Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706–1776) was an English politician and peer, the last of the Earls of Lichfield.

Birth and origins

Robert was born on 3 July 1706 in St. James Street, Westminster, London. He was one of the ten children and the youngest of the sons of Edward Henry Lee and his wife Charlotte FitzRoy. His father was created the 1st

Earl of Lichfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...

just before his marriage. Robert's mother was a natural daughter of Charles II and

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine ( ; – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she ...

Early life

Lee was MP for

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1754 to 1768, and considered a Tory. Lee held the sinecure position of Custos Brevium of the Court of Common Pleas, in the royal gift.

Marriage

On 29 May 1745, at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London, Lee married Catherine Stonhouse (1708–1784), daughter of Sir John Stonhouse, 3rd Baronet, of

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. The marriage was childless.

4th Earl

On 17 September 1772, at the age of 66, Lee became the 4th Earl of Lichfield when the 3rd Earl, his nephew, died childless.

Death, succession, and timeline

Lord Lichfield, as he now was, died childless on 4 November 1776, falling off his horse while hunting near Ditchley. He was buried in the All Saints church in

Spelsbury Spelsbury is a village and civil parish about north of Charlbury and about southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village is on a narrow hill between the Coldron and Taston brooks overlooking the River Evenlode and the ancient Wych ...

in an elaborate marble monument by William Tyler (architect). He was the last Earl of this, the second, creation of the title. The earldom became extinct, but the estate went to his niece Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest surviving daughter of his brother, George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield. In 1744 Charlotte had married

Viscount Dillon Viscount Dillon, of Barony of Costello, Costello-Gallen (barony), Gallen in the County Mayo, County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon, Theobald Dillon, Lord President ...

. Their son Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount Dillon inherited the estate at his mother's death in 1794. This included the house at Ditchley, which remained the home of the Viscounts Dillon until 1934.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * – L to M (for Lichfield) * – (for timeline) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichfield, Robert Lee, 4th Earl of 1706 births 1776 deaths British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 4th Earl of Lichfield Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies