William Richard Arthur Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington (7 October 1813 – 25 July 1863) was a British nobleman.

Long-Wellesley, the son of the notorious spendthrift
William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley (later fourth
Earl of Mornington
Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; s ...
) and
Catherine Tylney-Long (daughter of
Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet
Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet (1736 – 28 November 1794) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons for 32 years from 1762 to 1794.
The eldest son of Sir Robert Long, 6th Baronet and hi ...
), was born on 7 October 1813 at
Wanstead House
Wanstead House was a mansion built to replace the earlier Wanstead Hall. It was commissioned in 1715, completed in 1722 and demolished in 1825. Its gardens now form the municipal Wanstead Park in the London Borough of Redbridge.
History Construc ...
, at that time in Essex, but within the London borough of Redbridge since 1965.
His father's spending wreaked havoc on the family estate, but upon his mother's death in 1825, he inherited the remaining estates at
Wanstead
Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...
;
Athelhampton
Athelhampton (also known as Admiston or Adminston) is a settlement in the civil parish of Athelhampton and Puddletown, in Dorset, England, situated approximately east of Dorchester. It consists of a manor house and a former Church of England p ...
, Devon; and
Draycot Cerne
Draycot Cerne (Draycott) is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sutton Benger, in Wiltshire, England, about north of Chippenham.
History
The parish was referred to as ''Draicote'' (Medieval Latin) in the ancient D ...
, Wiltshire. Bitter, protracted custody litigation followed — his mother's sisters with temporary custody succeeded in placing him under the guardianship of the
Duke of Wellington
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
, his great-uncle.
In 1836 he took his father to court, after his father had sold furniture and pictures belonging to Draycot House to cover a £3,000 debt. These were passed out of a window after the sales agent was refused admission to the house. William junior maintained that these items belonged to him as heirlooms by the will of
Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet
Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet (c. 1617 – 22 January 1692) was an English politician and Royalist soldier.
Born at South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Walter Long and Anne Ley (daughter of James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlbor ...
.
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
2 May 1836; Issue 16092
His father succeeded as Earl of Mornington in 1845, after which William was styled Viscount Wellesley. In 1848, despite opposition from his father, he sold Athelhampton which had been purchased by
Sir Robert Long, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Long, 1st Baronet (c. 1600 – 13 July 1673) of Westminster was an English courtier and administrator who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1626 and 1673.
Background
Long was the son of Sir Walter Long of South Wra ...
, in 1665. He succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington on 1 July 1857.
Mornington died unmarried in Paris on 25 July 1863 from cancer of the tongue, and is buried at Draycot Cerne in Wiltshire. Having originally made his will bequeathing all his estates to his only sister Lady Victoria (who died unmarried in 1897), he made another will three weeks before his death, leaving all his landed property to his father's cousin
Earl Cowley
Earl Cowley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1857 for the diplomat Henry Wellesley, 2nd Baron Cowley. He was Ambassador to France from 1852 to 1867. He was made Viscount Dangan, of Dangan in the County of M ...
, then ambassador at Paris. In dismay, Lady Victoria wrote to her cousin
Walter Long of
Rood Ashton House
Rood Ashton House was a country house in Wiltshire, England, standing in parkland northeast of the village of West Ashton, near Trowbridge. Built in 1808 for Richard Godolphin Long, it was later the home of the 1st Viscount Long (1854–1924) ...
: 'my wish would have been that after our own immediate heirs, all Long property should have returned to your family as the elder branch'.
He was succeeded as sixth
Earl of Mornington
Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; s ...
by his cousin, the
second Duke of Wellington.
Further reading
*
References
Sources
* Wiltshire Record Office, Cat. 947 Papers of Viscount Long
* Hand of Fate. The History of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire. Tim Couzens 2001
* The Lady Victoria Tylney Long Wellesley – A Memoir, Octavia Barry 1899
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mornington, William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of
1813 births
1863 deaths
William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington
Deaths from oral cancer in France
Earls of Mornington