Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond
Sir Godfrey Kneller | |
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Tenure | 9 August 1675 – 27 May 1723 |
Successor | Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond |
Other titles | 1st Duke of Lennox (Scotland) 1st Earl of March (England) 1st Earl of Darnley (Scotland) 1st Baron Settrington (England) 1st Lord Torbolton (Scotland) 1st Duke of Aubigny (France) |
Born | London, England | 29 July 1672
Died | 27 May 1723 Sussex, England | (aged 50)
Spouse(s) | Anne Brudenell |
Issue | Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Louisa Lennox (Countess of Berkeley) Anne Lennox (Countess of Albemarle) |
Parents | King Charles II of England Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (mistress) |
Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox
On his mother's side, he was descended from the Seigneurs of the Château de Kéroual, a castle built in the 16th century in Kerouat-Bihan, Guilers, Finistère, Brittany, France,[1][2] as well as the House of Plœuc and Kergorlay noble family of Brittany.
Titles
Various titles became eligible for re-grant following the death in 1672 of King Charles II's childless 4th cousin (both being descended in the male line from
This Anglicised
Thus, the Lennox and Richmond titles and the French
On 9 August 1675, King Charles II's illegitimate son (by Louise de Kérouaille) who had been given the surname "Lennox", was created
As the 1st Duke predeceased his mother, he never held the French dukedom, which was however inherited by his son, the duchess's grandson. He was appointed
He was Master of a Lodge in
Marriage and issue
On 8 January 1692 he married Anne Brudenell (d. 9 December 1722), a daughter of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell (d. 1698), eldest son and heir apparent of Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan. By his wife he had issue one son and two daughters:
- Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duc d'Aubigny (1701–1750), son and heir, known during his father's lifetime by the courtesy title of Earl of March;
- Lady Louisa Lennox (Countess of Berkeley), who married James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley;
- Lady Anne Lennox (Countess of Albemarle), who married Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle.
By his mistress Jacqueline de Mézières he had a daughter, Renée Lennox (1709–1774), mistress of her half-first-cousin Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans, the son and heir of the sixth illegitimate son of King Charles II (by his mistress Nell Gwyn).
Patron of cricket
He was a patron of the game of cricket, then becoming a leading professional sport, and did much to develop it in Sussex. It is almost certain that he was involved with the earliest known "great match", which took place in the 1697 season and was the first to be reported by the press. The report was in the Foreign Post dated Wednesday, 7 July 1697:[6]
"The middle of last week a great match at cricket was played in Sussex; there were eleven of a side, and they played for fifty guineas apiece".
The stakes on offer confirm the importance of the fixture and the fact that it was eleven-a-side suggests that two strong and well-balanced teams were assembled.[6] No other details were given but the report provides evidence that cricket, in the form of "great matches" played for high stakes, was in vogue at the time. It was possibly an inter-county match: i.e., a Sussex XI versus a Kent XI or a Surrey XI. Richmond sponsored a team in the 1702 season against an Arundel side.[7] His son Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond inherited his interest in cricket and became the patron of both Sussex county cricket teams and Slindon Cricket Club.
Death and burial
He died on 27 May 1723 and was buried on 7 June 1723 in the Richmond Chapel (
Legacy
Through his daughter,
Arms
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References
- ^ "Château de Kéroual". Spotting History. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Manoir de Keroual". Wiki-Brest. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ the 3rd Duke of Richmond's mother and paternal grandmother were both English
- ^ McNeill, Ronald John (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 306.
- ^ "Duke of Richmond". thefleece.org. The Fleece. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ a b McCann, p. xli.
- ^ McCann, p. 1.
Bibliography
- McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
Further reading
- Late Baron di Bauvso, Malta. 1 January 2000.
- The Adami Collection – collection of Parish records of Marriages, legacy and nobility, National Library of Malta, vol 10, pp 1838.