William Legge, 7th Earl of Dartmouth
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel William Legge, 7th Earl of Dartmouth, GCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

 (22 February 1881 – 28 February 1958) was a British peer and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician, known from 1891–1936 as Viscount Lewisham.

Legge was the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth
William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth GCVO, KCB, PC, VD, TD, JP , styled Viscount Lewisham between 1853 and 1891, was a British peer and Conservative politician...

 and on 7 December 1905, he married Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carrington, the third daughter of the 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire
Robert Wynn Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire
Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire KG, GCMG, PC, DL, JP , known as the Lord Carrington from 1868 to 1895 and as the Earl Carrington from 1895 to 1912, was a British Liberal politician and aristocrat.-Background and education:Born at Whitehall, London, Lincolnshire was the...

 and they had six children:
  • Lady Mary Cecilia (1906–2003), married Noel Findlay
  • Lady Elizabeth
    Lady Elizabeth Basset
    Lady Elizabeth Basset, DCVO was born Lady Elizabeth Legge, the daughter of the 7th Earl of Dartmouth....

     (1908–2000), married Ronald Lambert Basset
  • Lady Diana (1910–1970), married (1) Hon John Hamilton-Russell, (2) Adrian Matthews
  • William, Viscount Lewisham (1913–1942), killed at the Second Battle of El Alamein
    Second Battle of El Alamein
    The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...

  • Lady Barbara (b. 1916), married Adam Kwiatkowski
  • Lady Josceline Gabrielle (1918–1995), married the 7th Marquess of Donegall
    Dermot Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall
    Dermot Richard Claud Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall LVO was an Irish soldier, landowner and member of the House of Lords....



In 1907, he joined the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...

 and entered Parliament in 1910 as MP
Member of Parliament
A 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 West Bromwich
West Bromwich (UK Parliament constituency)
West Bromwich was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1974. It was based around West Bromwich, in the West Midlands...

. He was High Bailiff of Westminster from 1930–42 and was knighted for his services in 1934. Legge inherited his father's titles in 1936. He served with the Staffordshire Yeomanry
Staffordshire Yeomanry
The Staffordshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army.Raised in 1794 following Prime Minister William Pitt's order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion, the Staffordshire Yeomanry began as volunteer cavalry regiment. It first served overseas at the...

 in the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 campaign in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, for which he was awarded the Territorial Decoration
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

. Lord Dartmouth died in 1958 and as he had no surviving male issue, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Hon. Humphry
Humphry Legge, 8th Earl of Dartmouth
Humphry Legge, 8th Earl of Dartmouth, CVO, DSO, KPM was a British peer and police officer.Legge was the youngest son of the 6th Earl of Dartmouth. During World War I, he served as a Commander with the Royal Navy and was mentioned in despatches...

.

Following the death of his father-in-law in 1928 he acted as Deputy Lord Great Chamberlain
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...

 until the death of George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...

 in 1936.

Succession for Lord Great Chamberlain and its rotation system

Lord Dartmouth's wife and heirs have had, or presently have, shares in the succession for the office of Lord Great Chamberlain
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...

, one of the Great Officers of State in England and Wales.
Lady Dartmouth's father, the 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire (1843–1928) held a quarter share in the Office and was Lord Great Chamberlain from the accession of George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...

 until his death in 1928.

As his only son, Viscount Wendover, had been killed in action in 1915 his share was, according to the rule, equally divided between his five daughters (or in Lady Judith's case, her heir) as follows:
  • Lady Marjorie Wynn-Carrington (1880–1968) oo Charles Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme
  • Lady Alexandra Wynn-Carrington (1881–1955) oo Col. William Llewellyn Palmer
  • Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carrington (1883–1963) oo Lord Dartmouth
  • Derek Keppel, Viscount Bury, son of Lady Judith Wynn-Carrington (1889–1928) and Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle.
  • Lady Victoria Wynn-Carrington (1892–1966) oo (1) Lt. Nigel Legge-Bourke, (2) Maj. Hon Edric Weld-Forester.


Each of the above held one fifth of Lord Lincolnshire's quarter share in the office i.e. each held one twentieth share.

During the same reign the office of Lord Great Chamberlain is held by the same share-holding line and thus on Lord Lincolnshire's death devolved upon his senior heir, his eldest daughter Lady Nunburnholme. However, as the office could not be exercised by a woman, Lord Dartmouth (then still Lord Lewisham), her brother-in-law, acted as Deputy Lord Great Chamberlain in her stead until the end of George V's reign.

The Dartmouths' only son, Lord Lewisham, was killed in action in World War II. Lady Dartmouth's twentieth share in the office of Lord Great Chamberlain was, therefore, inherited in equal shares by their five daughters, each of whom then held a one hundredth share. Lady Barbara Kwaitowski stills hold her one hundredth share and the others are held by the heirs of her sisters. The current one hundredths are thus held as follows:
  • Commander Jonathan Mansfeldt Findlay (b. 16 Jan 1933)
  • Bryan Ronald Basset (b. 1932)
  • Col James Gustavus Hamilton-Russell (b. 11 Sep 1938)
  • Lady Barbara Kwiatkowski (b. 24 Jun 1916)
  • (Arthur) Patrick Chichester, 8th Marquess of Donegall (b. 9 May 1952)


The then holder of the senior of these holdings, i.e. that held by Cdr Jonathan Findlay's heirs, will serve as Lord Great Chammberlain in the ninth reign after the current reign.

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