Charles Henry Wyndham, 3rd Baron Leconfield (17 February 1872 – 16 April 1952), was a British peer, army officer and political figure. He succeeded his father as third Baron Leconfield in 1901.

Early life and education

Wyndham was born at the family estate,

Petworth House Petworth House is a late 17th-century Grade I listed English country house, country house in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the desi ...

, in Sussex. A direct descendant of

Sir John Wyndham ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, he was the second but eldest surviving son of

Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield (31 July 1830 – 6 January 1901), was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life and education A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, Leconfield was the eldest surviving son of Geo ...

, and Constance Evelyn Primrose, daughter of

Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (2 October 1809 – 23 January 1851), was a British Whig politician. Early life He was the eldest son and heir apparent of Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery (1783–1868), whom he predeceased, by his wife ...

. His grandfather,

George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield (5 June 1787 – 18 March 1869), was a British soldier and hereditary peer. Early life A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he was born in 1787, the eldest natural son of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egr ...

, was the eldest illegitimate son and heir of

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont Royal Society#Fellows, FRS (18 December 1751 – 11 November 1837) of Petworth House in Sussex and Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was a British Peerage of Great Britain, peer, a major landowner and a ...

, from whom the family derived their considerable wealth. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

Military career

He served in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamate ...

from 1892 to 1898 and was appointed a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the Reserve on 27 January 1900,. In 1901, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, he became the commanding officer of the newly-reformed

Sussex Yeomanry The Sussex Yeomanry is a yeomanry regiment of the British Army dating from 1794. It was initially formed when there was a threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. After being reformed in the Second Boer War, it served in the World Wa ...

(originally raised at Petworth by the 3rd Earl of Egremont). Wyndham served and was wounded during the

in 1900. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he rejoined the 1st Life Guards and commanded the Royal Sussex Volunteers from 1917 to 1918. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion of the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

(representing

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, in which he held significant lands), and of the 98th Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Sussex This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. From 1677 until 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Sussex. Lord Lieutenants of Sussex to 1974 *Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel 1551–? ''jointly with'' ...

between 1917 and 1949.

Properties

Lord Leconfield inherited the family seat,

, as well as significant land in

, including

Cockermouth Castle Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. History The first castle on this site was built by the Normans ...

and

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is a mountain in the Lake District region of Cumbria, England. It has an elevation of above sea level, making it the highest and the most prominent mountain in England. The mountain is part of the Scafell massif, an extinct v ...

. In 1919, he placed Scafell Pike—the highest peak in England—under the custody of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in honour of the soldiers of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

who served in World War I. Lord Leconfield also opened the state rooms and large art collection of Petworth House, his 17th-century mansion, to the public. In 1947, he gave the house and its 735-acre park to the National Trust.

Later life

Lord Leconfield married (Beatrice) Violet Rawson, daughter of Colonel Richard Hamilton Rawson, in 1911. Wyndham had two adopted children, Peter and Elizabeth Geraldine Wyndham (born Betty Seymour). He was a dedicated sportsman, a master of foxhounds, and served as president of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

for the 1927–1928 season. He also served as president of the

Pratt's Pratt's is a gentlemen's club in London, England. It was established in 1857, with premises in a house in Park Place, off St James's Street, and close to the Ritz. History The club takes its name from William Nathaniel Pratt, who lived ther ...

club in London. In 1935 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

for his services as a member of the Council of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

and Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. He died in April 1952, aged 80, after a lengthy illness. Wyndham was succeeded in the barony by his younger brother

Hugh Wyndham Hugh Wyndham may refer to: * Sir Hugh Wyndham (judge) (1602–1684), English judge of the Common Pleas and Baron of the Exchequer * Hugh Wyndham (Minehead MP) (c. 1624–71), MP for Minehead 1661–71 * Sir Hugh Wyndham (diplomat) (1836–1916), ...

(1877–1963), as his adopted son Peter was disqualified from inheriting his adoptive father's titles and estates. Wyndham left an estate of £2,136,439 (). His adopted daughter Elizabeth Wyndham was a socialite and civil servant, born on 15 December 1922. She died on 13 May 2008, aged 85 in

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

, Buckinghamshire. As an accomplished

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she worked as a linguist in the British codebreaking department at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

References

Book source

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leconfield, Charles Wyndham, 3rd Baron 1872 births 1952 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Leconfield Leconfield is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Beverley town centre on the A164 road. The civil parish consists of Leconfield, the village of Arram and the Hamle ...

Deputy lieutenants of Sussex Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-lieutenants of Sussex Masters of foxhounds in England Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Younger sons of barons People from Petworth Volunteer Force officers Territorial Force officers Military personnel from West Sussex British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People educated at Winchester College