William Byron, 5th Baron Byron
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William Byron, 5th Baron Byron (5 November 1722 – 19 May 1798), was a British nobleman, peer, politician, and great-uncle of the poet
George Gordon 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 ...
who succeeded him in the title. As a result of a number of stories that arose after a duel, and then because of his financial difficulties, he became known after his death as "the Wicked Lord" and "the Devil Byron".


Early life

Byron was the son of
William Byron, 4th Baron Byron William Byron, 4th Baron Byron (4 January 1669/70 – 8 August 1736) was an English nobleman, politician, peer, and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark. Early life Byron was the only surviving son of William Byron, 3 ...
, and his wife the Hon. Frances Berkeley, a descendant of
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and ...
. He inherited his title upon the death of his father on 18 August 1736. He clearly had some military aspirations, enlisting in the
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 F ...
as a midshipman aged 14 and serving aboard HMS ''Victory'' as a lieutenant at 18. At 17 he was also listed as a founding Governor of the
Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...
, a popular charity project to look after abandoned babies that had previously been championed by his mother. After an abortive stint as a captain in the Duke of Kingston's Regiment during the
Jacobite Rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...
, he went on to marry Elizabeth Shaw, daughter and heiress of Charles Shaw of Besthorpe in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, on 28 March 1747. They went on to have four children – two of whom lived to adulthood – including: * Hon. William Byron (b. 7 June 1748March/May 1749). * Hon. William Byron, MP (27 October 1749 – 22 June 1776). *Hon. Henrietta Diana Byron (June/August 1751May/June 1760). *Hon. Caroline Byron (b. 17 January 1755). The month after his marriage he was elected Grand Master of the
Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...
, a position he held until 20 March 1752. He also served as
Master of the Staghounds Master of the Staghounds was a position in the British Royal Household created in 1738 and abolished in 1782. cited at The office was responsible for the oversight and care of the Royal staghounds (dogs bred for hunting deer). "Master of Staghou ...
from 1763 until 1765, though he achieved nothing of note in either role. Byron was initiated to the Scottish Rite Masonry and become Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) form 1747 to 1751.


Duel with William Chaworth

On 26 January 1765, Byron killed his distant cousin and neighbour,
William Chaworth 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 ...
, in a dispute at the 'Star and Garter' tavern (on the site of the
Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...
), Pall Mall, in London. The fight resulted from an argument the two had been engaged in over cups of wine, with both insisting they had more game on their estates. Lord Byron and his cousin retired to a dim room to resolve their disagreement and it was there that Lord Byron thrust his sword through Chaworth's stomach. Chaworth lived until the following day, expressing his disgust that he had not been of sound enough mind to insist they fight in a location outfitted with better lighting before finally succumbing to his injury. Lord Byron was tried for Chaworth's death, but was found guilty only of
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
. He claimed the benefit of the statute of
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
and so instead of being "burned in the hand" was forced to pay a small fine.


Gossip and myths

Lord Byron already had a poor reputation at the time of Chaworth's death – but as he awaited his trial at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
,
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...
described how countless malicious stories about him were 'revived or invented'. Some contained a kernel of truth, but others were entirely fabricated. They included the accusations that he had murdered a coachman and paid off his family, and that he had murdered his own wife. Many more myths about him were first set in print in the 19th century, decades after his death. These first appear in the 1820s and 1830s, some of which appear to have been invented by the American writer Washington Irving, include: *That he became a recluse at Newstead Abbey after the duel of 1765; *That he intentionally laid waste to his estates and the Byron family fortune in revenge for his son's disobedience; *That he mounted the sword he used to kill Chaworth on the wall in his bedroom at
Newstead Abbey Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, was formerly an Augustinian priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. Monastic foundation The prior ...
; *That he spent his youth organising orgies at
Newstead Abbey Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, was formerly an Augustinian priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. Monastic foundation The prior ...
; and spent his later years worshipping Satan; *That in his eccentric, perhaps insane, old age, he cultivated a swarm of crickets, which he trained to race all over his body and which abandoned his home at the moment of his death. The stories have been propagated particularly by biographers of Byron's great-nephew, the poet.


After the duel

Far from becoming a recluse, immediately after the duel Byron planned a holiday to the Belgian town of Spa with his wife and sister, Isabella, Lady Carlisle. The latter noted that the couple were unable to control their spending, calling them "ye worst managers I ever saw". In some time in the late 1760s, Byron schemed to resolve his serious financial difficulties through a marrying his son and heir
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 ...
into a wealthy family. But just before the marriage William eloped with his cousin Juliana Byron, the daughter of Byron's younger brother, the
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
captain and later Vice-Admiral
John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...
. Despite the myth that Lord Byron became enraged by his son's elopement and subsequently tried to wreak revenge by ruining his inheritance – tearing down trees, selling off artworks and killing over 2000 deer – the fall of the estate in fact came about because Lord Byron simply could not pay his debts without the cash injection through an affluent daughter-in-law. The real neglect of Newstead did not occur until after the death of Byron's son in 1776 – this left Byron legally unable to sell off parts of his lands and estate without the permission of an adult heir (his grandson was not due to turn 21 until 1793). In around 1778, he was forced to sell off the majority of his effects at Newstead Abbey, in what became known as the "Great Sale" – this included artistic masterpieces, hunting gear, furniture and even toothpicks. His wife Elizabeth left him shortly afterward, taking their only surviving child Caroline with her. Caroline died in 1784, leaving the couple childless. Later accounts attest that he subsequently took one of the servants, Elizabeth Hardstaff, as his mistress and that she became known as "Lady Betty". Though there is no solid evidence for a relationship, she was one of the few people mentioned in his will.


Death and legacy

Byron also outlived his grandson, a young man who, at the age of twenty-two, was killed by cannon fire in 1794 while fighting in
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
. Expectation of the
barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
then fell to his great-nephew,
George Gordon 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 ...
, who became the 6th Baron Byron when Lord Byron died on 21 May 1798, at the age of seventy-five. The 5th Baron Byron is buried in the Byron vault at the
Church of St Mary Magdalene, Hucknall The Church of St Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, is a parish church in the Church of England dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. The church is Grade II* listed as it is a particularly significant building of more than l ...
, Hucknall Torkard in
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
.


Arms


Bibliography

* Emily Brand, ''The Fall of the House of Byron'' (John Murray, 2020) *J. V. Beckett (with Sheila Aley), ''Byron and Newstead: The Aristocrat and the Abbey'' (University of Delaware Press, 2001) * W. S. Ansley Ferrall, 'On the Duel' (London: Houlston and Stoneman, 1838)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, William, 5th Baron Byron 1722 births 1798 deaths 18th-century British criminals 18th-century Royal Navy personnel 18th-century English nobility British politicians convicted of crimes
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 ...
British duellists Royal Navy officers Politicians convicted of murder Grand Masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Barons Byron Burials at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Hucknall