Alexander Luttrell (10 May 1705 – 4 June 1737) of Dunster Castle, Somerset, was an English politician and land-owner who served as Member of Parliament for his family's

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

from 1727 until his death. He was the last in the male line of the Luttrell family, which had owned Dunster Castle since 1376.

Early life and family

Alexander Luttrell was born on 10 May 1705, the eldest son of Colonel Alexander Luttrell, of Dunster Castle, by his wife Dorothy Yarde, daughter of Edward Yarde of Churston Ferrers, Devon. He matriculated at

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 ...

in 1722, where he was sent with his younger brother Francis.Maxwell Lyte, Sir Henry Churchill, ''A History of Dunster and of the Families of Mohun & Luttrell'' (London, England, The St. Catherine Press Ltd., 1909), Page 222. On 18 April 1724 he married Margaret Trevelyan at St Anne, Soho, London, Westminster, England, daughter of Sir John Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet of Nettlecombe, Somerset, by whom he had a daughter and sole heiress Margaret Luttrell.

Career and later life

The Luttrell family's ownership of the manor and castle of Dunster gave them a "natural interest" over the seat of Minehead, thus a

Pocket Borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

, and he was returned as a Tory Member of Parliament for that borough shortly after coming of age. In the House of Commons he generally voted against the Government. He held the seat until his death on 4 June 1737. He was buried on 16 June 1737. Following his death his estate was in a poor financial condition and was put into

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy * Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents * Chancery (Scotlan ...

. His widow remarried in 1741 to Edward Dyke of Tetton, and cared for her young daughter as well as Luttrell's niece, Anne Luttrell (daughter of Alexander Luttrell's brother Francis), and Dyke's niece and heiress Elizabeth Dyke. Mrs Dyke died in 1764. Margaret Luttrell was Luttrell's heiress and, when she married

Henry Fownes 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, ...

, he inherited her estates and adopted the surname and arms of Luttrell as required by his father-in-law's will. Fownes served as Member of Parliament for the Luttrell family's

of Minehead.

Portraits

Several portraits of Alexander Luttrell are listed by Maxwell Lyte (1909), but there is some difficulty in identifying him due to his similar appearance to his brother Francis. Maxwell Lyte lists a 1729 portrait of him by John Vanderbank at Dunster Castle, and others existed at one time at Nettlecombe Court and Bathealton Court. Portraits of his wife also existed at Dunster in 1909, and two portraits of her second husband Edward Dyke existed at Pixton at that time also. One portrait of Edward Dyke hangs at Dunster Castle in 2015.See als
National Trust, Dunster Castle
/ref> File:Alexander_Luttrell_(1705-1737).jpg, File:Margaret Luttrell (Trevelyan) (1704-1764).jpg, File:Margaret Luttrell (1726–1766), Mrs Henry Fownes Luttrell.jpg, File:Dyke,_Edward_(1688-1746).jpg,

References

Citations

Bibliography