George Edward Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave (8 February 1816 – 28 September 1846) was a

British peer A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...

. The eldest legitimate child of the 6th Earl Waldegrave, George Waldegrave was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

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 ...

. In 1835, he inherited his father's titles and on 28 September 1840, he married his elder, illegitimate brother's widow,

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

(the daughter of noted tenor, John Braham) at

Gretna Green Gretna Green is a parish in the southern Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, close to the town of Gretna, Scotland, Gretna, on the Scottish side of the English-Scottish border. It is accessed from the A74( ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(in order to avoid the prohibitions of the Marriage Act 1835, which made such marriages in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

illegal). In 1841, Waldegrave was sentenced to six months

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

, by the

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Bench of the

Assize Court The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ...

for having drunkenly assaulted a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. His wife and their servants came to live with him there until his release, when they moved back to their home, Strawberry Hill, the "Gothick" mansion and former residence of

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

in Twickenham, that had passed to Waldegrave's grandmother,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

. Heavily in debt and tired of Twickenham, Waldegrave decided to sell Walpole's treasures at their home in 1842 and he and his wife travelled abroad before settling down at their country home of

Harptree Court Harptree Court is a Grade II listed building at East Harptree in the English county of Somerset. It was built around 1800 to designs by Charles Harcourt Masters. History The house was built in 1797 on several fields including one known as Brook ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, in 1844. Lord Waldegrave died two years later and left the-now derelict Strawberry Hill to his wife. Dying childless, he was succeeded by his uncle,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, and his wife later twice remarried.

References

Burke's Peerage & GentryThe Twickenham Museum – Strawberry Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldegrave, George 7th Earl Waldegrave Waldegrave, George Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave, George Waldegrave, 7th Earl People from Mendip District People from Somerset Waldegrave, George Waldegrave, 7th Earl George Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave Waldegrave, George Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave, George Waldegrave, 7th Earl British people convicted of assault