John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute

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John Crichton-Stuart, portrait after Henry Raeburn around 1822

John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute (also John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Earl of Dumfries ) (born August 10, 1793 in Dumfries House , † March 18, 1848 in Cardiff Castle ) was a British nobleman, industrialist and politician . Because of his investments, he is considered the creator of modern Cardiff .

Origin and youth

John Crichton-Stuart came from an old branch of the House of Stuart . He was named John Stuart, the eldest son of John Stuart, Viscount Mount Stuart , the eldest son of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute , and his wife Elizabeth McDowall-Crichton , the only child of Patrick McDowall-Crichton, 6th Earl of Dumfries and his wife Margaret Crauford, born. His father died on January 22, 1794, and after the death of his mother on July 25, 1797, he was orphaned at the age of three, so that he grew up on the estates of his paternal grandfather. After the death of his maternal grandfather, he inherited the title of Earl of Dumfries in 1803, which is why he changed his surname to Crichton-Stuart in 1805 . He attended Eton and Christ's College in Cambridge . At Cambridge, John Kaye, who later became Bishop of Lincoln, was his tutor, who greatly influenced him. In 1812 he graduated with a Master of Arts .

Economic activity

After the death of his paternal grandfather, he inherited the title of Marquess of Bute and the associated subordinate titles in 1814 . By the legacy of his two grandfathers he had become a major landowner, the more than 400 km 2 included land in England, Scotland and Wales. The Dowlais Ironworks and the coal mines of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales were on his estate . Crichton-Stuart began expanding the port of Cardiff , which around 1800 was a small town with a population of just over 1500. His grandfather, the 1st Marquess of Bute, had already linked Cardiff with the coalfield of Merthyr Tydfil through the construction of the Glamorganshire Canal . Stuart built the large-scale Bute Docks in Cardiff , which opened in 1839. These docks made Cardiff the world's most important export port for coal. As a result of industrialization, the city became the largest city in Wales in the 1870s, so Crichton-Stuart is now considered the creator of today's city.

Political activity

The profits, mainly from operating the port, made Crichton-Stuart one of Britain's richest men. He was friends with Wellington and supported them in his stance on Catholic emancipation , the electoral reform of 1832 and the Corn Laws . In Cardiff Castle he had the extension of the manor house, which had been abandoned after the death of his father in 1794, completed by Robert Smirke by 1818 , but did not undertake any further extensions. From 1816 he had excavations and restorations made in Rothesay Castle . From 1815 he was Lord Lieutenant of Bute and Glamorgan and Colonel of the Glamorgan Militia. In 1818 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society . In 1834 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University . From 1838 he was a member of the Society of Antiquaries of London . From 1842 to 1846 he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . In 1843 he was accepted into the thistle order .

Family, death and offspring

Crichton-Stuart married Maria North on July 29, 1818, the eldest daughter of George North, 3rd Earl of Guilford and his first wife Maria Frances Hobart. The marriage remained childless. After her death on September 11, 1841, he married Sophia Rawdon-Hastings on April 10, 1845, a daughter of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings and his wife Flora Mure-Campbell, Countess of Loudoun. From his second marriage he had a son, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart . He died suddenly at the age of 54 and was buried next to his first wife, Mary, in Kirtling , Cambridgeshire . His heir was his only six-month-old son, John Patrick.

Web links

Commons : John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The illustrated history of Cardiff: a brief history. Retrieved September 3, 2014 .
  2. ^ Welsh Biography Online: Bute, marquesses of Bute, Cardiff Castle. Retrieved September 4, 2014 .
predecessor Office successor
John Stuart Marquess of Bute
1814-1848 		John Crichton-Stuart
Patrick McDouall-Crichton Earl of Dumfries
1803-1848 		John Crichton-Stuart
personal data
SURNAME Crichton-Stuart, John, 2nd Marquess of Bute
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stuart, John; Crichton-Stuart, 7th Earl of Dumfries
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobleman, industrialist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1793
PLACE OF BIRTH Dumfries House
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1848
Place of death Cardiff Castle