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Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, (25 January 1857–13 April 1944) was an English peer and sportsman. He was president of Bertram Mills Olympia Circus and a vice-president of the RSPCA.


Early life

Born in 1857, he was the second son of Emily Susan (), daughter of St George Francis Caulfeild of Donamon Castle of
Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...
, Ireland and
Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale (27 March 1818 – 15 August 1876) was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. Early life Lowther was born on 27 March 1818. He was the eldest son of Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther and Lady Lucy Sherard ...
. In 1882, he succeeded his brother,
St George Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale St George Henry Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale (4 October 1855 – 8 February 1882) was a Great Britain, British nobleman, the eldest son of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale and Emily Caulfeild. From 1872 until his succession to the earldom in ...
, and was succeeded in turn by his brother, Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale upon his death in 1944.


Career

Lonsdale inherited enormous wealth derived from his father's
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 ...
coalmines, and owned of land. He had residences at Lowther Castle, at Whitehaven Castle, Barleythorpe and
Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of ...
, London. He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry on 3 March 1897''Army List'', various dates. and from February 1900 to 1901, he was Assistant Adjutant-General for the
Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...
during the first part of 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 Honorary Colonel of the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry on 16 November 1908, shortly after it had transferred to the
Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...
. 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 ...
his chief role was as a recruitment officer of both men and horses. He formed his own
pals battalion The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...
, the Lonsdales (11th Battalion,
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 ...
). He helped found Our Dumb Friends League (now the Blue Cross) and was its chairman during the war. Lonsdale was known as the Yellow Earl for his penchant for the colour. He was a founder and first president of
the Automobile Association AA Limited, trading as The AA, is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association demutualised in 1999 ...
(AA) which adopted his livery. In 1907, Lonsdale was part of the famous wager with John Pierpont Morgan over whether a man could circumnavigate the globe and remain unidentified. In August 1895 the German Emperor
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
visited Lowther Castle for some
grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...
shooting. The kings of Italy and Portugal later came to stay, and the Kaiser a second time in 1902. The Kaiser conferred upon the Earl a knighthood of the first class of the Order of the Prussian Crown. Although he was a Peer, he was rarely seen in 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 ...
. Because of his extravagance he was forced to sell some of his inherited properties. In 1921 Whitehaven Castle was sold, and in 1926 Barleythorpe. The same year the west Cumberland coalmines closed. In 1935 he moved from Lowther Castle because he could no longer afford to live there and moved to much smaller accommodation. His free-spending had largely wrecked the estate, and his heir, his brother Lancelot, the 6th Earl was forced to auction off the contents of Lowther Castle in 1947. This proved to be the largest
English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
sale of the 20th century.


Personal life

In 1878, before obtaining his inheritance, Lonsdale married Lady Grace Cecilie Gordon, third daughter of Maria Antoinetta Pegus (c. 1821–1893) and Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly. Her family opposed the marriage as Lonsdale was not then wealthy and seemed irresponsible. This proved to be correct as the following year he invested in cattle in America; the venture collapsed and the Lowther family was forced to save him. The couple then lived at Barleythorpe Hall near
Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...
. Grace became pregnant but had a
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...
after a fall while hunting. After this she was unable to bear children and remained a partial invalid for the rest of her life. She died in 1941. After an affair with the actress Violet Cameron caused a scandal, Lonsdale set out in 1888 to explore the Arctic regions of Canada as far north as Melville Island, nearly dying before reaching
Kodiak, Alaska Kodiak (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ) is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside ...
in 1889 and returning to England. His collection of
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
artefacts that he assembled during his explorations in Alaska and north-west Canada at this time is now in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. Lonsdale died in 1944 at Stud House, Barleythorpe, aged 87.


Sports

Lonsdale was a founding member and first president of the
National Sporting Club The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation. Origins The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...
, and donated the original Lonsdale Belts in 1909 for the
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
championship trophy. His name was later given to the Lonsdale clothing brand of boxing garments and the Lonsdale cigar size. He was also a director of
Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...
and served as chairman for a brief period in 1936, and later became the club's honorary president. After the First World War, Hugh gave up hunting and became more involved with race horses. He became a senior steward of the
Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...
. He had two major wins with his colt Royal Lancer in 1922, the
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
and the
Irish St Leger The Irish St Leger is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh Racecourse, Curragh ...
. He was also the first president of the International Horse Show at Olympia. From 1929 Lonsdale was the joint editor of the ''Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes'', a book series published by Seeley, Service and Co.


Views on animals

Lonsdale enjoyed foxhunting, serving as Master of the Quorn from 1893 to 1898 and of the Cottesmore Hunt for long periods. In the 1920s, Lonsdale frequently attended
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
animal training sessions. He defended Bertram Mills' use of circus animals against allegations of cruelty. He was president of Mills Olympia Circus. He was a vice-president of the RSPCA which caused controversy amongst some RSPCA members due to his support of performance animals. Stephen Coleridge for example called for his resignation. However, the council of the RSPCA noted that membership "does not compel the adoption of any particular policy in regard to matters not yet included within the scope of animal protection acts" and did not request for Lonsdale to resign. Lonsdale was president of Our Dumb Friends' League for 20 years. His re-election in 1924 was controversial due to his support of the
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
and he was booed at the annual meeting in Westminster. Annie Bradshaw and Lady Lumb opposed his re-election. Lonsdale resigned in 1930.


In popular culture

Lonsdale was the subject of a biography by Douglas Sutherland. It is present in the TV series "A Thousand Blows".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of 1857 births 1944 deaths 19th-century British Army personnel 20th-century British Army personnel Blue Cross workers People from Cumberland Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen British racehorse owners and breeders Deputy lieutenants of Rutland English socialites Founders of sporting institutions 5 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Garter Legion of Frontiersmen members Lord-lieutenants of Cumberland
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
Masters of foxhounds in England People from Westmorland Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry officers Military personnel from London Pals battalions RSPCA workers Territorial Force officers Volunteer Force officers