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 papersWilliam 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 ...