St Michael and All Angels, Didlington, Norfolk - Hatchment - geograph

William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney, (25 April 1835 – 16 January 1909) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

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 ...

and collector of books and works of art.

Background and education

Born William Amhurst Daniel-Tyssen, he was the eldest son of William George Daniel-Tyssen,

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other imp ...

in 1843, who was the son of William George Daniel, of Foley House, near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, Kent,

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in 1825, and his wife Amelia Amherst, the daughter of Captain John Amherst and Mary Tyssen, heiress of Foulden Hall, Norfolk. Amherst's mother was Mary, daughter of Andrew Fountaine, of

Narford Narford is situated in the Breckland (district), Breckland District of Norfolk and covers an area of 970 hectares (3.75 square miles). Narford village has all but List of lost settlements in the United Kingdom, disappeared, with a population of o ...

Hall, Norfolk. In 1852, he and his father assumed by Royal licence the surname of Tyssen-Amhurst. However, in 1877 he again changed it, to Tyssen-Amherst, also by Royal licence. Tyssen-Amherst was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

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 ...

Political career

In 1880, he was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for West Norfolk, a seat he held until 1885, and then represented

South West Norfolk South West Norfolk is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Liz Truss, a Conservative, who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022. Constituency profile This is ...

until 1892. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Amherst of Hackney, in the County of London, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his eldest daughter Mary and her issue male. Apart from his parliamentary career Tyssen-Amherst also served as

in 1866 and as deputy lieutenant of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Norfolk, Middlesex and

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

Collector

Tyssen-Amherst is chiefly remembered as a collector of books, manuscripts, antique furniture and other works of art. He became famous for his Egyptian collection. In his country home,

Didlington Didlington is a village in the Breckland district of mid-Norfolk, East Anglia, England in the United Kingdom. It has an area of with a population of 48. At the 2011 Census the minimal population was included in the civil parish of Ickburgh. The ...

Hall, he built a museum for his rapidly growing Egyptian collection. In 1906, he was forced to sell a large portion of his collection after discovering that his estate and certain trust funds had been entirely dissipated at the hands of an untrustworthy solicitor, Charles Cheston, under whose management they had been placed. He lived only six weeks following the first

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

auction from this collection. His name is noted at the Carter gallery display of Swaffham Museum in Norfolk, suggesting that Tyssen-Amherst's collection of ancient papyri and Egyptian figures was seen by a young Howard Carter. The Museum records reveal that in 1882 he exhibited six "life size Egyptian figures" at Swaffham assembly rooms. A copy of the catalogue describes the figures he exhibited which included a figure of a Bedouin chief. He also exhibited a

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

brick circa 1330bc, excavated from the banks of the Nile. Amherst's collection included the lower section of a

20th Dynasty The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...

tomb robbery papyri otherwise described as the Leopold II and

Amherst Papyrus The ancient Egyptian document Papyrus Leopold II (originally Amherst Papyrus VI), is part of the original court records dealing with the tomb robberies under Ramesses IX and dates to Year 16 of Ramesses IX. It contains the confessions of eight men w ...

, which is in the possession of the

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

, New York. His rare book collection included the "only genuine perfect copy known" of ''

Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye ''Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye'' or ''Recueil des Histoires de Troye'' (1464) is a translation by William Caxton of a French courtly romance written by Raoul Lefèvre, chaplain to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. It was the first book printed ...

'', King Charles I's personal copy of the Cambridge Bible, and a

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed b ...

(No. 45).

Family

Lord Amherst of Hackney married Margaret Susan Mitford, only child of Admiral Robert Mitford, in 1856. Susan Mitford was a lineal descendant of politician

Robert Mitford Robert Mitford (1612–1674) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659. Mitford was the son of Cuthbert Mitford, of Mitford, Northumberland. He was admitted at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1634. He may have been a ...

and Philadelphia Wharton, first cousin (once removed) of poet and journalist John Mitford, third cousin (three times removed) of both English Attorney General

Lord Redesdale Baron Redesdale, of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland, is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was firstly created in 1802 for lawyer and politician Sir John Mitford (later Freeman-Mi ...

and

William Mitford William Mitford (10 February 1744 – 10 February 1827) was an English Member of Parliament and historian, best known for his ''The History of Greece'' (1784–1810). Youth William Mitford was born in Exbury, Hampshire, on 10 February 1744, i ...

, a sixth cousin (twice removed) to the "Mitford Sisters", and a distant cousin of author

Mary Russell Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English author and dramatist. She was born at Alresford in Hampshire. She is best known for '' Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes and vividly drawn characte ...

. They had seven daughters: * Mary Rothes Margaret ("May"), born 1857, who succeeded to his title; *Sybil Margaret ("Sib"), born 1858; *Florence Margaret ("Flo" or "Fluff"), born 1860; *Margaret Mitford ("Maggie"), born 1864; * Alicia Margaret ("Ally"), born 1865, a botanist and author, married

Evelyn Cecil, 1st Baron Rockley Evelyn Cecil, 1st Baron Rockley, Order of the British Empire, GBE, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (30 May 1865 – 1 April 1941) was a United Kingdom, British, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. Evelyn Cecil was bo ...

; *Geraldine Margaret ("Cherry"), born 1867, married Malcolm Drummond of Megginch, parents of

John Drummond, 15th Baron Strange John Drummond, 10th of Megginch, 15th Baron Strange (6 May 1900 – 13 April 1982), was Chief of the Baronial House and Branch of Drummond of Concraig and Lennoch within the clan Drummond and Baron of Megginch. Educated at Eton College, he becam ...

and

Victoria Drummond Victoria Alexandrina Drummond MBE (14 October 1894 – 25 December 1978), was the first woman marine engineer in the UK and the first woman member of Institute of Marine Engineers. In World War II she served at sea as an engineering officer in t ...

; *Beatrice Margaret ("Bee"), born 1869. All of the girls were named after their mother, Margaret. Lord Amherst died in London, in January 1909, aged 73, and was succeeded in the barony according to the special remainder by his eldest daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. He was the great-grandfather of American heir

William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (August 17, 1928 – October 31, 2017) was the operator of the Biltmore Estate through his company, The Biltmore Company. Biography Early life William Cecil was the younger son of Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbil ...

, operator of the

Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 a ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

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