William Henry Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton MP (24 December 1724 – 14 September 1808) was a British politician and colonial administrator from the

Lyttelton family The Lyttelton family (sometimes spelled Littleton) is a British nobility, British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family inclu ...

. He was the youngest son of

Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet, of Frankley, in the County of Worcester (1686 – 14 September 1751), was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1741. He held office as one of the Lords of the Ad ...

Biography

As the youngest son, he did not expect to inherit the family estates. He made a career by serving in various government appointments. He became royal governor of colonial South Carolina in 1755, serving until 5 April 1760, during the period of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. This was the North American front of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

in Europe. He gained an alliance with the Cherokee and made a treaty with those in his territory. His insistence on respecting the treaty rights of native peoples aggravated settlers on the frontier of South Carolina, who were encroaching on their territories. In 1760, Lyttelton was appointed Governor of Jamaica, but he was recalled to England after he lost a standoff with the Jamaican House of the Assembly, and its leader, Nicholas Bourke, over who should stand costs for the island's defence. He was appointed envoy-extraordinary to Portugal in 1766. He was raised to the Irish peerage in 1776 as Baron Westcote. As a result of the death without issue of his nephew

Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton (30 January 1744 – 27 November 1779) was an English MP and profligate from the Lyttelton family. Life Sometimes dubbed "the wicked Lord Lyttelton" and "bad Lord Lyttelton", he was the son of George Ly ...

in 1779, William Lyttelton inherited the family

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

cy (see Lyttelton Baronets) and family estates in Frankley,

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, ...

, and

Hagley Hagley is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated populati ...

, including

Hagley Hall Hagley Hall is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed 18th-century house in Hagley, Worcestershire, the home of the Lyttelton family. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, George, 1st Lord Lytte ...

. However, the estates in

Upper Arley Upper Arley () is a village and civil parish near Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest (district), Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, the village had a population of 741 at the 2011 census. Amen ...

passed to the late lord's sister Lucy, wife of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris. In 1794, Lord Westcote was also created Baron Lyttelton in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. He married twice. His first wife was Martha, daughter and coheir of James Macartney of Longford and his wife; Macartney was the nephew and coheir of Ambrose Aungier, 2nd Earl of Longford. They had three children before Martha's death, including George Fulke, his successor. His second wife was Caroline Bristow, daughter of John Bristow, MP and merchant, and his wife. They had two children together, including William Henry Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton.

References

*Attig, Clarence John. "William Henry Lyttelton: A Study in Colonial Administration." PhD diss., University of Nebraska, 1958. * * * *''Burkes Peerage and Baronetage'' (1939), s.v. Cobham, Viscount ;Specific

External links

*
The William Henry Lyttelton papers
William L. Clements Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttelton, William Henry Lyttelton, 1st Baron 1724 births 1808 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Streathamites Tory MPs (pre-1834) British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Colonial governors of South Carolina Diplomatic peers Governors of Jamaica Ambassadors of Great Britain to Portugal Westcote of Ballymore, William Lyttelton, 1st Baron Peers of Great Britain created by George III Peers of Ireland created by George III

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 ...