Algernon George de Vere Capell, 8th Earl of Essex (21 February 1884 – 8 December 1966) was a British aristocrat who succeeded to the title

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

in 1916 and became an amateur actor.

Early life

He was the only child of

George Capell, 7th Earl of Essex George Devereux de Vere Capell, 7th Earl of Essex (24 October 1857 – 25 September 1916), was a British aristocrat. He succeeded to the title Earl of Essex in 1892. Early life and background Capell was born on 24 October 1857 in London, the s ...

and, his first wife, Elenor Harriet Maria Harford (1860–1885). After his mother's death in 1885, his father remarried to an American heiress and socialite Adele Grant, daughter of the New York railway magnate David Beach Grant of the

Grant Locomotive Works Grant Locomotive Works was an American manufacturer of steam railway locomotives from 1867 to 1895, first in Paterson, New Jersey, and then in Chicago. The company built about 1,888 locomotives. Predecessors In 1842, Samuel Smith, Abram Collier, ...

. From his father's second marriage, he had two younger half-sisters, Lady Iris Mary Athenais de Vere Capell, and Lady Joan Rachel de Vere Capell (wife of

Osbert Peake, 1st Viscount Ingleby Osbert Peake, 1st Viscount Ingleby, PC (30 December 1897 – 11 October 1966) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Minister of National Insurance and then as Minister of Pensions and National Insurance from 1951 to 1955. ...

). His paternal grandparents were Lt.-Col. Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden (son of Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex), and Emma Martha Meux. His mother was the eldest daughter of William Henry Harford of Oldtown House in

Almondsbury Almondsbury () is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It is situated on the A38 road in the Avon Green Belt north of Bristol city centre. It is adjacent to junction 16 of the M5 motorway and Almondsbury Interc ...

and the former Ellen Tower (third daughter of Rev. William Tower of How Hatch, Vicar of Braughing). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes.

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

Career

He served in the

7th Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

, gaining the rank of Lieutenant. He also served in the

Hertfordshire Yeomanry The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Th ...

and the Remount Service, temporarily gaining the rank of Temporary Captain. Upon his father's death in 1916, he inherited the earldom of Essex. The death of his father brought the eventual demise of the Capell family seat,

Cassiobury House Cassiobury House was a English country house, country house in Cassiobury Park, Watford, England. It was the family seat, ancestral seat of the Earl of Essex, Earls of Essex. Originally a Tudor building, dating from 1546 for Sir Richard Morrison ...

Death duties International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and prop ...

, a form of taxation introduced in 1894 by the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

, had placed an increasing financial burden on aristocracy and

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

, and was responsible for the breaking up of many large estates across Britain. His father's widow, Adele, was presented with a substantial tax bill and after six years, she decided to sell Cassiobury House and its contents. The house did not, however, find a buyer before Adele's death in July 1922. It remained unoccupied for a further five years before it was sold for materials and demolished in 1927. The site was acquired by property developers and today is the residential area of

Cassiobury The Cassiobury Estate is a suburban residential area of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. It is bounded to the south by Cassiobury Park, the main public park in the town, to the west by playing fields next to the River Gade, and to the northe ...

, with the remainder of the estate being used for

Cassiobury Park Cassiobury Park is the principal public park in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It was created in 1909 from the purchase by Watford Borough Council of part of the estate of the Earl of Essex, Earls of Essex around Cassiobury House which wa ...

Acting career

Lord Essex was an accomplished amateur actor and appeared in his own home,

Bodenham Bodenham is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, and on a bend in the River Lugg, about seven miles south of Leominster. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,024, reducing to 998 at the 2011 census. The vil ...

Manor, Herefordshire with a troupe of Pierrots. He later organized a small troupe, called "The Canaries", to give charity performances. As the star of the show, the Earl sang comic and sentimental songs. Reportedly, the other members were a gardener's daughter, the village seamstress, a farm labourer, and two farmers.

Personal life

Lord Essex was married four times. His first marriage, which was referred to as a "runaway marriage" was on 28 September 1905 to Mary Eveline Stewart Freeman (d. 30 Oct 1955), the eldest daughter of William Russell Stewart Freeman, of The Old Manor House in

Wingrave Wingrave is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, about four miles northeast of Aylesbury and three miles southwest of Wing. The civil parish is called Wingrave with Rowsham within Buckinghamshire district and incorporates the hamlet of Ro ...

(built by

Hannah de Rothschild Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery (''née'' de Rothschild; 27 July 1851 – 19 November 1890) was the daughter of Mayer Amschel de Rothschild, Baron Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana (''née'' Cohen (surname), Cohen). After inh ...

in 1876). Before their divorce in 1925, they were the parents of one son: * Reginald George de Vere Capell, 9th Earl of Essex (1906–1981), who married twice, without issue. His second marriage was on 10 February 1926 to Alys Montgomery (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Falkiner) Scott-Brown (d. 1977) at the Saint Albans registry office; she was the former wife of Ernest Scott-Brown and daughter of Robert Hayes Falkiner. Around 1930, Lord Essex had alterations made to Throope Manor, an 18th-century country house at Bishopstone, near Salisbury. The couple divorced in 1950. Lord Essex married, thirdly, on 10 December 1950 to Zara Mildred Carlson of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California who was with the U.S. Consular Staff at

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. They divorced in 1957. His fourth, and final, marriage was to Christine Mary Davis (d. 1985) in 1957. She was a daughter of George Frederick Davis of

Handsworth Wood Handsworth Wood is a suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Located within the metropolitan county of the West Midlands since 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was historically a part of the county of S ...

. Lord Essex died on 8 December 1966. Upon his death, his only son Reginald inherited the earldom. When his son died without issue in 1981, the title became dormant for eight years until it was revived by a distant cousin, Robert Capell.

References

External links

Algernon George de Vere Capell, 8th Earl of Essex (1884-1966), Assistant Superintendent of Remount Service
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

Mary Eveline Stewart Capell (née Freeman), Countess of Essex (died 1955), First wife of 8th Earl of Essex
at the

Alys Montgomery Capell (née Falkiner), Countess of Essex (died 1977), Former wife of Ernest Scott-Brown, and later second wife of 8th Earl of Essex
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex, Algernon Capell, 8th Earl Of 1884 births 1966 deaths 19th-century British nobility 20th-century British nobility Algernon Algernon People educated at Eton College 20th-century English nobility