John Bettesworth-Trevanion
John Trevanion Purnell Bettesworth-Trevanion | |
|---|---|
Christopher Hawkins | |
| Succeeded by | Charles Lemon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1780 Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte Hosier (1801–1810) Susannah Burdett (1830–1840) |
| Children | John, Henry, George, Frederick, Charlotte Agnes |
| Alma mater | Winchester College Eton College |
John Trevanion Purnell Bettesworth-Trevanion (born Bettesworth; 1780 – 8 March 1840) was a Cornish politician. He rebuilt Caerhays as a Gothic-style castle.
Early years
Bettesworth was born in
His education included Winchester College in 1788, and Eton College in 1796.[1][4]
Career
Bettesworth-Trevanion was appointed High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1804.[5]
A
His military career included
Personal life
Bettesworth took the additional name of Trevanion by royal licence on 18 December 1801 when he inherited the Caerhays estate. Three days later, he married Charlotte Hosier (died 1810; age 27) by whom he had four sons including, John Charles Trevanion Bettesworth, Henry Trevanion Bettesworth (d. 1855), George Bettesworth (
Bettesworth-Trevanion rebuilt Caerhays as a Gothic-style castle using the design of the Anglo-Welsh architect John Nash.[4] Construction began in 1807 and was completed in 1810. As a consequence of his extravagance, Bettesworth-Trevanion fell heavily into debt, fleeing to Paris,[11] forced to live abroad.[4]
Described as "the very arbiter elegantiarum", he died in Brussels, Belgium in 1840.[4]
In popular culture
He is a recurring character in the later Poldark novels by Winston Graham. The books stress both the magnificence of Caerhays and the ruinous cost to Trevanion of the rebuilding: a well-informed neighbour remarks that "the madman's nigh on bankrupt". Bella Poldark, the final novel in the Poldark sequence, details his flight abroad.
References
- ^ a b Boase, George Clement; Courtney, William Prideaux (1878). Bibliotheca Cornubiensis: P-Z. Vol. 2 (Digitized 26 Sep 2006 ed.). Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. p. 791.
- ^ Burke, John (1833). A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland (Digitized 17 Sep 2008 ed.). p. 255.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine (Digitized 18 Sep 2008 ed.). 1840. 1840. p. 544.
- ^ ISBN 0-436-52101-6.
- ^ a b Burke, Sir Bernard (1863). A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. 2 (Digitized 9 June 2006 ed.). Harrison. p. 1538.
- ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- ^ Polsue, Joseph (1870). A complete parochial history of the county of Cornwall. Vol. 3 (Digitized 24 April 2007 ed.). p. 340.
- ^ Henry Trevanion. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ^ [1]. Georgiana Leigh was a daughter of George Leigh (son of Frances Byron) and Hon Augusta Byron (dau of John Byron); both Byron grandparents (siblings) were children of Sophia Trevanion who married Admiral Hon John Byron. Sophia Trevanion, the great-grandmother, was a daughter of John Trevanion of Caerhayes. The relationship was probably not very close, making them third cousins or less.
- ^ Georgiana Leigh. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ISBN 978-0-906720-57-8.