Thomas Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth (8 February 1775 – 7 March 1855), known as
Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet, from 1791 to 1821, was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
peerThe Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
and
ToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
politician.
Life account
Liddell was the son of Sir Henry Liddell, 5th Baronet and his wife Elizabeth Steele. His younger brother Henry Liddell,
RectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of
EasingtonEasington is a town in eastern County Durham, England. It comprises the ancient village of Easington Village and the ex-mining town of Easington Colliery, which are separate civil parishes. It is located at the junction of the A182 leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole. Seaham Harbour and...
(died 1872) was father of a younger
Henry LiddellHenry George Liddell was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, dean of Christ Church, Oxford, headmaster of Westminster School , author of A History of Rome , and co-author of the monumental work A Greek-English Lexicon, which is still used by students of Greek...
, co-author (with
Robert ScottRobert Scott was an English academic philologist, clergyman, and a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford...
) of the monumental work
A Greek-English Lexicon
He succeeded his father in the baronetcy and to the family estates at Ravensworth Castle and
Eslington ParkEslington Park is privately-owned 18th-century mansion house west of Whittingham, Northumberland, and the family seat of Lord Ravensworth. It is a Grade II* listed building.There was a tower house at Eslington in 1415 in the ownership of Thomas Hesilrige...
and to extensive coal mining interests in 1791. He was
High Sheriff of NorthumberlandThis is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post...
in 1804 and served as
ToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for
County DurhamDurham or County Durham was a county constituency in northern England, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1675 until 1832.- History :...
between 1806 and 1807. On 17 July 1821 he was raised to the peerage as
Baron Ravensworth, of Ravensworth Castle in the County Palatine of Durham and of Eslington Park in the County of Northumberland.
At Ravensworth he demolished the old 1724 house in 1808 and replaced it with a substantial mansion in the
Gothic styleGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
designed by architect
John NashJohn Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
. He also employed
George StephensonGeorge Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
from 1804 at his
KillingworthKillingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town north of Newcastle Upon Tyne, in North Tyneside, United Kingdom.Built as a planned town in the 1960s, most of Killingworth's residents commute to Newcastle, or the city's surrounding area. However, Killingworth itself has a sizeable...
colliery and encouraged and financed him in the development of steam power which was vital for the improvement of the efficiency of the wagonways which transported coal from the pit to the
River TyneThe River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
.
He died in March 1855, aged 80, and was succeeded in his titles by his son
HenryHenry Thomas Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth was a British peer and Member of Parliament for several constituencies....
, who was created
Earl of RavensworthBaron Ravensworth, of Ravensworth Castle in the County Palatine of Durham and of Eslington Park in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet...
in 1874.
Marriage and children
On 26 March 1796, Thomas married Maria Susannah Simpson. She was a daughter of John Simpson and Anne Lyon. Her maternal grandparents were
Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and KinghorneThomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore was the son of John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Lady Elizabeth Stanhope.On 20 July 1736, he married Jean Nicholsen, at Houghton-le-Spring. They had seven children:...
and
Jean NicholsenJean Lyon was the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne and the wife of Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and one of the ancestors of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon...
.
They had twelve children:
- Henry Thomas Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth (10 March 1797 – 19 March 1878).
- Maria Liddell (20 April 1798 - 20 October 1882). Married Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby
Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby KG GCB GCH, PC , styled Viscount Normanby between 1812 and 1831 and known as The Earl of Mulgrave between 1831 and 1838, was a British Whig politician and author...
.
- Thomas Liddell (September 1800 - 9 March 1856). Married Caroline Elizabeth Barrington, daughter of George Barrington, 5th Viscount Barrington.
- Anne Elizabeth Liddell ( 1 November 1801- 4 November 1878). Married Sir Hedworth Williamson, 7th Baronet
Sir Hedworth Williamson, 7th Baronet was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1831 and 1852.Williamson was the son of Sir Hedworth Williamson, 6th Baronet...
.
- Jane Elizabeth Liddell (29 September 1804 - 22 March 1883). Married William Keppel Barrington, 6th Viscount Barrington.
- Elizabeth Charlotte Liddell (17 August 1807-15 April 1890). Married Edward Ernest Villiers, a son of George Villiers
George Villiers , styled The Honourable, was a British courtier and politician. The youngest son of the diplomat Lord Hyde , he was an intimate of Princess Amelia and personal supporter of her father, George III. His favour within the Royal Family and his father's influence brought him a number of...
and grandson of Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of ClarendonThomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Family:Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of Frederick Herne....
. Their daughter Edith Villiers married Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of LyttonEdward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, PC was an English statesman and poet...
.
- Robert Liddell (24 September 1808 - 29 June 1888). Married Emily Ann Charlotte Wellesley, a daughter of Gerald Wellesley
Gerald Valerian Wellesley was a Church of England clergyman who became dean of Windsor.-Family:...
and granddaughter of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of MorningtonGarret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington was an Anglo-Irish politician and composer, best known today for fathering several distinguished British military commanders and politicians.-Life:...
- Susan Liddell (11 January 1810-22 November 1886). Married Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke
Admiral Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke PC , was a British naval commander and Conservative politician.-Background:...
.
- George Augustus Frederick Liddell
George Augustus Frederick Liddell was an English cricketer. Liddell was the son of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. Educated at Eton College, Liddell would later marry Cecil Wellesley, daughter of Gerald Wellesley....
(28 July 1812 - 14 December 1888). Cecil Elizabeth Jane Wellesley, another daughter of Gerald Wellesley and granddaughter of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington.
- Charlotte Amelia Liddell (1 February 1814 - 16 July 1883). Married Captain John Trotter (2nd Lifeguards) of Dyrham Park and had issue.
- Adolphus Frederick Octavious Liddell (15 January 1818 - 27 June 1885). Married Frederica Elizabeth Lane-Fox, daughter of George Lane-Fox and Georgiana Henrietta Buckley. Georgiana was a granddaughter of John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr
John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr was a British peer, politician and army officer.Born The Honourable John West, he was the son of John West, 6th Baron De La Warr and his first wife, the former Lady Charlotte McCarthy...
.
- Georgiana Liddell (13 April 1822 - 21 May 1905). Married John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield, 2nd Baron Bloomfield
John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield, 2nd Baron Bloomfield, GCB, PC, DL was a British peer and diplomatist.-Background:...
.
External links