George John Warren Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (22 June 1803 – 31 May 1866), was a British politician. He was one of the last members of parliament for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and the first for

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...

. Vernon had a lifetime enthusiasm for

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

, particularly

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

after visiting Italy as a child. Vernon county is named after him in Australia.

Early life and education

Vernon was born at Stapleford Hall in Nottinghamshire, the only son of George Charles Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon (1779–1835) of

Sudbury, Derbyshire Sudbury is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, located about south of Ashbourne. It is part of the Derbyshire Dales district. The population as recorded at the 2001 Census was 976, increasing to 1,010 at the 2011 Census. The £0. ...

, and Frances Maria Warren, only daughter of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren. Sir

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

, Speaker of 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 ...

from 1425 to 1426, was an ancestor. 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 ...

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

Vernon was commissioned as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

of the

Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out ...

on 5 June 1830. In October 1832 he rushed up from London when he heard that his Troop had been called out to

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, where serious rioting had occurred. He resigned his commission in 1839. He was an expert rifle-shot and an energetic supporter of the

Volunteer movement The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrate ...

for which he raised the 2nd (Sudbury) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps of two companies in 16 March 1860.

Politics

Vernon entered public life in 1831, as Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

. As a result of the passing of the

Reform Bill The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

in 1832 (which Vernon supported) the parliamentary seat for Derbyshire was divided in two, and he became MP for the southern part. He continued in the House of Commons until 1835, when he succeeded his father as Baron Vernon 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 ...

. In 1837, he exchanged his

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

surname Venables-Vernon for that of Warren, in compliance with the will of Viscountess Bulkeley, but his children born before 1839 retained their original surname.

Italy

MS41rWMsmall George John Warren Vernon Ugolino Verno

As a youth, Vernon was taken to Italy, and later returned to live in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he studied the Italian language and history. His whole life was devoted to

, to whom he erected a noble

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

monument. With the advice and help of friends and collaborators, he printed (though not for sale) some then unedited texts and two important works. The first of these was ''Le prime quattro Edizioni della Divina Commedia letteralmente ristampate'', London, 1858, a careful reprint of the first editions of Dante's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'', edited by Sir Anthony Panizzi with a learned preface. This was followed by a remarkable publication, ''L' Inferno di Dante Alighieri disposto in ordine grammaticale e corredato di brevi dichiarazioni di G. G. Warren, Lord Vernon'', London, 1858–1865, 3 vols. folio, of which only a limited number of copies were issued for private circulation. The latter work was described by Henry Clark Barlow as one "which, for utility of purpose, comprehensiveness of design, and costly execution, has never been equalled in any country." Some of the most distinguished artists and men of letters in Italy were occupied for twenty years in its preparation. The first volume includes the text of the ''Inferno'' with many unpublished documents; and the third volume, which appeared after Lord Vernon's death, contains 112 original engravings of incidents in the ''Inferno'', views of towns,

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s, and other localities mentioned therein, as well as portraits, paintings, plans, and historical monuments illustrating the history of the fourteenth century.

Membership

Vernon was a ''socio'' correspondent of the

Accademia della Crusca The (; ), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language, as well as the oldest Academy#Linguisti ...

, and was a member of many other literary societies. He was also created Cavaliere di San Maurizio e Lazzaro in May 1865, in recognition of his labours on behalf of the national poet.

Personal life

Vernon married twice. On 30 October 1824, he married his first wife, Isabella Caroline, daughter of Cuthbert Ellison of

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

, Durham, who bore him two sons and three daughters: *Hon. Caroline Maria Warren Venables-Vernon (1826–1918), married the Rev. Frederick Anson, canon of Windsor and rector of Sudbury * Augustus Henry Warren Venables-Vernon (1829–1883), succeeded as 6th Baron Vernon *Hon. Adelaide Louisa Warren Venables-Vernon (1831–1913), married Admiral Sir Reginald Macdonald *Hon. William John Borlase Warren Venables-Vernon (1834–1919), married Agnes Lucy Boileau, daughter of John Boileau, 1st Bt. *Hon. Louisa Warren Venables-Vernon (1838–1898), married the Rev. Thomas Parry Garnier He remarried on 14 December 1859, to his cousin, Frances Emma Maria, only daughter of the Rev. Brooke Boothby, who survived him but was childless. During his prolonged visits to Italy and Florence, Lord Vernon initiated a relationship to a young girl by the name of Louise Charlotte Anette Lavoignat and bore four daughters by her: Maria Louise born 1843, Vittoria Alice born 1845, Heloise Tommasine born 1846 and Georgina Jeanne Margheret, married with Augusto Agostini in Geneve on 26 November 1853. Georgina bore two sons: Corradina-Eugenia-Nelly, born in Cairo, and Paolo Alberto Raoul, born in Nizza, 25 March 1865.Etat Civil of Geneve After a long illness, Vernon died at

Sudbury Hall Sudbury Hall is a country house in Sudbury, Derbyshire, England. One of the country's finest Restoration mansions, it has Grade I listed building status, and the garden is Grade II listed in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. T ...

, the family seat, near

, on 31 May 1866 aged 62.

Publications

An engraved portrait of Vernon is in the album of his ''Inferno''. Besides the two works above mentioned, he also printed : *''L'Inferno, secondo il testo di B. Lombardi con ordine e schiarimento per uso dei forestieri di L. V.'', Florence, 1841, 8vo (only the first seven cantos; a foreshadowing of his great work on the 'Inferno'). *''Petri Allegherii super Dantis ipsius genitoris comoediam commentarium'', Florence, 1846, 8vo (edited by Vincenzo Nannucci). *''Chiose sopra Dante, testo inedito, ora per la prima volta pubblicato'', Florence, 1846, 8vo (commonly known as ''II falso Boccaccio''). *''II Febusso e Breusso, poema ora per la prima volta pubblicato'', Florence, 1847, 8vo (a ''romanzo cavalleresco''). *''Chiose alia Cantica dell' Inferno di Dante Allighieri attribuite a Jacopo suo figlio'', Florence, 1848, 8vo. *''Comento alia cantica di Dante Allighieri di autore anonimo'', Florence, 1848, 8vo (the oldest commentary on the ''Inferno'' in existence, probably written about 1328). He had intended to print the famous Latin commentary of Benvenuto da Imola, delivered as public lectures at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

about 1375; but this work was carried out by his second son, William Warren Vernon, in 1887, 5 vols. 4to, under the editorship of Sir J. P. Lacaita.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron 1866 deaths 1803 births People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People from Sudbury, Derbyshire Staffordshire Yeomanry officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs who inherited peerages Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies George 5