Thomas Cholmondeley, 1st Baron Delamere ( ; 9 August 1767 – 30 October 1855), of

Vale Royal Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham. History The ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, was a British landowner and politician. He was elected MP for

in 1796 (with John Crewe), a seat he held until 1812.

Background

He was born on 9 August 1767 in Beckenham,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, the eldest son of Thomas Cholmondeley (1726–1779), Vale Royal, Cheshire and Dorothy Cowper. On his father's side he descended from a younger brother of

Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster ( ; 26 June 1584 – 8 October 1659), was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War. Life Cholmondeley was born in Crouchend, Highgate, Middlesex, on 26 June 1584, the ...

, and Hugh Cholmondeley, father of

Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Viscount Cholmondeley Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Viscount Cholmondeley (died 22 May 1681) was an English peer. Lord Cholmondeley was the son of Hugh Cholmondeley and Mary Bodvile. Sir Hugh Cholmondeley was his grandfather and Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster ...

, from whom the

Marquesses of Cholmondeley A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

descend. Delamere was an indirect descendant of Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

, the first

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

. The Cholmondeleys were long established at their seat at

Vale Royal Abbey Vale Royal Abbey is a former England in the Middle Ages, medieval abbey and later country house in Whitegate, Cheshire, Whitegate, England. The precise location and boundaries of the abbey are difficult to determine in today's landscape. The o ...

, Cheshire which had been in the family since 1615. Cholmondeley was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1781 and entered

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

in 1785.

Career

He served as

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the The Crown, Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law officer, law enforcement officer in th ...

in 1792 and then in 1796 was elected to 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 ...

for his father's old seat of

, which he retained until 1812. On 17 July 1821 he was raised to the peerage as

Baron Delamere Baron Delamere, of Vale Royal in the County Palatine of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1821 for Thomas Cholmondeley, a former Member of Parliament for Cheshire. This Vale Royal branch of th ...

, ''of

in the

County Palatine of Chester A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

''.

Hugh Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere Hugh George Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere ( ; 18 January 1934 – 7 October 2024), styled The Honourable Hugh George Cholmondeley from birth until 1979, was a British peer. He was a well-known figure in the evolution and development of post- ...

paints a picture of his early-19th-century ancestor with deft, harsh strokes: :" he 1st Baron Delamerewas an idiot who decided it would be impressive to have a peerage. He thought he had a bargain when he paid 5,000 for it. The only problem was that the going rate was 1,200. Before he came along we had been content to be shire knights in Cheshire, when William the Conqueror gave us the whole county."

Family

On 17 December 1810, Cholmondeley married Henrietta Elizabeth Williams-Wynn (d. 1852), daughter of

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet (23 September 1749 – 24 July 1789) was a Welsh landowner, politician and patron of the arts. The Williams-Wynn baronets had been begun in 1688 by the politician Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, but ha ...

, and his wife, Charlotte (née Grenville). That union produced five children and numerous grandchildren: *

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 ). ...

(3 October 1811 – 1 August 1887) married Sarah Hay-Drummund, and later married Augusta Emily Seymour. * Thomas Grenville (4 August 1818 – 9 February 1883) married Katherine Lucy Sykes, and later married Violet Maud Parker * Henry Pitt (15 June 1820 – 14 April 1905) married Mary Leigh ::* Francis Grenville (1850–1937). ::* Lionel Berners (1858–1945). ::* Edward Chandos (1860–1957). ::* Henry Reginald (1862–1947). ::* Charles Fiennes (1863–1959). ::* Alice Margarette (18__–1937). ::* Mary Louisa (18__–1947). ::* Rose Evelyn (18__ –1907). ::* Eleanor Caroline (18__–1947). * Henrietta Charlotte (3 June 1823 – 13 August 1874), who married Henry Wilson, 11th Baron Berners. * Charles Watkin Neville (27 May 1826 – 18 March 1844).—unmarried The marriage of the baron's third son, Henry, produced nine grandchildren; and of these, Lionel would become chaplain to th
British Embassy in Tokyo
and would write the first English-language history of the isolated

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

, including notes of changes which evolved after annexation by

Meiji Meiji, the romanization of the Japanese characters 明治, may refer to: Japanese history * Emperor Meiji, Emperor of Japan between 1867 and 1912 ** Meiji era, the name given to that period in Japanese history *** Meiji Restoration, the revolution ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1875. Cholmondeley died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 30 October 1855 at the age of 88. He was succeeded in the land, estates and title by his eldest son Hugh Cholmondeley.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delamere, Thomas Cholmondeley, 1st Baron 1767 births 1855 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple 1 Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas Cholmondeley, Thomas High sheriffs of Cheshire

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV

Background

Career

Family

See also

Notes

References