley-Pole. Wesley-Pole, born in 1763, also had an outstanding career, having been an Irish member of parliament for Trim, a Governor of Queen's County, and after the Union of 1800 a Westminster member for that county also, and having served as
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...
. He married in 1784 Katherine-Elizabeth, eldest daughter of
Hon. John Forbes, Admiral of the Fleet and they had the 4th Earl .
Early life
![TheDisconsolateSailor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/TheDisconsolateSailor.jpg)
He was born William Wesley-Pole on 22 June 1788 in London and baptised at
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...
, on 19 July. His family, quite broadly defined, changed their surname to the more archaic 'Wellesley' in the early 1790s.
His first marriage was on 14 March 1812 to
Catherine Tylney-Long
Catherine Tylney-Long (2 October 1789 – 12 September 1825) was a 19th-century British heiress, known as "The Wiltshire Heiress."
Life
She was the eldest daughter of Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet, of Draycot, Wiltshire. Her only brother ...
, known in fashionable London society as "The Wiltshire Heiress", and believed to be the richest commoner in England. Two months before the ceremony William Wellesley-Pole assumed the additional surnames of Tylney-Long, changing his name by Royal Licence.
During this period William enjoyed a political career, first as a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
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 of ...
for the
pocket borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
of
St Ives from 1812 until 1818, and then for
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 ...
, where his wife's family was influential. However, he was principally known for his dissipation and extravagance. On one occasion in 1814, Long-Wellesley held a grand fête in
Wanstead House
Wanstead House was a mansion built to replace the earlier Wanstead Hall. It was commissioned in 1715, completed in 1722 and demolished in 1825. Its gardens now form the municipal Wanstead Park in the London Borough of Redbridge.
History Construct ...
and its gardens to celebrate his uncle the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
's victory over
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, attended by the
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
, a number of other members of the royal family, and over a thousand dignitaries.
[Roger Fulford, ''George the Fourth'' (1949)]
He was a friend of the Irish poet
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
and of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
. On 8 August 1822, as his debts began to mount, he was appointed a
Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.
Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical
Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...
to
King 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 ...
, an appointment which rendered him immune to arrest for debt, but he was soon to leave England entirely.
Second marriage and custody battle
While in Europe evading his creditors, Long-Wellesley began a relationship with Helena Paterson Bligh (died 7 April 1869), the wife of Captain Thomas Bligh of the
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...
, eventually abandoning Catherine, who died two years later on 12 September 1825. Catherine had implied in a letter to her sisters that her husband had given her a
venereal disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...
. Long-Wellesley married Helena in 1828, but this marriage as quickly proved calamitous.
As a notorious
rake he was unable to afford to make prudent investments in his first wife's property, but nor could he sell or mortgage it, having only a
life interest
A life interest (or life rent in Scotland) is a form of right, usually under a trust, that lasts only for the lifetime of the person benefiting from that right. A person with a life interest is known as a life tenant.
A life interest ends when ...
in it (enjoying its income). As life tenant, he arranged with other beneficiaries for the demolition and carving up of Wanstead House's estate, the proceeds of which repaid some of his great debts.
He returned to Parliament in 1830, again as a member (MP) for St Ives. He was one of the
Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
who broke with the first
his uncle's Ministry and brought about its fall on 15 November 1830. He was returned and as a
knight of the shire
Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...
(MP) for
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
(in which lay Wanstead) from 1831 to 1832.
In the years following Catherine's death, he sought to regain control over his children, who were in the care of Catherine's two unmarried sisters, Dorothy and Emma. He was especially interested in
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 ...
, the eldest, on whom Catherine's fortune had devolved. His uncle, the Duke, fighting one of his furious defensive actions, intervened on behalf of the children to keep the hapless William from his father.
Deprived of the custody of his children by the
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
, he was committed to the
Fleet prison by
Lord Brougham
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...
in July 1831 for contempt of court; Long-Wellesley invoked
parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...
, but his plea was rejected by the committee of privileges of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
For some time he was in and out of court on charges of libel, and various other matters relating to his quest for custody of his children.
Decline and death
He led a very dissipated life and lived for a time in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to avoid his creditors. In his last years, he lived on a small pension of £10 a week allowed by his cousin
Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...
. From 1842 he was styled Viscount Wellesley, and succeeded his father as
Earl of Mornington
Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; si ...
in 1845.
He died in lodgings in Thayer Street, Manchester Square, London, on 1 July 1857, from heart disease. The obituary notice three days later in the ''
Morning Chronicle
''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...
'' claimed that he was "A spendthrift, a profligate, and a gambler in his youth, he became debauched in his manhood... redeemed by no single virtue, adorned by no single grace, his life gone out even without a flicker of repentance". His coffin is in Catacomb B,
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
, London.
References
*
Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
Further reading
*Tim Couzens, ''Hand of Fate: The History of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire'' (2001),
*Cheryl Nicol
''Inheriting the Earth: The Long Family's 500 Year Reign in Wiltshire''; Cheryl Nicol*Geraldine Roberts
The Angel & The Cad: Love Loss and Scandal in Regency England (London: MacMillan, 2015)*Greg Roberts
Blog dedicated to the scandalous life of 'Wicked William' Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mornington, William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl Of
1788 births
1857 deaths
19th-century Anglo-Irish people
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
English people of Irish descent
Gentlemen Ushers
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Ives
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Inmates of Fleet Prison
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, William
Mornington, E4
William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington
William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (22 June 1788 – 1 July 1857) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman notorious for his dissipated lifestyle.
Ancestry
One of his great-grandfathers was Henry Colley (d.1700) (or Cowley) of Castle ...
Ultra-Tory MPs
Earls of Mornington