William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (27 March 1817 – 7 May 1885), known as The Lord Ward from 1835 to 1860, was a British landowner and benefactor.

Background and education

Ward was born on 27 March 1817 at

Edwardstone Edwardstone is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The parish contains the hamlets of Mill Green, Priory Green, Round Maple and Sherbourne Street, and Edwardstone Woods, a Site of Special Scie ...

, Boxford, Suffolk, England, the son of William Ward, 10th Baron Ward. His mother was Amelia, daughter of William Cooch Pillans. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, has always held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). ...

between 1838 and 1842.

Career

On 6 December 1835, he inherited the title of Lord Ward, when he became the 11th Baron Ward. His inheritance included

Himley Hall Himley Hall is an early 17th-century country house situated in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county in the small village of Himley, near to the town of Dudley and the city of Wolverhampton. Himley Hall is a Grade ...

and the ruins of

Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subs ...

. In 1837 his trustees purchased the

Witley Court Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect ...

estate in Worcestershire from

Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley Thomas Henry Foley, 4th Baron Foley of Kidderminster DL (11 December 1808 – 20 November 1869), was a British peer and Liberal politician. He held office in every Whig/ Liberal government between 1833 and 1869. Family and estate Foley was th ...

. Ward never held any political office, but served as Colonel Commander of the

Worcestershire Yeomanry The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I as horsed cavalry before being converted to an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artill ...

in 1854. Between 1859 and 1877 Ward paid for the entire refacing and restoration of

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

Folkes, J. Homery ''The Victorian Architect and

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

'' Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society. Third Series Vol 4 1974 p9 and there is a monument to him in the cathedral. In 1868 he defrayed one third of the cost of the tower and spire of St John the Baptist's Church at

Hagley Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 2 ...

. He was also a trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

and the National Portrait Gallery. In 1860, the earldom held by his kinsman was revived when he was created Viscount Ednam, of

Ednam Ednam is a small village near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Places nearby include Stichill, Sprouston, Nenthorn, Eccles, Gordon, Greenlaw as well as Floors Castle. The village was formerly in Roxburghshire. Its name is a co ...

in the County of Roxburgh, and Earl of Dudley, of

in the County of Stafford.

Personal life

Memorial to William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley

Lord Dudley married, firstly, Selina Constance, daughter of Hubert de Burgh, on 24 April 1851. She died on 14 November of the same year, aged only 22. There were no children from this marriage. He married, secondly, Georgina Elisabeth, daughter of

Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet (9 January 1822 – 16 August 1879) was a Scottish first-class cricketer and British Army officer. The son of Sir David Moncreiffe and his wife, Helen Mackay, he was born at Moncreiffe House in Perthshi ...

, and Lady Louisa Hay-Drummond, on 21 November 1865. His sister-in-law Harriet Moncreiffe, who a few years later, as Lady Mordaunt, became embroiled in a sensational divorce case, referred to him as "frizzle wig". Together, William and Georgina were the parents of six sons and one daughter: *

William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, (25 May 1867 – 29 June 1932), was a British aristocrat, politician, and military officer who served as the fourth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1908 to 1911. He was previously Lord Lieut ...

(1867–1932), who succeeded his father and became a prominent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician who married Rachel Gurney CBE, the youngest daughter of Charles Henry Gurney. * Hon. Sir John Hubert Ward (1870–1938), who married

Jean Templeton Reid Jean Templeton Ward, Lady Ward CBE DStJ ( Reid; 13 July 1884 – 1 May 1962) was an American-born philanthropist and society hostess. The only daughter of Whitelaw Reid, the American Ambassador to the United Kingdom, she lived in London after ...

, daughter of U.S. Ambassador

Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-York Tribu ...

. * Hon. Robert Arthur Ward (1871–1942), who married Lady Mary Acheson, a daughter of

Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford Archibald Brabazon Sparrow Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, (19 August 1841 – 11 April 1922) was a British peer. The son of Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford, he was born at Worlingham Hall, Suffolk, in 1841, and educated at Harrow Schoo ...

and Lady Louisa Montagu (daughter of

William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester William Drogo Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester KP ( Kimbolton Castle, 15 October 1823 – 22Sometimes appears 21. March 1890), known as Lord Kimbolton from 1823 to 1843 and as Viscount Mandeville from 1843 to 1855, was a British peer and Conserv ...

). * Lady Edith Amelia Ward (1872–1956), who married

Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton (24 September 1864 – 3 October 1932), was a British banker and Conservative politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under Arthur Balfour from 1902 to 1905. Background Glyn was the younger ...

. * Captain Hon. Reginald Ward, DSO (1874–1904), of the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

. * Captain Hon. Cyril Augustus Ward (1876–1930), who married Baroness Irene de Brienen, a daughter of Baron de Brienen. He took part in the Parker expedition to Jerusalem, going to Jerusalem in 1909. He served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the First World War. He was declared bankrupt in 1923 and subsequently moved to Kenya where he died. * Hon. Gerald Ernest Francis Ward (1877–1914), a first-class cricketer for

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC), who served in the 1st Life Guards during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was killed in action at Zandvoorde, Belgium. He married Lady Evelyn Crichton, a daughter of

John Crichton, 4th Earl Erne John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl Erne, (16 October 1839 – 2 December 1914), styled Viscount Crichton from 1842 to 1885, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative politician. Early life Erne was the eldest son of Selina Griselda, Countess Erne ('' ...

and Lady Florence Cole (daughter of

William Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, FRS (25 January 180712 November 1886) styled by the courtesy title Viscount Cole until 1840, was an Irish palaeontologist and Conservative Member of Parliament. He also served as the first Impe ...

). Ward died on 7 May 1885, aged 68, at Dudley House,

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from May ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and was originally buried in a marble

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

in the crypt of Saint Michael and All Angels Church in

Great Witley Great Witley is a village and civil parish (with Hillhampton), in the Malvern Hills District in the northwest of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated around ten miles to the north west of the city of Worcester. History There ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. His remains were later moved to

, where a funerary monument to him was erected. The Countess of Dudley survived her husband by over forty years and died in February 1929 at her home at

Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park Pembroke Lodge is an initial, mainstream category listed (Grade II) Georgian two-storey large house in Richmond Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It sits on high ground with views across the Thames valley to Windsor, the C ...

at the age of 82, having spent over half her life as a widow.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, William Ward, 1st Earl of 1817 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 19th-century English landowners Burials at Worcester Cathedral Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom English cricketers English philanthropists Oxford University cricketers People associated with the National Gallery, London People educated at Eton College Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

People from Boxford, Suffolk Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Worcestershire Yeomanry officers