Horace Pitt-Rivers, 6th Baron Rivers (12 April 1814 – 3 March 1880), known as Horace Beckford until 1828 and Hon. Horace Pitt from 1828 until 1867, was a British peer and army officer. He was born on 12 April 1814 in London, the younger son of Horace Beckford and his wife Frances, and was baptised on 11 May at St George's, Hanover Square. Beckford, as he then was, was educated at Harrow School from 1824 to 1826 and then at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

. In 1828, his father inherited the Pitt estates and the title of

Baron Rivers Baron Rivers was a title that was created four times in British history, twice in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation came in 1299 when John Riv ...

by a

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the ...

, and adopted the surname of Pitt for his younger son. On 27 February 1830, Pitt (as he now was) bought a

cornetcy Cornet was originally the lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, the modern equivalent being a second lieutenant. The rank was abolished by the 1871 Cardwell Reforms, which replaced it with sub-lieutenant. Althoug ...

in the Royal Horse Guards vacated by Viscount Fordwich. On 6 July 1832, he bought a lieutenancy vacated by George Weld-Forester and on 11 November 1836, a captaincy vacated by

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle of ...

. On 10 April 1845, at Brighton, he married Eleanor Sutor. No children were born of the marriage. She was a courtesan of the Regency period under the name of "Nellie Holmes", and had lived with Pitt before the marriage. (See

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 ...

for context.) They agreed to separate in 1846. Pitt was breveted a major in the Army on 9 November 1846, and purchased a substantive majority vacated by Weld-Forester on 2 September 1853, receiving a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy from the same date. He retired from the Army on 21 April 1854, having been forced to sell his commission due to his gambling and horse-racing debts. He then spent a number of years in hiding from his creditors, living at Soval on the Isle of Lewis and then from 1858 at Kilninver. He attempted to obtain a divorce from his wife, but without success; the House of Lords held that he had not become domiciled in Scotland, and was therefore unable to take advantage of the more liberal Scottish divorce laws. ''Sutor v Pitt'
[1864] UKHL 2_Paterson_1235
(April 6, 1864), House of Lords In 1867, Pitt succeeded his sickly nephew

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

in the Pitt estates and the title of

, and assumed the surname of Pitt-Rivers. He was a Conservative in politics. His first wife died on 3 September 1872, at

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

, and on 26 June 1873 he married Emmeline Laura, a daughter of Captain John Pownall William Bastard and a granddaughter of Captain John Bastard. There were no children from his second marriage. He died on 3 March 1880 at imposing 23 Wilton Crescent, London and was buried at

Steepleton Iwerne Iwerne Stepleton (anciently Ewern Stapleton, etc.) is a small civil parish and former manor in the county of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial cou ...

. The peerage became extinct upon his death. His estates were inherited by a second cousin, Augustus Lane-Fox, who adopted the surname of Pitt Rivers/Pitt-Rivers in consequence. In 1881 his widow married Montague George Thorold (d. 1920), second son of Sir John Thorold, 11th Baronet, and died on 1 October 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Horace Pitt-Rivers, 6th Baron 1814 births 1880 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Harrow School Horace Royal Horse Guards officers Younger sons of barons