Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
---|---|
In office 16 September 1943 – 4 January 1972 Hereditary Peerage | |
Preceded by | The 6th Duke of Wellington |
Succeeded by | The 8th Duke of Wellington |
Personal details | |
Born | 21 August 1885 |
Died | 4 January 1972 | (aged 86)
Spouse | Lady Elizabeth Clyde |
Parent(s) | Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington Kathleen Bulkeley Williams |
Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington,
Background and education
Wellesley was the third son of Lord Arthur Wellesley (later 4th Duke of Wellington) and Lady Arthur Wellesley (later Duchess of Wellington, née Kathleen Bulkeley Williams). He was baptised at St Jude's Church of Ireland parish church, Kilmainham, Dublin, on 27 September 1885.[1] He was educated at Eton.
Career
Wellesley served as a diplomat in the
As a somewhat elderly officer with a spinsterish manner, he earned the nickname 'The Iron Duchess.'[citation needed] Simon Heffer, Editor of Chips Channon's diaries Volume 3 in 2022, records that the nickname was devised by Army colleagues as he was gay.
In 1943, he succeeded his nephew, Henry, as Duke of Wellington, Earl of Mornington, and Prince of Waterloo. His nephew's other title, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, passed to Henry's sister (his niece) Lady Anne Rhys, before she ceded it to him in 1949. He served as Lord Lieutenant of the County of London between 1944 and 1949 and as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire between 1949 and 1960. In 1951, he was made a Knight Companion of the Garter.[citation needed]
Architecture projects
Among his architecture projects was the remodelling of 5 Belgrave Square,[3] the London home of Henry "Chips" Channon, an Anglo-American member of Parliament, and of Channon's country house, Kelvedon Hall in Essex.[4] Working with Trenwith Wills, Wellesley also remodeled Castle Hill, Filleigh, in Devon; Hinton Ampner in Hampshire; and Biddick Hall in County Durham[5] and St Mary and St George Church in High Wycombe.[6] Wellesley also designed the Faringdon Folly tower for Lord Berners[7] and built Portland House in Weymouth in 1935.[8]
Books
He was the author of the following books :
- The Iconography of the First Duke of Wellington (1935)
- The Diary of a Desert Journey (1938)
- The Journal of Mrs. Arbuthnot (1950)
- A Selection from the Private Correspondence of the First Duke of Wellington (1952)
Wellington Museum
In 1947 the Duke gave Apsley House and its important contents (Wellington Collection) to the nation with Wellington Museum Act (but retained the right to occupy a large portion for him and his family)
Family
On 30 April 1914, Wellesley married
- Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington (2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014)
- Lady Elizabeth Wellesley (26 December 1918 – 25 November 2013), mother of the actor and musician Jeremy Clyde.
The marriage was unhappy and they separated in 1922,
After his wife's death in 1956, Wellesley reportedly wished to marry his widowed sister-in-law, Lady Serena James, but she did not wish to leave her marital home.[15]
Wellesley died early in 1972. His probate was sworn in the year of his death at £529,260 (equivalent to about £7,400,000 in 2021).[16] He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his only son, Valerian.
References
- ^ "Irish Genealogy". Churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ Butler, Ewan. Amateur Agent. p. 16.
- ^ Owens, Mitchell (11 June 2016). "The Unbelievable Story Behind This Stunning Pair of Antique Chairs". Architectural Digest.
- ^ Historic England. "Kelvedon Hall (Grade I) (1279546)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- National Trust: 38.
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Church of St Mary and St George, Sands, Buckinghamshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ Miller, Norman (1 July 2016). "The surreal and colourful life of Baron Berners". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^ "National Trust renovates Portland House, Weymouth". BBC News. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c R.F. Foster, "W.B. Yeats" (Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 528
- ^ Lady Jane Wellesley, "Wellington: A Journey Through My Family" (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009)
- ^ "[minstrels] John Kinsella's Lament for MRS Mary Moore -- William Butler Yeats". Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Aldritt, Keith (1997). WB Yeats: The Man and the Milieu. Clarkson Potter. p. 337.
- ^ Brittain-Catlin, Timothy. Bleak Houses: Disappointment and Failure in Architecture. p. 92.
- ISBN 9781405517010. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Lady Serena James: Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations