Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster

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Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster

Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster KG (born October 13, 1825 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire , † December 22, 1899 in St. Giles, Dorset ) was a wealthy British aristocrat , politician and a successful horse breeder and owner.

Life

John Singer Sargent : Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, oil on canvas, circa 1875

Hugh Lupus Grosvenor was the eldest son of eleven children of the politician Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (1795–1869), and his wife Lady Elizabeth Mary Leveson-Gower (1797–1891), a daughter of George Granville Leveson-Gower , the later Duke of Sutherland, and the Elizabeth Gordon.

Hugh Grosvenor was placed in the care of an educator very early on. He received an extensive and excellent education, spoke several foreign languages ​​and showed an interest in literature , science , and geography ; and later attended Eton College . For more than 22 years he was a representative of the Liberal Party member in the House of Commons , until he inherited his father as Marquess of Westminster in 1869 and thus received a seat in the House of Lords . In 1874 he was promoted to Duke of Westminster .

Two years later he supported the former liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone in his agitation for international intervention against the Turkish suppression of the Bulgarian April uprising and appeared with him at a public rally in London's St James's Hall.

He continued to hold public offices as Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and later of the County of London . From 1880 to 1885 he was Master of the Horse .

Hugh Grosvenor was one of the most successful racehorse breeders and owners of all time. Ormonde (1883–1904) and Flying Fox (1896–1911) were among his most famous horses . With the Epsom Derby , the 2000 Guineas and the St. Leger, they won the three classic English breeding races of the Triple Crown . In the more than 200 years that the Triple Crown has existed, this has only been achieved by 15 horses. Other important horses were the 2000 Guinea winners of 1881 Peregrine and 1882 Shotover .

It is believed that the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Silver Blaze , one of his Sherlock Holmes stories , leaned the character of Colonel Ross on Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster.

Hugh Grosvenor died in 1899 of complications from pneumonia among his family.

Marriages and offspring

Grosvenor Chapel in Eccleston Church: Cenotaph and Banner of the 1st Duke of Westminster
Grave of Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster

On April 28, 1852 Hugh Grosvenor married in London Lady Constance Gertrude Leveson-Gower VA CBE (1824-1880), the eldest daughter of the politician George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland , and the Lady Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard . Eight children emerged from the connection:

  • Elizabeth Harriet († 1928) ⚭ 1876 James Edward William Theobald Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde
  • Beatrice Constance (1858-1911)
⚭ 1874–1907 Maj. Gen. Charles Compton William Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham
⚭ 1910 Major John Alexander Moncreiffe
  • Victor Alexander (1853–1884), Earl Grosvenor ⚭ 1874 Lady Sibell Mary Lumley
  • Arthur Hugh (1860–1929), Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Grosvenor ⚭ 1893 Lady Helen Sheffield
  • Henry George (1861-1914), Lord Grosvenor
⚭ 1887–1894 Dora Mina Erskine-Wemyss
⚭ 1911 Rosamund Angharad Lloyd

On June 29, 1882, Hugh Grosvenor married a second marriage at Holkham House The Hon. Lady Katherine Caroline Cavendish CBE (1857-1941), the youngest daughter of William George Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham , and the Lady Henrietta Frances Lascelles. Four children emerged from the mutual connection:

  • Mary (1883-1959)
⚭ 1903–1914 Henry William Crichton, Viscount Crichton
⚭ 1918 Colonel Hon. Algernon Francis Stanley
  • Hugh William (fallen 1884–1914), Captain Lord Grosvenor ⚭ 1906 Lady Mabel Florence Mary Crichton
  • Helen Frances (1888–1970) ⚭ 1915 Brig.-Gen. Lord Henry Charles Seymour
  • Edward Arthur (1892–1929), Lord Grosvenor ⚭ 1914 Lady Dorothy Margaret Browne

gallery

  • Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, before 1877

  • Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1890

  • Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, 1891

  • Ormonde

  • Flying fox

Offices and Awards

  • 1847–1869 Member of Parliament for Chester
  • 1880-1885 Master of the Horse
  • 1883–1899 Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire
  • 1889–1899 Lord Lieutenant of the County of London
  • 1869–1899 3rd Marquess of Westminster and 4th Earl Grosvenor
  • 1874–1899 1st Duke of Westminster
  • Knight of the Garter (KG)

literature

  • Alison Weir: Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy , London, UK: The Bodley Head (1999)
  • Charles Mosley: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage , Wilmington, Delaware, USA: Genealogical Books Ltd (2003)
  • Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom , Gloucester, UK: Alan Sutton Publishing (2000)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Aldous: The Lion and the Unicorn. Gladstone vs. Disraeli. Pimlico, London 2007, p. 277.
predecessor Office successor
Richard Grosvenor Marquess of Westminster
1869-1899 		Hugh Grosvenor
New title created Duke of Westminster
1874-1899 		Hugh Grosvenor
personal data
SURNAME Grosvenor, Hugh, 1st Duke of Westminster
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grosvenor, Hugh Lupus, 3rd Marquess of Westminster
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British aristocrat, politician and horse breeder
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1825
PLACE OF BIRTH Eaton Hall Cheshire
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 1899
Place of death St. Giles, Dorset