George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (30 August 1786 – 2 April 1845) of

Orchard Wyndham Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of ...

, Somerset and

Silverton Park Silverton Park, also known locally as Egremont House, was a large neoclassical mansion in the parish of Silverton, Devon, England. History It was built between 1838 and 1845 by George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont, and demolished in 1901. It wa ...

, Devon, was an English nobleman and naval officer.

Origins

He was the son of William Frederick Wyndham (1763–1828), youngest son of Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont (1710–1763) and his wife Frances Mary Harford (1759–1822), the illegitimate daughter of

Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (6 February 1731 – 4 September 1771), styled The Hon. Frederick Calvert until 1751, was an English nobleman and last in line of the Barons Baltimore. Although he exercised almost feudal power in the Pr ...

, by Mrs. Hester Whelan.

Inheritance

His father's elder brother

George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(1751–1837) of

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

, Sussex, died without legitimate male issue and so George Francis Wyndham as the

heir male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

succeeded him as

Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wy ...

(and Baron Wyndham and Baron Cockermouth). Perhaps to his surprise, and certainly disappointment, he did not however inherit the great estate and mansion of Petworth (inherited by the 2nd Earl ultimately from the ancient and noble

Percy family The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

), which the 3rd Earl bequeathed instead to his natural son Col. George Wyndham, created

Baron Leconfield Baron Leconfield, of Leconfield in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for Col. George Wyndham (1787–1869). He was the eldest illegitimate son and adopted heir of Geo ...

in 1859.

Career

George Francis received his first

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

commission in 1799, rising to captain in 1812.

Buildings

The 4th Earl's principal residence was at

Watchet Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of ...

, in Somerset, the ancient seat of the Wyndham family since the 16th century. He was a prolific builder and early patron of the architect James Thomas Knowles (senior) (1806–1884) and built the following: * Blackborough House, in the parish of Blackborough, Devon, near Kentisbeare, commenced in 1838 to the design of John Thomas Knowles (senior)Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p. 515 but never completed. Italian Renaissance or "Tuscan" in style. It is now semi-derelict and surrounded by a

scrap yard Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

. *All Saints Church, Blackborough, 1838, to the design of John Thomas Knowles (senior). *

in the parish of Silverton, Devon, 1838 to the design of John Thomas Knowles (senior). Neo-classical or "Grecian", unusual in being "entirely clothed in colonnades"(Pevsner). Demolished 1901. It has been suggested that the 4th Earl had commenced the building of Blackbourough House as a secondary seat (from which on occasion he could supervise his Devon estates), with the assumption that Petworth would descend to him at his uncle's death as his principal seat. When that did not occur he determined that Blackborough would not be sufficiently grand as a principal seat and so commenced the building of the more palatial Silverton Park. *Kentisbeare House, in the parish of Kentisbeare, Devon, built in 1841 as the rectory (for his cousin Rev. Wyndham Scott, appointed by his uncle Hon. Percy Charles Wyndham (1757–1833), 2nd son of 2nd Earl) to the design of John Thomas Knowles (senior). *Prispen House, Silverton, built in 1839 as the new rectory of Silverton, for which the old rectory was demolished, to the design of Richard Carver. As

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

he installed in it as rector his friend Rev. Charles Tripp, the son of Rev. John Tripp (d.1814), rector of Sutton, near Petworth, by his wife Sarah Burchill, said to have been an illegitimate daughter of the 2nd Earl. Charles's brother was Henry Tripp (d.1835), a barrister of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

who resided at the Wyndham seat of

. Prispen House burnt down in 1990.

Marriage

On 14 November 1820 he married Jane Roberts (died 1876), third daughter of Rev. William Roberts, vice-provost of Eton College; but left no surviving issue.Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p. 2512, pedigree of Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham

Death and succession

He died on 2 April 1845 at

, without issue and his titles thus became extinct. Under his will, his heir for her life was his widow who died in 1876, and in remainder thereafter to his cousin, William IV Wyndham (1769–1841) of Dinton, Wiltshire, who shared common descent from Sir John Wyndham (1558–1645) of

, Somerset. William IV had died in 1841, four years before the Earl's death, but his heir in 1876 became William IV's grandson, William VI Wyndham (1834–1914) of Dinton, who thus inherited the ancient family manor of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset.

References

Sources

George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont
at thePeerage.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Egremont, George Wyndham, 4th Earl Of 1786 births 1845 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy officers Earls of Egremont Calvert family

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...