Memorabilia; Or Recollections, Historical, Biographical, and Antiquarian

by James Savage

ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL NOBLE FAMILIES IN ENGLAND WHO OWE THEIR ELEVATION TO THE PEERAGE TO THEIR ANCESTORS HAVING BEEN ENGAGED IN TRADE.

It is a striking and peculiar feature in the constitution of England, that men who render themselves eminent in the liberal sciences, in the arts, or in commerce, frequently find their pursuits conduct them to a high degree of rank and estimation in the state; and the sovereign has, in numerous instances, conferred the honour of the Peerage on certain individuals, who have contributed by their abilities to enlarge and promote the manufactures and commerce of the nation. Among the families whose ancestors have deserved well of their country, and who owe their elevation to the Peerage to their forefathers having been engaged in trade, the following are honourable instances.

The Earls of Coventry are descended from John Coventry, son of William Coventry, of the city of that name. The former was an opulent mercer, and resided in London, of which city he was Lord Mayor in 1425, and one of the executors of the celebrated Whittington. He was a resolute and determined magistrate, and was highly commended for his spirited interference in the dreadful quarrel between Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and the insolent Cardinal Beaufort, which he successfully quelled.

The family of Rich, Earls of Warwick and Holland, arose from Richard Rich, an opulent mercer, sheriff of London in the year 1441. His descendant, Richard, was distinguished by his knowledge of the law; became Solicitor General in the reign of king Henry the eighth, and treacherously effected the ruin of Sir Thomas More; was created a baron of the realm in the reign of Edward the sixth, and became Lord Chancellor by the favour of the same monarch.

The Holles’s, Earls of Clare, and afterwards Dukes of Newcastle, sprung from Sir William Holles, Lord Mayor of London in 1540, son of William Holles, citizen and baker. His great-grandson was the first who was called to the House of Peers, in the reign of James the first, by the title of Lord Haughton, and soon after was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Clare. The fourth peer of that title was created by king William, Duke of Newcastle; but the title became extinct in his name in 1711.

Sir Thomas Leigh, Lord Mayor of London, in 1558, furnished the Peerage with the addition of two. He was the son of Roger Leigh, of Wellington, in Shropshire. Sir Thomas’s grandson, Francis, was created by Charles the first, Lord Dunsmore, and afterwards Earl of Chichester; and Sir Thomas’s second son, Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stoneleigh, had the honour of being called to the House of Peers by the title of Lord Leigh, of Stoneleigh.

The Pleydell-Bouveries, Earls of Radnor, descend from Edward De Bouverie, an opulent Turkey merchant, who died in 1694.

Ducie, Lord Ducie, is descended from Sir Robert Ducie, who belonged to the company of merchant tailors, and was sheriff of London in 1621, and Lord Mayor in 1631. He was immensely rich, and was made banker to king Charles the first, and on the breaking out of the rebellion, lost £80,000, owing to him by his Majesty. Nevertheless he is said to have left at the time of his death, property in land, money, &c. to his four sons, to the amount of £400,000.

Paul Bayning, sheriff of London in 1593, had a son of the same name, who was first created a baronet, and in the third of Charles the first, a baron of the realm, by the title of Baron Bayning, and soon after a viscount, by the title of Viscount Bayning of Sudbury. He was buried in the paternal tomb, in the church of St. Olave’s. His house was in Mark-lane. After the fire of London, the business of the custom house was transacted in that which went under the name of Lord Bayning’s.

The Cranfields, Earls of Middlesex, rose from Lionel Cranfield, a citizen of London, bred up in the custom house. He became, in 1620, Lord Treasurer of England. The Duke of Dorset is descended from Frances, sister and heir of the third Earl of Middlesex, married to Richard, Earl of Dorset.

The noble family of Ingram, Viscount Irwin, was raised in the reign of queen Elizabeth, by Hugh Irwin, citizen, merchant, and tallow-chandler, who died in 1612. He left a large fortune between two sons; of whom Sir Arthur, the younger, settled in Yorkshire, and purchased a considerable estate, the foundation of the good fortune afterwards enjoyed by the family. The present Marchioness of Hertford is the representative of the Ingrams, being the daughter and co-heir of the last Viscount Irwin.

Sir Stephen Brown, son of John Brown, of Newcastle, Lord Mayor of London, in 1438, and again in 1448, was a grocer, and added another peer, in the person of Sir Anthony Brown, created Viscount Montagu, by Philip and Mary, in 1554.

The Legges rose to be Earls of Dartmouth.—The first who was raised to the peerage was that loyal and gallant naval officer, George Legge, created Baron of Dartmouth in 1682. He was descended from an ancestor who filled the Pretorian Chair of London in the years 1347 and 1354, having by his industry in the trade of a skinner, attained great wealth.

Sir Geoffrey Bullen, Lord Mayor in 1458, was grandfather of Thomas, Earl of Wiltshire, father of Anna Bullen, and grandfather of queen Elizabeth, the highest genealogical honour the city of London ever possessed.

Sir Baptist Hicks was a great mercer at the accession of James the first, and made a large fortune, by supplying the court with silks. He was first knighted, and afterwards created Viscount Campden. It is said he left his two daughters one hundred thousand pounds each. He built a large house in St. John’s street, for the justices of Middlesex to hold their sessions in, which (till its demolition a few years ago, upon the erection of a new sessions house on Clerkenwell Green,) retained the name of Hicks’ Hall.

The Capels, Earls of Essex, are descended from Sir William Capel, draper, Lord Mayor in 1503. He first set up a cage in every ward of London, for the punishment of idle people. It is probable that he had his mansion on the site of the present Stock Exchange, in Capel Court, so called after him.

Michael Dormer, mercer, Mayor in 1542, was the ancestor of the Lords Dormer.

Edward Osborne, was apprentice to Sir William Hewet, clothworker. About the year 1536, when his master lived in one of those tremendous houses on London bridge, a servant maid was playing with his only daughter in her arms, in a window over the water, and accidentally dropped the child. Young Osborne, who was witness to the misfortune, instantly sprung into the river, and beyond all expectations brought her safe to her terrified family. When she was marriageable, several persons of rank paid their addresses to her, and among others the Earl of Shrewsbury; but Sir William gratefully declined in favour of Osborne.—“Osborne saved her,” said he, “and Osborne shall enjoy her.” In her right he possessed a most ample fortune. He became sheriff of London in 1575, and Lord Mayor in 1583, and from his loins sprung the Dukes of Leeds.

From Sir William Craven, merchant tailor, Mayor in 1611, sprung the gallant Earl Craven, who was his eldest son, and was greatly distinguished by his actions in the service of the unfortunate Elector Palatine, by his attachment to the Dowager, and his marriage with that illustrious Princess.

Lord Viscount Dudley and Ward is descended from William Ward, a wealthy goldsmith in London, and jeweller to Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles the first. His son Humble Ward, married Frances, grand-daughter of Edward Sutton, Lord Dudley; who, on the death of her grand-father, became Baroness Dudley; and he himself was created in 1643, Lord Ward of Birmingham.