Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland (March 1701 – 25 November 1771) was a British MP for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset– Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the He ...

and a lord commissioner of trade. He was an ancestor of the writer

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

Biography

Brympton DEvercy House (geograph 3084630)

Thomas Fane was the second son of Henry Fane of

Brympton d'Evercy Brympton d'Evercy (alternatively Brympton House), a grade I listed manor house near Yeovil in the county of Somerset, England, has been called the most beautiful in England. In 1927 the British magazine '' Country Life'' devoted three articles ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

and Anne Scrope, sister and coheir of

John Scrope John Scrope may refer to: * John Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Masham (c. 1388–1455), English peer, Privy Councillor and Treasurer of England * John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1437–1498), English Yorkist nobleman * John Scrope, 8th Baron ...

. Anne and John were the grandchildren of Colonel

Adrian Scrope Colonel Adrian Scrope, also spelt Scroope, 12 January 1601 to 17 October 1660, was a Parliamentarian soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and one of those who signed the death warrant for Charles I in January 1649. Despite being promi ...

, a regicide of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. Thomas Fane inherited John Scrope's fortune and mansion in Bristol, and Colonel Adrian Scrope's property in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, which included Wormsley Park. In 1757 he succeeded his unmarried elder brother

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

to their father's Brympton estate and in 1762 inherited the title of

Earl of Westmoreland Earl of Westmorland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created in 1397 for Ralph Neville. It was forfeited in 1571 by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, for leading the Rising of the Nor ...

from

John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland (24 March 1685 – 26 August 1762), styled The Honourable John Fane from 1691 to 1733 and Lord Catherlough from 1733 to 1736, of Mereworth Castle in Kent, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in t ...

, his father's childless second-cousin. This brought him the Earls of Westmorland seat at

Apethorpe Hall Apethorpe Palace (pronounced ''Ap-thorp'', formerly known as "Apethorpe Hall", "Apethorpe House", "Apthorp Park" or "Apthorp Palace" ) in the parish of Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England, is a Grade I listed country house dating back to the 1 ...

in Northamptonshire. In 1727 Thomas Fane married Elizabeth Swymmer, the daughter of a

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and member of the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

William Swymmer William Swymmer (birth and death dates unknown) was a Bristol sugar merchant, involved in the slave trade. In 1667, he became a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. He was an alderman in Bristol, and then Sheriff in 1679. Swymmer may have ...

. The couple had two sons and two daughters, including: *

John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland (5 May 1728 – 25 April 1774), known as Lord Burghersh until 1771, was an English peer and Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland of Wormsley Park, Buckinghamshi ...

(1728–1774) * Henry Fane (1739–1802) *Mary, who married Charles Blair, of Whatcomb, Dorset. Charles Blair was the great-great-grandfather of Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote under the pen name

Mr Fane

In 1761

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

painted his full-length portrait entitled ''Mr Fane.'' Reynolds was paid 80

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

for the work, which depicted the powder-wigged subject walking through a wooded landscape wearing rose-coloured velvet attire. In May 1903 the portrait was sold to Martin Colnaghi for 2,100 guineas.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

''Sale of the Vaile And Other Pictures'' 25 May 1903

Notes

References

* ;Attribution * 1701 births 1771 deaths 18th-century English nobility Fane, Thomas

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Earls of Westmorland Barons Burghersh {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub