Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester (baptised 7 April 1767 – 23 May 1828) was a

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Member of Parliament and later peer.

Early life

Born Cecil Forester and baptised at St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, Editors Vicary Gibbs and H. A. Doubleday. Parish named "St Chad's, Salop" (sic), birthdate and place not given. he was the eldest son of Anne ( Townshend) Forester and Lt-Col. Cecil Forester, MP for Wenlock. He assumed the additional surname of Weld by Royal Licence in 1811, upon inheriting Willey Park from his cousin George Forester. Among his younger siblings were George Townshend-Forester (Recorder of Wenlock), the Rev. Townshend Forester (Prebendary of Worcester), and Maj. Francis Forester (MP for Wenlock who married Lady Louisa Vane, a daughter of the 1st Duke of Cleveland).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 192. His paternal grandparents were William Forester, also MP for Wenlock (and son of Sir William Forester and Lady Mary Cecil, a daughter of the 3rd Earl of Salisbury), and the former Catherine Brooke. His maternal grandfather was Robert Townshend. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Career

He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for Wenlock in 1790, a seat he held until 1820. The latter year he was raised to the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

as Baron Forester, of Willey Park in the

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. He had initially asked to be titled as Baron Wenlock to spite the rival local Lawley family who later did take the title. During the time of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, Forester was in 1800 captain of the Wenlock volunteers troops, becoming ultimately lieutenant-colonel in command in 1804. In 1813 he served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury.

Personal life

In 1800, Weld-Forester married Lady Katherine Mary Manners (1779–1829), daughter of

Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland (15 March 175424 October 1787) was a British politician and nobleman, the eldest legitimate son of John Manners, Marquess of Granby. He was styled Lord Roos from 1760 until 1770, and Marquess of Granby from ...

, and Lady Mary Isabella Somerset. They had 11 children, six sons and five daughters:G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

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Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume II, page 276. * John George Weld-Forester, 2nd Baron Forester (1801–1874), who married Alexandrine, Viscountess Melbourne ( Countess von Maltzan), a daughter of Joachim Carl Ludwig, Count von Maltzan, and widow of Frederick Lamb, 3rd Viscount Melbourne. * Hon. Anne Elizabeth Weld-Forester (1802–1885), who married George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield, in 1830. * Hon. Elizabeth Katherine Weld-Forester (12 November 1803 – 23 July 1832), who married Robert Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington, in 1822. * Hon. Isabella Elizabeth Annabella Weld-Forester (3 April 1805 – 30 December 1858), who married Maj.-Gen. Hon. George Anson, son of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson and Lady Anne Margaret Coke (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Leicester), in 1830. * George Cecil Weld-Forester, 3rd Baron Forester (1807–1886), who married Hon. Mary Anne Jervis, a daughter of Edward Jervis, 2nd Viscount St Vincent, and widow of

David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre (18 December 1808 – 1 July 1851), also known as D. O. Dyce Sombre and David Dyce Sombre, was an Anglo-Indian politician reputed to be the first person of Indian descent to be elected to the Parliament of the Unite ...

, in 1862.Townend, Peter. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition.''

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Ltd, 1970, p. 1036. * Hon. Henrietta Maria Weld-Forester (10 December 1809 – 22 April 1841), who married

Albert Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough Albert Denison Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough, Royal Guelphic Order, KCH, Royal Society, FRS, Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (''né'' Conyngham; 21 October 1805 – 15 January 1860), was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig Pa ...

, son of Gen. Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham, in 1833. * Hon. Charles Robert Weld-Forester (28 December 1811 – 16 September 1852), who married Lady Maria Jocelyn, daughter of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden and Hon. Maria Stapleton (a daughter of the 12th

Baron le Despencer Baron le Despencer is a title that has been created several times by writ in the Peerage of England. Creation Sir Hugh le Despenser I was a large landowner in Leicestershire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland. He was appointed High ...

), in 1848. * Orlando Watkin Weld Weld-Forester, 4th Baron Forester (1813–1894), a Reverend who married Sophia Elizabeth Norman, daughter of Richard Norman, in 1840. After her death in 1872 he married Emma Maria Tollemache, daughter of William Tollemache, in 1875. * Col. Hon. Emilius John Weld-Forester (10 February 1815 – 29 January 1899), 13th Light Infantry; died unmarried * Hon. Selina Louisa Weld-Forester (1819–1894), who married Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford in 1844.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 ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3450. * Lt.-Col. Hon. Henry Townshend Weld-Forester (21 January 1821 – 5 May 1897), Grenadier Guards, died unmarried He died of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

, London in 1828, aged 61, and was buried at Willey parish church. His tomb was sculpted by John Carline. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son John George Weld-Forester. Lady Forester died in 1829. His daughters

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

and Selina were leaders of fashionable society, and both were intimate friends of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

. It was often said that Disraeli in his last years was in love with Selina, but since she was not free to marry, he proposed to the widowed Lady Anne instead, in the hope of remaining close to both sisters.

Descendants

Through his youngest daughter, Hon. Selina Louisa Weld-Forester, he was a grandfather of Lady Florence Bridgeman, wife of Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood, and mother to his great-grandson, Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, through whom Lord Forester's descendants would be in the British line of succession to the throne through his descendant Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and

Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965) was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Mary of Teck, Queen Mary, the sister of kings Edward VIII and George VI ...

.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forester, Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron 1767 births 1828 deaths Cecil Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs who were granted peerages Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV