Edward Adolphus St. Maur, 12th Duke of Somerset, (20 December 180428 November 1885), styled Lord Seymour until 1855, was a British Whig aristocrat and politician, who served in various cabinet positions in the mid-19th century, including that of

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

Background and education

Somerset was the eldest son of Edward St. Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset, and Lady Charlotte, daughter of

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, An ...

. He was baptized on 16 February 1805 at St. George's, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at Eton 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 ...

. He owned 25,000 acres, mostly in Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Political career

Somerset sat as Member of Parliament as Lord Seymour for

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

between 1830 and 1831 and for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

between 1834 and 1855. He served under Lord Melbourne as a Lord of the Treasury between 1835 and 1839, as Joint Secretary to the Board of Control between 1839 and 1841 and as

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present parliamentary under-secretaries of state serving the home secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *Apri ...

between June and August 1841 and was a member of

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

's first administration as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests between 1849 and 1851, when the office was abolished. He served on the Royal Commission on the British Museum (1847–49). In August 1851 he was appointed to the newly created office of First Commissioner of Works by Russell. In October of the same year, he entered the cabinet and was sworn of the Privy Council. He remained First Commissioner of Works until the government fell in February 1852. Somerset succeeded his father in the dukedom in 1855 and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He did not serve in

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

's first administration, but when Palmerston became Prime Minister for the second time in 1859, Somerset was appointed

, with a seat in the cabinet. He held this post until 1866, the last year under the premiership of Russell. He refused to join

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's first ministry in 1868, but gave independent support to the chief measures of the government. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

in 1862 and in 1863 he was created Earl St. Maur, of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke G ...

in the County of Devon. "St. Maur" was supposed to have been the original form of the family name and "Seymour" a later corruption. From some time in the early 19th century until 1923, "St. Maur" was used as the family name, but since 1923 the dukes have again used the familiar "Seymour". Somerset was also the author of ''Christian Theology and Modern Scepticism'' (1872), and ''Monarchy and Democracy'' (1880). Between 1861 and 1885 he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Dep ...

Family

Somerset married in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

, London, on 10 June 1830, Jane Georgiana Sheridan, who was the "Queen of Beauty" at the Eglinton Tournament of 1839. The Somersets had two sons and three daughters: * Lady Jane Hermione Seymour (1 January 18324 April 1909) she married Sir Frederick Ulric Graham, 3rd Baronet, of Netherby, on 26 October 1852. They had eight children, including the Countess of Verulam and the Duchess of Montrose. *Lady Ulrica Frederica Jane Seymour (12 January 183326 or 28 January 1916) she married the Rt Hon. Lord Henry Frederick Thynne on 1 June 1858. They had six children. * Edward Adolphus Ferdinand Seymour, Earl St. Maur (17 July 183530 September 1869) he had two illegitimate children by Rosina Swan. *Lord Edward Percy Seymour (19 August 184120 December 1865) was a diplomat and died after being mauled by a bear. *Lady Helen Guendolen Seymour (14 November 184614 August 1910) she married Sir John William Ramsden, 5th Baronet on 2 August 1865. They had four children. Lady Guendolen Ramsden inherited the Bulstrode estate. Her Grace died on 14 December 1884. The Duke of Somerset survived her by less than a year and died on 28 November 1885, aged 80, and was buried with her in St James's Churchyard at

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of Chalfont St Peter and a short distance west of the London Borough of Hillingdon, from which it is separated by the parish of Denham, Buckinghams ...

, Buckinghamshire. As his two sons both died in his lifetime, the family titles (except the Earldom of St. Maur, which became extinct) devolved on his younger brother, Archibald Seymour, 13th Duke of Somerset. The 12th Duke left his London residence,

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park to ...

, to his eldest daughter Lady Hermione Graham.'' Notes & Queries'', vol. 133 (1916)
p. 318 (snippet)
/ref>

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Edward Seymour, 12th Duke Of 1804 births 1885 deaths 512 Knights of the Garter First Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Lord-lieutenants of Devon Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies People associated with the British Museum Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Okehampton Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford