PEERAGES
Last updated 21/06/2018 (18 Jan 2024)
Date	Rank	Order	Name	Born	Died	Age
WADDINGTON
4 Dec 1990 to     23 Feb 2017	B[L]		David Charles Waddington Created Baron Waddington for life 4 Dec 1990 MP for Nelson & Colne 1968‑1974, Clitheroe 1979‑1983 and Ribble Valley 1983‑1990; Minister of State, Home Office 1983‑1987; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1987‑1989; Home Secretary 1989‑1990; Lord Privy Seal 1990‑1992; Governor of Bermuda 1992‑1997; PC 1987 Peerage extinct on his death	2 Aug 1929	23 Feb 2017	87
WADE
28 Dec 1964 to     6 Nov 1988	B[L]		Donald William Wade Created Baron Wade for life 28 Dec 1964 MP for Huddersfield West 1950‑1964 Peerage extinct on his death	16 Jun 1904	6 Nov 1988	84
WADE OF CHORLTON
16 May 1990 to     7 Jun 2018	B[L]		Sir (William) Oulton Wade Created Baron Wade of Chorlton for life 16 May 1990 Peerage extinct on his death	24 Dec 1932	7 Jun 2018	85
WAKE
1 Oct 1295	B	1	John Wake Summoned to Parliament as Lord Wake 1 Oct 1295		10 Apr 1300
10 Apr 1300		2	Thomas Wake	c 1298	31 May 1349
31 May 1349		3	Margaret Plantagenet		29 Sep 1349
29 Sep 1349		4	John Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Kent	7 Apr 1330	22 Dec 1352	22
22 Dec 1352		5	Joan de Holand	1331	8 Jul 1385	54
8 Jul 1385		6	Thomas de Holand, 2nd Earl of Kent	1350	25 Apr 1397	46
25 Apr 1397		7	Thomas de Holand, 3rd Earl of Kent	1374	6 Jan 1400	25
6 Jan 1400 to     18 Sep 1408		8	Edmund de Holand, 4th Earl of Kent On his death the peerage fell into abeyance	8 Jan 1384	18 Sep 1408	24
WAKEFIELD
20 Jan 1930 28 Jun 1934 to     15 Jan 1941	B V	1 1	Sir Charles Cheers Wakefield, 1st baronet Created Baron Wakefield 20 Jan 1930 and Viscount Wakefield 28 Jun 1934 Peerages extinct on his death	12 Dec 1859	15 Jan 1941	81
WAKEFIELD OF KENDAL
15 Nov 1963 to     12 Aug 1983	B	1	Sir William Wavell Wakefield Created Baron Wakefield of Kendal 15 Nov 1963 MP for Swindon 1935‑1945 and St. Marylebone 1945‑1963 Peerage extinct on his death	10 Mar 1898	12 Aug 1983	85
WAKEHAM
24 Apr 1992	B[L]		John Wakeham Created Baron Wakeham for life 24 Apr 1992 MP for Maldon 1974‑1983 and Colchester South & Maldon 1983‑1992; Minister of State, Treasury 1982‑1983; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1983‑1987; Lord Privy Seal 1987‑1988 and 1992‑1994; Lord President of the Council 1988‑1989; Secretary of State for Energy 1989‑1992; PC 1983	22 Jun 1932
WAKEHURST
29 Jun 1934	B	1	Gerald Walter Erskine Loder Created Baron Wakehurst 29 Jun 1934 MP for Brighton 1889‑1905	23 Oct 1861	30 Apr 1936	74
30 Apr 1936		2	John de Vere Loder MP for Leicester East 1924‑1929 and Lewes 1931‑1936; Governor of New South Wales 1937‑1946 and Northern Ireland 1952‑1964; KG 1962	5 Feb 1895	30 Oct 1970	75
30 Oct 1970		3	John Christopher Loder	23 Sep 1925	29 Jul 2022	96
29 Jul 2022		4	Timothy Walter Loder	28 Mar 1958
WALBERTON
9 Jan 1956	V	1	Frederick James Marquis, 1st Viscount Woolton Created Viscount Walberton and Earl of Woolton 9 Jan 1956 See "Woolton"	24 Aug 1883	14 Dec 1964	81
WALDEGRAVE
20 Jan 1686	B	1	Sir Henry Waldegrave, 4th baronet Created Baron Waldegrave 20 Jan 1686 Lord Lieutenant Somerset 1687‑1689	1661	24 Jan 1689	37
24 Jan 1689 13 Sep 1729	E	2 1	James Waldegrave Created Viscount Chewton and Earl Waldegrave 13 Sep 1729 PC 1735; KG 1738 For information on his daughter, Henrietta, see the note at the foot of this page	1684	11 Apr 1741	56
11 Apr 1741		2	James Waldegrave PC 1752; KG 1757	4 Mar 1715	28 Apr 1763	48
28 Apr 1763		3	John Waldegrave MP for Orford 1747‑1754 and Newcastle-under-Lyme 1754‑1763; Lord Lieutenant Essex 1781‑1784	28 Apr 1718	22 Oct 1784	66
22 Oct 1784		4	George Waldegrave MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1774‑1780; PC 1782	23 Nov 1751	22 Oct 1789	37
22 Oct 1789		5	George Waldegrave For further information on the death of this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	13 Jul 1784	29 Jun 1794	9
29 Jun 1794		6	John James Waldegrave	31 Jul 1785	31 Jul 1835	50
31 Jul 1835		7	George Edward Waldegrave For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	8 Feb 1816	28 Sep 1846	30
28 Sep 1846		8	William Waldegrave MP for Bedford 1815‑1818	27 Oct 1788	24 Oct 1859	70
24 Oct 1859		9	William Frederick Waldegrave PC 1897	2 Mar 1851	12 Aug 1930	79
12 Aug 1930		10	William Edward Seymour Waldegrave	2 Oct 1882	30 Jan 1933	50
30 Jan 1933		11	Henry Noel Waldegrave	14 Oct 1854	30 Dec 1936	82
30 Dec 1936		12	Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave KG 1971	21 Nov 1905	23 May 1995	89
23 May 1995		13	James Sherbrooke Waldegrave	8 Dec 1940
WALDEGRAVE OF NORTH HILL
28 Jul 1999	B[L]		William Arthur Waldegrave Created Baron Waldegrave of North Hill for life 28 Jul 1999 MP for Bristol West 1979‑1997; Secretary of State for Health 1990‑1992; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1992‑1994; Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food 1994‑1995; Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1995‑1997; PC 1990	15 Aug 1946
WALDEN
17 Dec 1694	V[S]	1	John Hay, 2nd Earl of Tweeddale Created Lord Hay of Yester, Viscount of Walden, Earl of Gifford and Marquess of Tweeddale 17 Dec 1694 See "Tweeddale"	1626	11 Aug 1697	71
WALERAN
23 Dec 1905	B	1	Sir William Hood Walrond, 2nd baronet Created Baron Waleran 23 Dec 1905 MP for Devonshire East 1880‑1885 and Tiverton 1885‑1906; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1902‑1905; PC 1899	26 Feb 1849	17 May 1925	76
17 May 1925 to     4 Apr 1966		2	William George Hood Walrond Peerage extinct on his death	30 Mar 1905	4 Apr 1966	61
WALEYS
15 May 1321	B	1	Richard de Waleys Summoned to Parliament as Lord Waleys 15 May 1321		after 1331
after 1331 to     1347		2	Stephen de Waleys On his death the peerage fell into abeyance		1347
c 1360 to     c 1400		3	Elizabeth Neville She became entitled to the peerage c 1360 but on her death the peerage became either extinct or dormant		c 1400
WALKDEN
9 Jul 1945 to     25 Apr 1951	B	1	Alexander George Walkden Created Baron Walkden 9 Jul 1945 MP for Bristol South 1929‑1931 and 1935‑1945 Peerage extinct on his death	11 May 1873	25 Apr 1951	77
WALKER OF ALDRINGHAM
19 Dec 2006	B[L]		Sir Michael John Dawson Walker Created Baron Walker of Aldringham for life 19 Dec 2006 Chief of the Defence Staff 2003‑2006	7 Jul 1944
WALKER OF DONCASTER
26 Sep 1997 to     11 Nov 2003	B[L]		Sir Harold Walker Created Baron Walker of Doncaster for life 26 Sep 1997 MP for Doncaster 1964‑1983 and Doncaster Central 1983‑1997; Minister of State, Employment 1976‑1979; PC 1979 Peerage extinct on his death	12 Jul 1927	11 Nov 2003	76
WALKER OF GESTINGTHORPE
1 Oct 2002 to     16 Nov 2023	B[L]		Sir Robert Walker Created Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe for life 1 Oct 2002 Lord Justice of Appeal 1997‑2002; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 2002‑2009; Justice of the Supreme Court 2009‑2013; PC 1997 Peerage extinct on his death	17 Mar 1938	16 Nov 2023	85
WALKER OF WORCESTER
8 Jul 1992 to     23 Jun 2010	B[L]		Peter Edward Walker Created Baron Walker of Worcester for life 8 Jul 1992 MP for Worcester 1961‑1992; Minister of Housing & Local Government 1970; Secretary of State for Environment 1970‑1972; Secretary of State for Trade & Industry 1972‑1974; Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food 1979‑1983; Secretary of State for Energy 1983‑1987; Secretary of State for Wales 1987‑1990; PC 1970 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Mar 1932	23 Jun 2010	78
WALL
5 Feb 1976 to     29 Dec 1980	B[L]		Sir John Edward Wall Created Baron Wall for life 5 Feb 1976 Peerage extinct on his death	15 Feb 1913	29 Dec 1980	67
WALL OF NEW BARNET
10 Jun 2004 to     25 Jan 2017	B[L]		Margaret Mary Wall Created Baroness Wall of New Barnet for life 10 Jun 2004 Peerage extinct on her death	14 Nov 1941	25 Jan 2017	75
WALLACE
2 Feb 1828 to     23 Feb 1844	B	1	Thomas Wallace Created Baron Wallace 2 Feb 1828 MP for Grampound 1790‑1796, Penryn 1796‑1802, Hindon 1802‑1806, Shaftesbury 1807‑1812, Weymouth & Melcombe Regis 1812‑1813 and 1818‑1828, and Cockermouth 1813‑1818; President of the Board of Control 1807‑1816; Vice President of the Board of Trade 1818‑1823; PC 1801 Peerage extinct on his death	c 1768	23 Feb 1844
WALLACE OF CAMPSIE
28 Jun 1974 to     23 Dec 1997	B[L]		George Wallace Created Baron Wallace of Campsie for life 28 Jun 1974 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Feb 1915	23 Dec 1997	82
WALLACE OF COSLANY
17 Jan 1975 to     11 Nov 2003	B[L]		George Douglas Wallace Created Baron Wallace of Coslany for life 17 Jan 1975 MP for Chislehurst 1945‑1950 and Norwich North 1964‑1974 Peerage extinct on his death	18 Apr 1906	11 Nov 2003	97
WALLACE OF SALTAIRE
19 Dec 1995	B[L]		William John Lawrence Wallace Created Baron Wallace of Saltaire for life 19 Dec 1995 PC 2012	12 Mar 1941
WALLACE OF TANKERNESS
17 Oct 2007	B[L]		James Robert Wallace Created Baron Wallace of Tankerness for life 17 Oct 2007 MP for Orkney & Shetland 1983‑2001; Advocate General for Scotland 2010‑2015; PC 2000	25 Aug 1954
WALLINGFORD
7 Nov 1616 to     25 May 1632	V	1	William Knollys Created Baron Knollys 13 May 1603, Viscount Wallingford 7 Nov 1616 and Earl of Banbury 18 Aug 1626 On his death the peerage was considered to be extinct, although there were legitimate heirs	c 1547	25 May 1632
WALLOP
11 Jun 1720	B	1	John Wallop Created Baron Wallop and Viscount Lymington 11 Jun 1720, and Earl of Portsmouth 11 Apr 1743 See "Portsmouth"	15 Apr 1690	22 Nov 1762	72
WALLSCOURT
31 Jul 1800 to     28 Mar 1803	B[I]	1	Joseph Henry Blake Created Baron Wallscourt 31 Jul 1800 The creation of this peerage contained a special remainder, in default of heirs male of his body, to those of his father. For information on the difficulties subsequently caused by the wording of this remainder, see the note at the foot of this page MP [I] for Galway County 1790‑1800 On his death the peerage was suspended until 1806	5 Oct 1765	28 Mar 1803	37
1806		2	Joseph Henry Blake	23 Jul 1795	11 Oct 1816	21
11 Oct 1816		3	Joseph Henry Blake	2 Jun 1797	28 May 1849	51
28 May 1849		4	Erroll Augustus Blake	22 Aug 1841	22 Jul 1918	76
22 Jul 1918 to     27 May 1920		5	Charles William Joseph Henry Blake Peerage extinct on his death For further information on this peerage and the 5th Baron in particular, see the note at the foot of this page	12 Jan 1875	27 May 1920	45
WALMSLEY
15 May 2000	B[L]		Joan Margaret Walmsley Created Baroness Walmsley for life 15 May 2000	12 Apr 1943
WALNEY
4 Sep 2020	B[L]		John Zak Woodcock Created Baron Walney for life 4 Sep 2020 MP for Barrow & Furness 2010‑2019	14 Oct 1978
WALPOLE
1 Jun 1723	B	1	Robert Walpole Created Baron Walpole of Walpole 1 Jun 1723 This creation contained a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his brothers, Edward and Horatio, and to his father Sir Robert, with remainder finally to the heirs male of the body of his grandfather Robert Walpole He succeeded to the Earldom of Orford and the Viscountcy of Walpole in 1745	1701	31 Mar 1751	49
31 Mar 1751		2	George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford	2 Apr 1730	5 Dec 1791	61
5 Dec 1791		3	Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford On his death the creations of 1742 became extinct but the Barony of 1723 passed to -	5 Oct 1717	2 Mar 1797	79
2 Mar 1797		4	Horatio Walpole, 2nd Baron Walpole of Wolterton Created Earl of Orford 10 Apr 1806 MP for Kings Lynn 1747‑1757	12 Jun 1723	24 Feb 1809	85
24 Feb 1809		5	Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford	13 Jun 1752	15 Jun 1822	70
15 Jun 1822		6	Horatio Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford	14 Jun 1783	29 Dec 1858	75
29 Dec 1858		7	Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford	18 Apr 1813	7 Dec 1894	81
7 Dec 1894		8	Robert Horace Walpole, 5th Earl of Orford	10 Jul 1854	27 Sep 1931	77
27 Sep 1931		9	Robert Henry Montgomerie Walpole	25 Apr 1913	25 Feb 1989	75
25 Feb 1989		10	Robert Horatio Walpole [Elected hereditary peer 1999‑2017]	8 Dec 1938	8 May 2021	82
8 May 2021		11	Jonathan Robert Hugh Walpole	16 Nov 1967
6 Feb 1742	V	1	Robert Walpole Created Baron Houghton, Viscount Walpole and Earl of Orford 6 Feb 1742 His son had been previously created Baron Walpole in 1723 - see above	26 Aug 1676	18 Mar 1745	68
WALPOLE OF WOLTERTON
4 Jun 1756	B	1	Horatio Walpole Created Baron Walpole of Wolterton 4 Jun 1756 MP for Lostwithiel 1710, Castle Rising 1713‑1715, Bere Alston 1715‑1717, East Looe 1718‑1722, Great Yarmouth 1722‑1734 and Norwich 1734‑1756; Chief Secretary Ireland 1720; PC [I] 1720; PC 1730	8 Dec 1678	5 Feb 1757	78
5 Jan 1757		2	Horatio Walpole Created Earl of Orford 10 Apr 1806 He succeeded to the Barony of Walpole in 1797	12 Jun 1723	24 Feb 1809	85
WALSINGHAM
7 Apr 1722 to     16 Sep 1778	E[L]		Melusina von der Schulenberg Created Baroness of Aldborough and Countess of Walsingham for life 7 Apr 1722 Peerages extinct on her death	c 1693	16 Sep 1778
			For information on the connection between the de Grey family and the tradion of the "Babes in the Wood", see the note at the foot of this page
17 Oct 1780	B	1	Sir William de Grey Created Baron Walsingham 17 Oct 1780 MP for Newport (Cornwall) 1761‑1770 and Cambridge University 1770‑1771; Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 1771‑1780; PC 1771	7 Jul 1719	9 May 1781	61
9 May 1781		2	Thomas de Grey MP for Wareham 1774, Tamworth 1774‑1780 and Lostwithiel 1780‑1781; Postmaster General 1787‑1794; PC 1783	14 Jul 1748	16 Jan 1818	69
16 Jan 1818		3	George de Grey For further information on the death of this peer and his wife, see the note at the foot of this page	11 Jun 1776	26 Apr 1831	54
26 Apr 1831		4	Thomas de Grey	10 Apr 1778	8 Sep 1839	61
8 Sep 1839		5	Thomas de Grey	6 Jul 1804	31 Dec 1870	66
31 Dec 1870		6	Thomas de Grey MP for Norfolk West 1865‑1871	29 Jul 1843	3 Dec 1919	76
3 Dec 1919		7	John Augustus de Grey	21 Mar 1849	21 Mar 1929	80
21 Mar 1929		8	George de Grey	9 May 1884	29 Nov 1965	81
29 Nov 1965		9	John de Grey	21 Feb 1925
WALSTON
10 Feb 1961 to     29 May 1991	B[L]		Henry David Leonard George Walston Created Baron Walston for life 10 Feb 1961 MEP 1975‑1977 Peerage extinct on his death	16 Jun 1912	29 May 1991	78
WALTHAM
22 Jun 1762	B[I]	1	John Olmius Created Baron Waltham 22 Jun 1762 MP for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis 1737‑1741 and 1761‑1762, and Colchester 1741‑1742 and 1754‑1761	18 Jul 1711	5 Oct 1762	51
5 Oct 1762 to     10 Feb 1787		2	Drigue Billers Olmius MP for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis 1768‑1774 and Maldon 1784‑1787 Peerage extinct on his death	12 Mar 1746	10 Feb 1787	40
WALTON OF DETCHANT
24 Jul 1989 to     21 Apr 2016	B[L]		Sir John Nicholas Walton Created Baron Walton of Detchant for life 24 Jul 1989 Peerage extinct on his death	16 Sep 1922	21 Apr 2016	93
WANDESFORD
15 Mar 1707	B[I]	1	Sir Christopher Wandesford Created Baron Wandesford and Viscount Castlecomer 15 Mar 1707	19 Aug 1656	15 Sep 1707	51
15 Sep 1707		2	Christopher Wandesford MP for Morpeth 1710‑1714 and Ripon 1714; Secretary at War 1717; PC [I] 1710	2 Mar 1684	23 Jun 1719	35
23 Jun 1719		3	Christopher Wandesford	1717	10 May 1736	18
10 May 1736		4	George Wandesford	22 Sep 1687	25 Jun 1751	63
25 Jun 1751 15 Aug 1758 to     12 Jan 1784	E[I]	5 1	John Wandesford Created Earl Wandesford 15 Aug 1758 Peerages extinct on his death	24 May 1725	12 Jan 1784	58
WANDSWORTH
19 Jul 1895 to     10 Feb 1912	B	1	Sydney James Stern Created Baron Wandsworth 19 Jul 1895 MP for Stowmarket 1891‑1895 Peerage extinct on his death	1845	10 Feb 1912	66
WANTAGE
23 Jul 1885 to     10 Jun 1901	B	1	Sir Robert James Loyd‑Lindsay VC Created Baron Wantage 23 Jul 1885 MP for Berkshire 1865‑1885; Lord Lieutenant Berkshire 1886‑1901 Peerage extinct on his death For further information on this peer and VC winner, see the note at the foot of this page	16 Apr 1832	10 Jun 1901	69
WARD
23 Mar 1644	B	1	Sir Humble Ward Created Baron Ward 23 Mar 1644		14 Oct 1670
14 Oct 1670		2	Edward Ward, later [1697] 11th Lord Dudley	1631	3 Aug 1701	70
3 Aug 1701		3	Edward Ward, 12th Lord Dudley	20 Dec 1683	28 Mar 1704	20
28 Mar 1704		4	Edward Ward, 13th Lord Dudley	16 Jun 1704	6 Sep 1731	27
6 Sep 1731		5	William Ward, 14th Lord Dudley	16 Oct 168-	20 May 1740
20 May 1740		6	John Ward Created Viscount Dudley & Ward of Dudley 21 Apr 1763	c 1700	6 May 1774
6 May 1774		7	John Ward, 2nd Viscount Dudley & Ward of Dudley	22 Feb 1725	10 Oct 1788	63
10 Oct 1788		8	William Ward, 3rd Viscount Dudley & Ward of Dudley	21 Jan 1750	25 Apr 1823	73
25 Apr 1823		9	John William Ward, 4th Viscount Dudley & Ward of Dudley Created Viscount Ednam and Earl of Dudley of Dudley Castle 5 Oct 1827	9 Aug 1781	6 Mar 1833	51
6 Mar 1833		10	William Humble Ward For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	9 Jan 1781	6 Dec 1835	54
6 Dec 1835		11	William Ward Created Viscount Ednam and Earl of Dudley 17 Feb 1860 See "Dudley"	27 Mar 1817	7 May 1885	68
WARD OF NORTH TYNESIDE
23 Jan 1975 to     26 Apr 1980	B[L]		Dame Irene Mary Bewick Ward Created Baroness Ward of North Tyneside for life 23 Jan 1975 MP for Wallsend 1931‑1945 and Tynemouth 1950‑1974; CH 1973 Peerage extinct on her death	23 Feb 1895	26 Apr 1980	85
WARD OF WITLEY
11 Nov 1960 to     15 Jun 1988	V	1	George Reginald Ward Created Viscount Ward of Witley 11 Nov 1960 MP for Worcester 1945‑1960; Secretary of State for Air 1957‑1960; PC 1957 Peerage extinct on his death	20 Nov 1907	15 Jun 1988	80
WARDINGTON
17 Jul 1936	B	1	John William Beaumont Pease Created Baron Wardington 17 Jul 1936	4 Jul 1869	7 Aug 1950	81
7 Aug 1950		2	Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease	22 Jan 1924	6 Jul 2005	81
6 Jul 2005 to     19 Mar 2019		3	William Simon Pease Peerage extinct on his death	15 Oct 1925	19 Mar 2019	93
WARGRAVE
22 Nov 1922 to     17 Jul 1936	B	1	Sir Edward Alfred Goulding, 1st baronet Created Baron Wargrave 22 Nov 1922 MP for Devizes 1895‑1906 and Worcester 1908‑1922; PC 1918 Peerage extinct on his death	5 Nov 1862	17 Jul 1936	73
WARING
18 Jul 1922	B	1	Sir Samuel James Waring, 1st baronet Created Baron Waring 18 Jul 1922 Peerage extinct on his death	19 Apr 1860	9 Jan 1940	79
WARKWORTH
2 Oct 1749	B	1	Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset Created Baron Warkworth and Earl of Northumberland 2 Oct 1749 See "Northumberland"	11 Nov 1684	7 Feb 1750	65
WARNER
29 Jul 1998	B[L]		Norman Reginald Warner Created Baron Warner for life 29 Jul 1998 PC 2006	8 Sep 1940
WARNOCK
6 Feb 1985 to     20 Mar 2019	B[L]		Dame Helen Mary Warnock Created Baroness Warnock for life 6 Feb 1985 CH 2016 Peerage extinct on her death	14 Apr 1924	20 Mar 2019	94
WARRINGTON
17 Apr 1690	E	1	Henry Booth, 2nd Baron Delamer Created Earl of Warrington 17 Apr 1690 MP for Cheshire 1678‑1681; Lord Lieutenant Cheshire 1689‑1694; PC 1689	13 Jan 1652	2 Jan 1694	41
2 Jan 1694 to     2 Aug 1758		2	George Booth Peerage extinct on his death	2 May 1675	2 Aug 1758	83
22 Apr 1796	E	1	George Harry Gray, 5th Earl of Stamford Created Baron Delamer and Earl of Warrington 22 Apr 1796	1 Oct 1737	23 May 1819	81
23 May 1819		2	George Harry Gray, 6th Earl of Stamford	31 Oct 1765	26 Apr 1845	79
26 Apr 1845 to     2 Jan 1883		3	George Harry Gray, 7th Earl of Stamford Peerage extinct on his death	7 Jan 1827	2 Jan 1883	55
WARRINGTON OF CLYFFE
25 Oct 1926 to     26 Oct 1937	B	1	Sir Thomas Rolls Warrington Created Baron Warrington of Clyffe 25 Oct 1926 Lord Justice of Appeal 1915‑1926; PC 1915 Peerage extinct on his death	29 May 1851	26 Oct 1937	86
WARSI
11 Oct 2007	B[L]		Sayeeda Warsi Created Baroness Warsi for life 11 Oct 2007 Minister without Portfolio 2010‑2012; PC 2010	28 Mar 1971
WARWICK
1088	E	1	Henry de Newburgh Created Earl of Warwick 1088	c 1048	20 Jun 1123
20 Jun 1123		2	Roger de Newburgh		12 Jun 1153
12 Jun 1153		3	William de Newburgh		15 Nov 1184
15 Nov 1184		4	Waleran de Newburgh		12 Dec 1204
12 Dec 1204		5	Henry de Newburgh		10 Oct 1229
10 Oct 1229		6	Thomas de Newburgh		26 Jun 1242
26 Jun 1242		7	Margaret She married (1) John Marshal who died Oct 1242 and (2) John du Plessis who died 26 Feb 1263, both of whom were Earls in her right
26 Feb 1263		8	William Mauduit		8 Jan 1268
8 Jan 1268		9	William de Beauchamp		9 Jun 1298
9 Jun 1298		10	Guy Beauchamp		10 Aug 1315
10 Aug 1315		11	Thomas Beauchamp KG c 1348		12 Nov 1369
12 Nov 1369		12	Thomas Beauchamp KG 1373		8 Apr 1401
8 Apr 1401		13	Richard Beauchamp KG 1403		30 Apr 1439
30 Apr 1439 5 Apr 1445 to     11 Jun 1446	D	14 1	Henry Beauchamp Created Duke of Warwick 5 Apr 1445 On his death the Dukedom became extinct whilst the Earldom passed to -	21 Mar 1425	11 Jun 1446	21
11 Jun 1446 to     3 Jan 1449		15	Anne Beauchamp On her death the peerage reverted to the Crown	Feb 1443	3 Jan 1449	5
23 Jul 1449	E	1	Richard Nevill Created Earl of Warwick 23 Jul 1449 KG 1461	22 Nov 1428	14 Apr 1471	42
14 Apr 1471		2	Anne Nevill (widow of 1st Earl)		Feb 1493
Feb 1493 to     24 Nov 1499		3	Edward Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Salisbury He was attainted and the peerages forfeited	21 Feb 1475	24 Nov 1499	24
18 Feb 1547 to     22 Aug 1553	E	1	John Dudley, 1st Viscount Lisle Created Earl of Warwick 16 Feb 1547 and Duke of Northumberland 11 Oct 1551 He was attainted and the peerages forfeited		22 Aug 1553
5 Jan 1553 to     21 Oct 1554		2	John Dudley Summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Earl of Warwick 5 Jan 1553 Peerage extinct on his death		21 Oct 1554
26 Dec 1561 to     21 Feb 1590	E	1	Ambrose Dudley Created Baron Lisle 25 Dec 1561 and Earl of Warwick 26 Dec 1561 Lord Lieutenant Warwick 1569‑1570 and 1587‑1589; KG 1563 Peerage extinct on his death	c 1528	21 Feb 1590
2 Aug 1618	E	1	Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich Created Earl of Warwick 2 Aug 1618	Dec 1559	24 Mar 1619	59
24 Mar 1619		2	Robert Rich MP for Maldon 1610‑1611 and 1614‑1619; Lord Lieutenant Essex 1625	May 1587	19 Apr 1658	70
19 Apr 1658		3	Robert Rich MP for Essex 1629 and 1640‑1641	28 Jun 1611	29 May 1659	47
29 May 1659		4	Charles Rich MP for Sandwich 1645‑1653 and Essex 1659	1616	24 Aug 1673	57
24 Aug 1673		5	Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Holland	c 1620	16 Apr 1675
16 Apr 1675		6	Edward Rich, 3rd Earl of Holland For information of this peer's trial for murder in 1699, see the note at the foot of this page	1673	31 Jul 1701	28
31 Jul 1701		7	Edward Henry Rich, 4th Earl of Holland	20 Jan 1698	16 Aug 1721	23
16 Aug 1721 to     7 Sep 1759		8	Edward Rich, 5th Earl of Holland Peerages extinct on his death	1695	7 Sep 1759	64
13 Nov 1759	E	1	Francis Greville, 1st Earl Brooke Created Earl of Warwick 13 Nov 1759 The peerage remains united with the Earldom of Brooke	10 Oct 1719	6 Jul 1773	53
WARWICK OF UNDERCLIFFE
10 Jul 1999	B[L]		Diana Warwick Created Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe for life 10 Jul 1999	16 Jul 1945
WASSERMAN
11 Jan 2011	B[L]		Gordon Joshua Wasserman Creared Baron Wasserman for life 11 Jan 2011	26 Jul 1938
WATERFORD
17 Jul 1446	E[I]	1	John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Created Earl of Waterford 17 Jul 1446 This peerage reamins united with the Earldom of Shrewsbury	1390	17 Jul 1453	63
19 Aug 1789	M[I]	1	George de la Poer Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone Created Marquess of Waterford 19 Aug 1789 MP [I] for Waterford County 1757‑1760 and Coleraine 1761‑1763; PC [I] 1763; KP 1783	8 Jan 1735	3 Dec 1800	65
3 Dec 1800		2	Henry de la Poer Beresford MP [I] for Londonderry County 1790‑1800; PC [I] 1801; KP 1806	23 May 1772	16 Jul 1826	54
16 Jul 1826		3	Henry de la Poer Beresford KP 1845 For further information on the 'curse' to which tradition ascribes a number of violent deaths of members of the Beresford family, see the note at the foot of this page	26 Apr 1811	29 Mar 1859	47
29 Mar 1859		4	John de la Poer Beresford	27 Apr 1814	6 Nov 1866	52
6 Nov 1866		5	John Henry de la Poer Beresford MP for co. Waterford 1865‑1866; Lord Lieutenant Waterford 1874‑1895; KP 1868; PC [I] 1879; PC 1885	21 May 1844	23 Oct 1895	51
23 Oct 1895		6	Henry de la Poer Beresford KP 1902	28 Apr 1875	1 Dec 1911	36
1 Dec 1911		7	John Charles de la Poer Beresford For further information on the Waterford Peerage claim of 1913‑1918, see the note at the foot of this page	6 Jan 1901	25 Sep 1934	33
25 Sep 1934		8	John Hubert de la Poer Beresford	14 Jul 1933	11 Feb 2015	81
11 Feb 2015		9	Henry Nicholas de la Poer Beresford	23 Mar 1958
WATERPARK
15 Jun 1792	B[I]	1	Sarah Cavendish Created Baroness Waterpark 15 Jun 1792	1 Apr 1740	4 Aug 1807	67
4 Aug 1807		2	Sir Richard Cavendish, 3rd baronet MP [I] for Portarlington 1790‑1798	13 Jul 1765	1 Jun 1830	64
1 Jun 1830		3	Henry Manners Cavendish MP for Knaresborough 1830‑1832, Derbyshire South 1832‑1835 and Lichfield 1854‑1856	8 Nov 1793	31 Mar 1863	69
31 Mar 1863		4	Henry Anson Cavendish	14 Apr 1839	3 Aug 1912	73
3 Aug 1912		5	Charles Frederick Cavendish	11 May 1883	27 Jan 1932	48
27 Jan 1932		6	Henry Sheppard Hart Cavendish	18 May 1876	26 Nov 1948	72
26 Nov 1948		7	Frederick Caryll Phillip Cavendish	6 Oct 1926	16 Oct 2013	87
16 Oct 2013		8	Roderick Alexander Cavendish	10 Oct 1959
WATEVYLL
3 Dec 1326 to     6 May 1330	B	1	Sir Robert de Watevyll Summoned to Parliament as Lord Watevyll 3 Dec 1326 Peerage extinct on his death		6 May 1330
WATH
19 Nov 1733	B	1	Thomas Watson-Wentworth Created Baron Malton 28 May 1728, Baron Wath, Baron Harrowden, Viscount Higham and Earl of Malton 19 Nov 1733 and Marquess of Rockingham 19 Apr 1746 See "Rockingham" - titles extinct 1782	13 Nov 1693	14 Dec 1750	57
WATKINS
10 May 1972 to     2 Nov 1983	B[L]		Tudor Elwyn Watkins Created Baron Watkins for life 10 May 1972 MP for Brecon & Radnorshire 1945‑1970 Peerage extinct on his death	9 May 1903	2 Nov 1983	80
WATKINS OF TAVISTOCK
2 Nov 2015	B[L]		Mary Jane Watkins Created Baroness Watkins of Tavistock for life 2 Nov 2015	5 Mar 1955
WATKINSON
26 Jun 1964 to     19 Dec 1995	V	1	Harold Arthur Watkinson Created Viscount Watkinson 26 Jun 1964 MP for Woking 1950‑1964; Minister of Transport &p; Civil Aviation 1955‑1959; Minister of Defence 1959‑1962; PC 1955; CH 1962 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Jan 1910	19 Dec 1995	85
WATSON
28 Apr 1880 to     14 Sep 1899	B[L]		William Watson Created Baron Watson for life 28 Apr 1880 MP for Glasgow & Aberdeen Universities 1876‑1880; Solicitor General [S] 1874‑1876; Lord Advocate 1876‑1880; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1880‑1899; PC 1878 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Aug 1827	14 Sep 1899	72
WATSON OF INVERGOWRIE
6 Nov 1997	B[L]		Michael Goodall Watson Created Baron Watson of Invergowrie for life 6 Nov 1997 MP for Glasgow Central 1989‑1997	1 May 1949
WATSON OF RICHMOND
23 Jul 1999	B[L]		Alan John Watson Created Baron Watson of Richmond for life 23 Jul 1999	3 Feb 1941
WATSON OF WYRE FOREST
21 Nov 2022	B[L]		Thomas Anthony Watson Created Baron Watson of Wyre Forest for life 21 Nov 2022 MP for West Bromwich East 2001‑2019	8 Jan 1967
WATTS
23 Oct 2015	B[L]		David Leonard Watts Created Baron Watts for life 23 Oct 2015 MP for St. Helens North 1997‑2015	26 Aug 1951
WAVELL
22 Jul 1943 1 May 1947	V E	1 1	Sir Archibald Percival Wavell Created Viscount Wavell 22 Jul 1943 and Viscount Keren and Earl Wavell 1 May 1947 Field Marshal 1943; Viceroy of India 1943‑1947; Lord Lieutenant London 1949‑1950; PC 1943	5 May 1883	24 May 1950	67
24 May 1950 to     24 Dec 1953		2	Archibald John Arthur Wavell Peerages extinct on his death For information on the death of this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	11 May 1916	24 Dec 1953	37
WAVENEY
10 Apr 1873 to     15 Feb 1886	B	1	Sir Robert Alexander Shafto Adair, 2nd baronet Created Baron Waveney 10 Apr 1873 MP for Cambridge 1847‑1852 and 1854‑1857; Lord Lieutenant Antrim 1884‑1886 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Aug 1811	15 Feb 1886	74
WAVERLEY
28 Jan 1952	V	1	Sir John Anderson Created Viscount Waverley 28 Jan 1952 MP for Scottish Universities 1938‑1950; Governor of Bengal 1932‑1937; Lord Privy Seal 1938‑1939; Home Secretary 1939‑1940; Lord President of the Council 1940‑1942; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1943‑1945; PC [I] 1920. PC 1938; OM 1957	8 Jul 1882	4 Jan 1958	75
4 Jan 1958		2	David Alastair Pearson Anderson	18 Feb 1911	21 Feb 1990	79
21 Feb 1990		3	John Desmond Forbes Anderson [Elected hereditary peer 1999-]	31 Oct 1949
WAVERTREE
27 Oct 1919 to     2 Feb 1933	B	1	William Hall Walker Created Baron Wavertree 27 Oct 1919 MP for Widnes 1900‑1919 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Dec 1856	2 Feb 1933	76
WEARDALE
10 Jan 1906 to     1 Mar 1923	B	1	Philip James Stanhope Created Baron Weardale 10 Jan 1906 MP for Wednesbury 1886‑1892, Burnley 1893‑1900 and Harborough 1904‑1905 Peerage extinct on his death For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page	8 Dec 1847	1 Mar 1923	75
WEATHERILL
15 Jul 1992 to     6 May 2007	B[L]		Bruce Bernard Weatherill Created Baron Weatherill for life 15 Jul 1992 MP for Croydon North East 1964‑1992; Speaker of the House of Commons 1980‑1992; PC 1980 Peerage extinct on his death	25 Nov 1920	6 May 2007	86
WEBB JOHNSON
22 Jun 1948 to     28 May 1958	B	1	Sir Alfred Edward Webb‑Johnson, 1st baronet Created Baron Webb Johnson 22 Jun 1948 Peerage extinct on his death	4 Sep 1880	28 May 1958	77
WEDDERBURN OF CHARLTON
20 Jul 1977 to     9 Mar 2012	B[L]		Kenneth William Wedderburn Created Baron Wedderburn of Charlton for life 20 Jul 1977 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Apr 1927	9 Mar 2012	84
WEDGWOOD
21 Jan 1942	B	1	Josiah Clement Wedgwood Created Baron Wedgwood 21 Jan 1942 MP for Newcastle under Lyme 1906‑1942; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1924; PC 1924	16 Mar 1872	26 Jul 1943	71
26 Jul 1943		2	Francis Charles Bowen Wedgwood	20 Jan 1898	22 Apr 1959	61
22 Apr 1959		3	Hugh Everard Wedgwood	20 Apr 1921	25 Apr 1970	49
25 Apr 1970		4	Piers Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood	20 Sep 1954	29 Jan 2014	59
29 Jan 2014		5	Antony John Wedgwood	31 Jan 1944
WEEKS
9 Jul 1956 to     19 Aug 1960	B	1	Sir Ronald Morce Weeks Created Baron Weeks 9 Jul 1956 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Nov 1890	19 Aug 1960	69
WEI
28 May 2010	B[L]		Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei Created Baron Wei for life 28 May 2010	19 Jan 1977
WEICK
13 Aug 1677	B[S]	1	John Campbell, Earl of Caithness Created Lord Glenurchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie and Weick, Viscount of Tay & Paintland, and Earl of Breadalbane & Holland 13 Aug 1681 See "Breadalbane & Holland"	1635	28 Mar 1717	81
WEIDENFELD
25 Jun 1976 to     20 Jan 2016	B[L]		Sir Arthur George Weidenfeld Created Baron Weidenfeld for life 25 Jun 1976 Peerage extinct on his death	13 Sep 1919	20 Jan 2016	96
WEINSTOCK
17 Jul 1980 to     23 Jul 2002	B[L]		Sir Arnold Weinstock Created Baron Weinstock for life 17 Jul 1980 Peerage extinct on his death	29 Jul 1924	23 Jul 2002	77
WEIR
26 Jun 1918 25 Jun 1938	B V	1 1	Sir William Douglas Weir Created Baron Weir 26 Jun 1918 and Viscount Weir 25 Jun 1938 Secretary of State for Air 1918; PC 1918	12 May 1877	2 Jul 1959	82
2 Jul 1959		2	James Kenneth Weir	10 Sep 1905	16 Aug 1975	69
16 Aug 1975		3	William Kenneth James Weir	9 Nov 1933
WEIR OF BALLYHOLME
16 Nov 2022	B[L]		Peter James Weir Created Baron Weir of Ballyholme for life 16 Nov 2022	21 Nov 1968
WELBY
16 Apr 1894 to     30 Oct 1915	B	1	Sir Reginald Earle Welby Created Baron Welby 16 Apr 1894 PC 1913 Peerage extinct on his death	3 Aug 1832	30 Oct 1915	83
WELLES
6 Feb 1299	B	1	Sir Adam de Welles Summoned to Parliament as Lord Welles 6 Feb 1299		1 Sep 1311
1 Sep 1311		2	Robert de Welles	1 Jan 1297	29 Aug 1320	23
29 Aug 1320		3	Adam de Welles	22 Jul 1304	27 Feb 1345	40
27 Feb 1345		4	John de Welles	23 Aug 1334	11 Oct 1361	27
11 Oct 1361		5	John de Welles	20 Apr 1352	26 Aug 1421	69
26 Aug 1421 to     29 Mar 1461		6	Lionel de Welles KG 1457 He was attainted and the peerage forfeited	1406	29 Mar 1461	54
1468 to     12 Mar 1470		7	Richard de Welles He obtained a reversal of the attainder in 1468, but he was later attainted and the peerage forfeited	c 1429	12 Mar 1470
15 Nov 1482 to     Sep 1503	B	1	Sir Richard Hastings Summoned to Parliament as Lord Welles 15 Nov 1482 Peerage extinct on his death		Sep 1503
1487 to     9 Feb 1499	V	1	John Welles Created Viscount Welles 1487 KG 1488 Peerage extinct on his death		9 Feb 1499
8 Jan 1781	B[I]	1	Thomas Knox Created Baron Welles 8 Jan 1781 and Viscount Northland 5 Jul 1791 See "Northland"	20 Apr 1729	5 Nov 1818	89

	Lady Henrietta Herbert, daughter of the 1st Earl Waldegrave
	The following biography of Lady Henrietta Herbert appeared in the Australian monthly magazine Parade:-
	Between 1734 and 1737 London devotees of the new-fangled Italian opera were divided into two riotous and quarrelsome factions in one of the bitterest little wars in theatrical history. Idol of one party was Signor Buonocini's company at the Haymarket whose resplendent star was the famous "castrate", Farinelli, brought at vast expense from his native Italy. On the other hand was Mr Handel's troupe at Covent Garden, dominated by the handsome, robust and swaggering figure of the English tenor John Beard. "That vile race of operatic eunuchs" was how Beard's admirers contemptuously described his falsetto­voiced rivals whose piercing notes delighted the fashionable Haymarket audiences. And any possible doubts about John Beard's complete masculinity were soon dispelled when he became the centre of one of the most startling amorous scandals of the 18th century.
	In those days it was regarded as perfectly natural if any well-bred gentleman chose to enliven his leisure hours by keeping a stage player as a mistress. But when an aristocratic young widow, bearing one of the noblest names in Britain, ran off with an actor it was a different kettle of fish altogether. However, the moralists were eventually consoled by the fact that the bewitching, beautiful and sensuous Lady Henrietta Herbert paid a heavy price for her romance with John Beard. Ruined, disgraced and condemned to years of poverty and degradation, she was dead at the age of 35, "sunk into the grave under the weight of her woes."
	No one could have prophesied such a dismal fate when Henrietta Waldegrave, daughter of the first Earl Waldegrave, was born in a manor house in Essex in 1717. Her mother died when she was an infant and she saw little of her father, who spent most of his life as a diplomat abroad and was for 10 years English Ambassador in Paris. As it was, the earl's children, Henrietta and her two young brothers, had plenty of influential kinsmen who were prepared to take care of them in their father's absence. Until the age of 13 Henrietta lived in the household of her grandmother, the eccentric, painted and spendthrift old dowager Lady Waldegrave [Henrietta FitzJames 1667‑1730] who was the illegitimate daughter of King James II and Arabella Churchill. When the dowager died, leaving a mass of debts owing to dancing masters, dressmakers and wine merchants, Henrietta was transferred to the custody of her maternal grandparents, Sir John [3rd baronet] and Lady Webb.
	In her teens the girl was already a celebrated beauty with a small, delicate figure, slender waist, sparkling black eyes and "the air of an accomplished coquette". Because of her amorous disposition, the Webbs warned her father in Paris that she should be married off as soon as speedily as possible. Fortunately she had no lack of suitors. For two years the Webbs conducted negotiations with various potential husbands until finally in the autumn of 1733 they received an offer that satisfied their demands for wealth and nobility. An envoy arrived from the aged Marquis of Powis seeking Henrietta as a bride for his younger son, Lord Edward Herbert, in exchange for a marriage settlement of £25,000.
	Powis's elder son was a middle-aged roué who showed no inclination to take a wife and the marquis was becoming desperate in his determination to see an heir born to his noble house before he died. Henrietta, aged 17, almost fainted from disgust when she curtseyed to her betrothed as he stepped from the coach that drove him up to the Webbs' mansion in London. Lord Edward was a dull, sickly, pompous man of 46, prematurely aged by debauchery, suffering from gout and dropsy and obviously with one foot in the grave. Nevertheless, consoled by the thought that she would soon be a wealthy widow, Henrietta accepted him, and in July 1734 she became Lady Henrietta Herbert.
	Four months later Edward considerately died while taking the waters at Bath leaving his widow pregnant and old Powis jubilant at the prospect of a grandson at last. However, to the fury of the marquis, the child was a girl - a circumstance that was to have a disastrous effect on the future of its wayward mother. In his rage of frustration Powis refused to hand over Henrietta's promised marriage settlement, starting a bitter and costly legal dispute that dragged through the courts for years afterwards. At first the loss of the money meant little, for Lady Henrietta had her own family resources and the lovely, gay young widow cut a dashing figure at the court of King George II. King George himself "delighted in her conversation" and she had many suitors who would have been only too glad to share the nuptial bed vacated by Lord Edward Herbert.
	Then one fateful evening, probably late in 1736, Henrietta was one of a court party visiting the Covent Garden opera, and for the first time she laid eyes on the rising singer John Beard. Beard was then barely 20, one year older than Henrietta. He was a fine actor and an impressive stage figure, standing over six feet tall, with a voice "of such power and sweetness as the English theatre had never known".
	He had begun his career as a poor tradesman's son singing in the choir of the Chapel Royal where King George and his family attended services. There he was discovered by George Frederick Handel, the German composer who had settled in London, and at 18 he made his operatic debut in Handel's Pastor Fido at Covent Garden. Within a few years Beard was the rage of the faction that supported Handel's English singers against the Italian "castrati" of the rival Haymarket company.
	Lady Henrietta became one of Beard's most enraptured admirers. Night after night she appeared in a box at Covent Garden until her infatuation was the joke of the fashionable world. It was even reported that she helped finance the paid "claques" of ruffians who often set the Haymarket audiences in uproar by hooting and brawling during the Italians' performance. Yet, after she first saw Beard on the stage, 18 months were to pass before Lady Henrietta met her idol in the flesh. How she contrived the meeting remained a mystery. According to one story she made an assignation through the help of an actress, who was the mistress of a court acquaintance. Another rumour claimed that she brazenly accosted Beard when he attended St. James's Palace to sing at a private concert staged by Handel for the royal family.
	Whatever the truth, by the summer of 1738 London society was buzzing with the sensational story that the aristocratic widow and the handsome player were lovers. The acid-tongued Lady Mary Wortley‑Montagu commented that "since my lady was capable of such low amours she would doubtless bestow her favours next on a good-looking porter or hackney coachman". Henrietta's brother, John, a young officer in the Foot Guards, reacted even more savagely to the news of his sister's degrading liaison. John Beard, he told Henrietta angrily, already notoriously kept a common actress as a mistress and "lay with her every night in a bawdy house 20 paces from Covent Garden Theatre". When this brotherly advice was rejected, Lieutenant Waldegrave philosophically added, "Well, I see there is no prudence to be expected below the girdle", [this remark is also attributed to Lord Egmont] and declared he would have nothing to do with her in future. Most of Henrietta's friends charitably hoped that her amorous adventure would be of fleeting duration, but an even more shocking surprise awaited them.
	By early in 1738 the cutthroat competition between the rival opera companies had ended in both crashing into bankruptcy and Beard's operatic career had come to an end. Handel turned to the composition of his famous oratorios. Beard remained his favourite tenor and, since, the singer was also an accomplished actor, he found additional work on the dramatic stage.
	Saturday, January 8, 1739, was a particularly busy day for John Beard. In the afternoon he sang a leading role in Handel's new oratorio Saul. In the evening he appeared in a play at Drury Lane. At midnight he married Lady Henrietta Herbert. The parson had been bribed to silence. The ceremony took place in an obscure suburban church and several months elapsed before Henrietta dared disclose the secret marriage. Then in the hope that the scandal would die down, the pair fled to Lille in France from where Henrietta sent a stream of letters to her father in Paris begging for his help and forgiveness. Earl Waldegrave ignored every plea. A year later when a dying man he was recalled from his ambassador's post, he went to his deathbed still refusing to see or listen to her.
	Back in England, Henrietta found herself ostracised by court and society and within a few years sickness and poverty added to the misfortunes of the ill-starred lovers. Through Handel's patronage Beard continued his career as a singer and actor, appearing in the first productions of The Messiah, Samson, Belshazzar and the master's other famous oratorios. But his salary was meagre and as his popularity waned a swarm of creditors descended on the lodgings he occupied with Henrietta in the dingy purlieus of Holborn. Henrietta's efforts to extort her marriage settlement from the Powis family were fruitless and she was forced to hand over her infant daughter to guardians appointed by the unrelenting marquis.
	In 1750 the couple's fortunes suffered another blow when Beard was beaten up by thugs on his way home from the theatre and incapacitated for months from appearing on the stage. A year later they drifted into a worse slum district near Covent Garden after Henrietta had pawned the sole remaining relics of the jewels and fine dresses that had once dazzled the court of King George. And there - worn out by illness, debts, despair and the loss of her beauty - the forgotten Lady Henrietta died on May 31, 1753, on the eve of her 36th birthday. Her lover survived her by nearly 40 years [he died 5 February 1791] - ending his days in modest prosperity after taking as his second wife the daughter of the manager of Drury Lane Theatre. Lady Henrietta's epitaph was spoken by one of her friends of happier days: "She made a sacrifice of reputation, riches, beauty and life itself upon the altar of Venus."
	George Waldegrave, 5th Earl Waldegrave
	The 5th Earl drowned in the Thames shortly before his 10th birthday. The Times of 2 July 1794 reported his death:-
	On Sunday afternoon, about four o'clock, the Earl of Waldegrave, a youth about ten years of age, was unfortunately drowned while he was bathing in the Thames, near a field called the Brocas, in the parish of Eton. His Lordship was educating at Eton school, and going out with two of his companions, the latter were induced, from the heat of the day, to bathe, but desired his Lordship, as the water was deep, and he not an expert swimmer, not to venture in. Lord Waldegrave however jumped into the river, and was never perceived to rise, as it is supposed he got entangled among the weeds. The body was not found till Monday morning, and was taken up close by the place where he sunk.
	George Edward Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave
	Waldegrave appears to have been a wild young man, who was constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. His most serious brush with the law occurred on 5 June 1840, Waldegrave, Captain William Duff and two other men became involved in a scuffle with Police Constable Charles Wheatley in a street at Hampton, now a south-western suburb of London, and close to Twickenham. Wheatley was badly beaten about the head with a bludgeon and Waldegrave and his friends fled the scene, with Waldegrave and Duff being subsequently arrested and charged with assault.
	The following account of this affair is taken from The Examiner of 21 February 1841:-
	On Friday, the 5th of June [1840], at past midnight, a hired fly, containing four persons, drove into the quiet town of Hampton. The oaths and vociferations of the party were described as profane and obscene in the extreme. On being spoken to by the horse-patrol, they became yet more violent; and on a policeman coming up they assaulted him in a most brutal manner, one of them striking him on the head with a bludgeon, or 'life preserver'. Leaving him on the ground in that state, they drove off furiously, having alarmed the inhabitants by their yells and vociferations.
	By the number of the fly, which the patrol succeeded in taking, the owner was traced. It was ascertained that the vehicle was hired in the name of the Earl of [sic] Waldegrave; and that his Lordship, with three others - one of whom, Captain Duff, was also identified - were taken up at his Lordship's villa at Twickenham - the whole party being attired in masquerade dresses - that they proceeded to Kingston, where there was a fair; and that after amusing themselves by annoying the quietly-disposed part of the company, and aiding the swell mob by creating confusion in the fair, of which the pickpockets took the advantage, they returned yelling like infernals, and fright[en]ing the sleeping inhabitants of the villages through which they passed.
	When the matter came before the Courts, the Chief Justice, Lord Denman, suggested, as punishment, that Waldegrave and Duff make a payment in compensation to the injured policeman. A storm immediately broke in the newspapers, with furious editorials being published, roundly condemning Lord Denman for applying one law for the rich and another for the poor. The papers delighted in pointing out that a working man had been sentenced to 15 years' transportation for a far lesser assault on a policeman. The public's perception of 'one law for the rich and another for the poor' had, no doubt, been recently confirmed by the acquittal of the notorious Earl of Cardigan for fighting a duel with Harvey Tuckett.
	Public opinion finally swayed the authorities to try Waldegrave and Duff in May 1841. This time, both were found guilty and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. His life in prison does not appear to have been too harsh, since his wife and servants were allowed to live with him until his release in November 1841. He died 5 years later, on 28 September 1846, aged only 30.
	The Barony of Wallscourt
	This peerage was created on 31 July 1800, one of 16 peerages created on that day. The patent creating the peerage included a special remainder "in default of the issue male of his body, to the heirs male of the body of his father".
	The peerage appears to have been created in recognition of the first Baron's father, who, since he was a Catholic in a time prior to Catholic emancipation, was not able to be granted any honours or office. His son, however, was a convert to Anglicanism, although some cynics believed his conversion to be somewhat of a sham, and that he converted so as to place himself in a position where a peerage could be granted to him.
	The potential situation that the special remainder failed to take into account was what would happen if the first Baron Wallscourt died without male issue during the lifetime of his father. This is exactly what happened, since when the 1st Baron died on 28 March 1803, his father was still alive, and he remained alive until 19 January 1806.
	On the death of the 1st Baron therefore, it could be argued that the peerage had become extinct, since at that point there were no heirs in existence. The peerage was, however, treated as being in suspense until the death of the 1st Baron's father, when the peerage was claimed by the 1st Baron's nephew, the son of the 1st Baron's deceased younger brother. On the death of the 2nd Baron, the peerage passed to his cousin, who was the son of the youngest brother of the first peer. It is worth noting that none of the subsequent Barons Wallscourt ever dared to draw any attention to the legitimacy of their peerage by seeking election as an Irish representative peer, nor did they ever seek to vote in any such elections.
	While the holders of the peerage sought to avoid publicity, the younger generations of the family seemed unable to avoid it - unfortunately, all the publicity they received was of a negative nature. The youngest daughter of the 4th Baron, Margaret Phyllis Farrington, died in July 1910, when she died following an overdose of the chloroform which she habitually used to help her sleep. But it was the 5th and last Baron Wallscourt who generated the worst publicity. He married, in 1897, Ellen Mayo, widow of P. Boisset. Before he succeeded to the peerage in 1918, he had often graced the police courts for various offences, and had been convicted of gross brutality and cruelty to his wife. In October 1915, when he was a lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he was court-martialled for drunkenness and being absent without leave. He was bankrupted on at least two occasions.
	After his death in 1920, his long-suffering widow committed suicide in February 1921. The report on her death which appeared in The Times on 9 February 1921 reads:-
	Ellen Lady Wallscourt, widow of the fifth Baron Wallscourt, to whom she was married in 1897, was found dead on Monday evening at her flat in Marine-square, Brighton.
	As there was no response to repeated knockings at the front door, which was locked, Constable Edwards, who had been called to the house, entered the next house and forced the balcony window of the flat. He found Lady Wallscourt lying dead in bed dressed in her night attire. Her right arm was supporting her head, and the left arm was lying across the body.
	On a table beside the bed was a small bottle containing white powder and an empty glass. There was also a black-edged envelope addressed to the coroner. On a piece of paper was written, "My name is Elinor Lady Wallscourt". There was also a note: "Mr. Donne [a local solicitor] will tell you why I had to put an end to my awful misery."
	The de Grey family (Barons Walsingham) and the "Babes in the Wood"
	The story of the "Babes in the Wood" is one of the most enduring of all English traditions. It is based on the story of two Norfolk children whose cruel uncle caused them to be abandoned in the woods, where the children died. Their story was first told in a ballad published in 1595, and modern scholarship indicates that the story is based on factual events.
	The following [edited] article relating to the de Grey family and the Babes in the Wood appeared in the Wellington, New Zealand Evening Post of 28 March 1930:-
	John de Grey, Baron Walsingham, recently died, leaving large estates in the County of Norfolk. His family was an ancient one. But of all his possessions and claims to distinction there was none which he valued more highly than the fact that he owned the wood where the "Babes of the Wood" of the famous nursery and pantomime tale were left to die by their wicked uncle.
	One of Lord Walsingham's ancestors was, it is asserted, the father of the unfortunate babes, and another ancestor was the unspeakable uncle. That his family were involved in the crime did not embarrass Lord Walsingham in the least, for the legend has become hallowed by the centuries. Few old stories are more familiar than the "Babes in the Wood", but it will probably come as a surprise to many to hear that these children and their heartless uncle were real people, related to some of the great families in the peerage.
	Lord Walsingham's principal country seat was Morton Hall, Thetford. Upon this estate is a place called Wayland Wood, and near the wood is a very ancient house called Griston Hall, reputed to be "the cruel uncle's house". It was here, according to tradition, that the babes were left by their uncle before they were taken out by his hired ruffians into the wood to die. The locality is wild and lonely, and one feels that an atmosphere of sorrow and mystery still haunts the place.
	The great oak under which the dead babies were said to have been found covered with leaves was destroyed by lightning in 1879. Many people came to gather chips from the tree. Today visitors frequently ask permission to cut a stick of the wood as a souvenir.
	The tragedy is believed to have occurred about 1562, soon after the reign of Henry VIII, who had close relations with the de Grey family. The story was first published in 1595 under the title, "Babes in the Wood", with the sub-title, "The Norfolk Gent, His Will and Testament and Howe he Commytted the Keeping of His Children to His Owne Brother, Who Delte Most Wickedly with Them and howe God Plagued Him for It".
	In the original version the name of the father was given as Arthur Truelove, obviously an invention. According to tradition he was a member of the de Grey family. The author dared not venture to make dangerous statements about the powerful de Grey family under their right name.
	The boy was called Cassander, and the girl Jane … the first Jane mentioned in the de Grey pedigree was Jane Bennett, who lived about 1560, and was the wife of William de Grey, who owned Griston Hall, Merton, "the wicked uncle's house". She was presumably the mother of the babes.
	The story is that the Norfolk gentleman died as a young man, leaving a son, aged three, and a daughter, aged two. Their mother died at nearly the same time, and the two children were placed in a dangerous position in that turbulent age. To each child the father left a handsome fortune, but he provided that if they died during their minority the money was to go to their uncle.
	The dying father entrusted the two children to the care of his brother with solemn and earnest prayers to protect them. Soon after his brother's death the uncle hired two ruffians to murder the children. One of the men relented and quarrelled with the other, whom he killed. The survivor, instead of murdering the children, left them in Wayland Wood, a gloomy place, where little children might easily be lost.
	They wandered about, trying to satisfy their hunger with blackberries, the juice of which they mistook for blood. Finally they died at night of cold and terror. The story was put in ballad form soon after its first publication. According to a passage in the ballad, the robin red-breasts covered the children with leaves.
	After describing the tragedy, the narrative goes on to tell how everything went wrong with the uncle after his wicked deed:-
	"His barns were fired, his goods consumed,     His cattle died within the field,     And nothing with him staid."
	The uncle's two sons deserted him and went privateering in the Spanish Main. In the end:-
	"He pawned and mortgaged all his land,     Ere seven years came about."
	The bad man was thrown in prison for debt, and there died in misery. Before he died the ruffian he had employed and who left the children in the wood confessed. The ballad concludes with a warning to those who are made guardians of fatherless children to be faithful to their trust.
	It has now been proved that there was at about this time a Robert de Grey who was much hated and got into many mysterious difficulties. There is little doubt that he was the model for "the Wicked Uncle". The records show that Edmund de Grey bought Griston Hall in 1541.
	The little boy's uncle was Robert de Grey, to whom the estate would descend in case the life owner died without children. There had been a quarrel between Robert and his older brother, William, who nevertheless entrusted his children to him and left him a legacy on condition, as his will of 1562 says, "that he confesseth he has offended me".
	An old document states that the little boy was lost unaccountably while on a visit to a relative. This fact was perhaps embellished with romantic and tragic details to make up the popular story and ballad.
	The facts prove that Robert de Grey was much disliked among the country people, both because he was suspected of doing away with this nephew and for other reasons. He was several times imprisoned in Norwich and in London, and was heavily fined. He died a bankrupt.
	From the time of his death the tragic legend became fixed on Wayland Wood. Robert de Grey, "the Wicked Uncle", abandoned Griston Hall as his residence and set about rebuilding Merton Hall, which is still the chief seat of the de Greys.
	"The fact remains that the legend has been passed down from generation to generation, and in the summer time this wood is visited by many anxious to see the spot where the Wicked Uncle lost the Babes in the Wood and to view the old house in which he lived," said the present Lord Walsingham. "It has a great fascination for children, and older persons are nearly as much interested in it."
	Merton Hall has also many strange legends connected with it. An ancient castle stood on the spot long before "the Wicked Uncle" began the present building with his presumably ill-gotten wealth.
	Merton Park is a place alleged to be haunted by ghosts and goblins, witches and fairies. Recently there was found here a human skeleton without a head buried with ancient coins and weapons. It is supposed that this was some unfortunate member of the family whose head had been removed on the block and whose body alone could be recovered. Some people declare that the headless ghost haunts the park at night calling for its lost head.
	The lives of two children seem but a trifle in all the bloodshed and tragedies that have happened in this historic region, but the art of an old country ballad writer has made their story immortal.
	George de Grey, 3rd Baron Walsingham, and his wife
	Lord and Lady Walsingham both died as a result of a fire in their residence on 26 April 1831. The following account appeared in The Times of 28 April 1831:-
	This morning [26 April 1831] a fire, dreadful rather in its consequences to human life than for the ravages of the flames, broke out at the residence of Lord Walsingham, at No. 55, Upper Harley Street, Cavendish Square. Many versions are given of the origin of the melancholy accident. The fire was first discovered by Wm. Wigram, Esq., the bank director, who resides in the next house to that of Lord Walsingham, and who was on his return from a party. Mr. Wigram instantly communicated the alarm to the constable on duty, and sent his own servants to knock at the door. They had some difficulty in alarming the family, the servants all sleeping in the back part of the house. The flames were at this time bursting out of the bedroom window of the Noble Lord, the front room of the second pair.
	As soon as the servants could be alarmed, they proceeded to the room of the Noble Lord, and found it completely one mass of flame and smoke, through which it was impossible to proceed so as to ascertain what had become of his Lordship. A party of police, under the orders of Scholfield, who had been attending at a rout in Manchester Square, arrived; and the whole neighbourhood being at this time alarmed, the streets were much crowded.; the activity of the officers, however, preserved order for the working of the fire-engines, which rapidly arrived; those of the Royal Exchange, the County, and the Sun, in which office the premises were, we hear, insured to a very considerable amount, were soon in attendance, having observed the flames from the Hampstead road, where they had been endeavouring to extinguish a fire that had broken out at an earlier hour in the morning on the premises of Mr. Baylis, an extensive pawnbroker, at the corner of Eden Street.
	They commenced playing on the upper part of the house, which was now one volume of vivid flame; and others which also came up directed their exertions to the safety of the adjoining houses. The furniture in these last was hastily removed, and by the exertions used by the firemen, who obtained a speedy supply of water, the flames were prevented from spreading.
	Mr. Braithwaite's fire-engine, worked by steam, was also in attendance, and serviceable after it had been got to work.
	The servants of the house proceeded to the apartment of Lady Walsingham, who slept in a back room on the same floor with his Lordship, and communicated the alarm of fire; it is to be regretted that, instead of opening her door and going down stairs with the servants, she did not adopt the certainty of security which it afforded. In the agitation and hurry of mind consequent upon the alarm, she attempted to escape by jumping out of the window into a back yard, where she was found soon after lying in an outhouse, in the most shocking state of mutilation; both her thighs were fractured and her arms broken. She was immediately after being found conveyed with all care into a stable in Devonshire Mews. Dr. Clarke, his Lordship's medical adviser, and some other professional gentlemen who had learned the dismal tidings, were in constant attendance upon the unfortunate lady, until death released her from her sufferings, about half-past five o'clock.
	It renders the death of Lady Walsingham the more melancholy, to think that her life could have been saved had she opened the door and descended the staircase with the servants, all of [whom] escaped with safety.
	As soon as the flames were partially subdued, the drawing-room and lower part of the house having remained comparatively uninjured, the servants and officers proceeded to the apartments of the Noble Lord, and found his remains in a state of almost entire destruction, the extremities, hands and feet, were literally consumed to ashes, and the head and skeleton of the body alone remained presenting any thing like an appearance of humanity. It was impossible to recognise the melancholy remnant of mortality, so entirely had the flames wrought the work of destruction. The remains were removed to the stable in which the mangled body of Lady Walsingham lay, and there a Coroner's inquest was to have been held this day, before the Coroner for Middlesex.
	The origin of the fire cannot as yet be ascertained, but from its having broken out in the sleeping-room of the deceased Peer, shortly after his Lordship, who had, it was stated, been out at a party, retired to rest, it is conjectured he left the taper lighted by the bed side, and having fallen asleep without extinguishing it, the flames were thereby communicated.
	Mr. Lazenby, the superintendent, and Inspectors Stride and Adamson, of the D division, were on the spot soon after the fire broke out, and by the exertions of the men under their command, succeeded in saving the greater part of the valuable property, which was removed to the adjoining houses and watch house.
	Yesterday, at 11 o'clock, a jury, consisting of the most respectable inhabitants of the parish, sat at the Weymouth Arms, Weymouth-street, on the bodies of Lord Thomas and Lady Matilda Mary Walsingham. Sir Peter Laurie was present, and interested himself in the melancholy investigation. [Laurie was Lord Mayor of London 1832‑1833.]
	Mary Rolfe stated that she was lady's-maid to the deceased, and was with her ladyship on Tuesday night, about 10 o'clock, when her ladyship retired to bed. She left her ladyship in bed without fire or candle. Lord Walsingham slept in another apartment on the second floor, on the opposite side of the staircase. Witness slept in a spare room on the stor[e]y over Lord Walsingham's room. She went to bed about 11 o'clock, and awoke about 2, when she was alarmed by the noise of water running. She opened her bed-room window, and called fire. She ran down stairs in her night clothes and escaped; but she could not tell how, she was in such a state of terror … There were 4 rooms on the second floor, and witness did not see the fire in his lordship's room till some time afterwards. She saw Lady Walsingham after she leapt from the window in dreadful agony, and observed that she [Lady Walsingham] believed her lord was burnt. She did not state why she leapt from the window instead of going down the staircase.
	John Richard Ellmore, of New Cavendish-street, surgeon, stated that he was called in soon after 2 o'clock that morning, to attend Lady Walsingham. He found her ladyship dreadfully wounded in a loft over the coachman's stable. On examination found a cut on the forehead, another over the eye, the nose broken, and both thigh bones fractured; the greater part of the bone of one protruded just above the knee joint three of four inches. The right arm was broken, the elbow of which was literally crumbled to pieces. Notwithstanding these numerous severe injuries, her ladyship was perfectly sensible, expressed strong anxiety for the fate of Lord Walsingham, continually exclaiming that "he must be lost", and wished to know if anything had been heard of him. Archdeacon de Grey, the brother-in-law of Lord [Lady?] Walsingham, was present, and asked if her ladyship had any wish respecting the execution of a testamentary paper, and she replied she was so confused and agonized, as to be incapable. She was in a dying state, and a clergyman was introduced who prayed with her, and a little before 6 o'clock she emitted from her stomach a great quantity of blood; she was suffocated. Before she expired, she stated that she was awoke by the smoke, which filled her room, and she opened the window and threw herself on the leads below. She said she believed the fire had broke out in Lord Walsingham's room, and she had previously expressed to Dr. Clarke her fear that some serious accident would occur through his lordship's carelessness.
	Jane Mills, housemaid to the deceased, was awoke by the ringing of bells, about 2 o'clock, in either her lord or lady's bed-room. Got up instantly, and Lady Walsingham's maid said the house was on fire. Witness said, "nonsense", but ran downstairs on observing smoke, and opened Lord Walsingham's room-door. Observed the bed drapery and the clothes in flames; the smoke and heat were so oppressive she could only call out, and receiving no answer, she ran through Lady Walsingham's room, and she [Lady Walsingham] asked what was the matter? Witness replied his lordship's bed-curtains were on fire. She ran to another room to get water, but before she could get it, and return to his lordship's room with the water, a voice called to her to escape, and she put the water down, and escaped downstairs. There was no fire then in her ladyship's room, and she might have escaped with ease if she had had presence of mind. His lordship always had a candle and fire in his room.
	A fireman deposed to finding his lordship's body, burnt to a cinder, in the ruins of the drawing-room, at 6 o'clock that morning.
	Mr. Stirling, the Coroner, summed up, and the jury returned a verdict - "That the deaths of the deceased were caused accidentally, and by misfortune."
	Robert James Loyd-Lindsay VC, 1st Baron Wantage
	Lindsay (he added the additional name of Loyd in 1858) was a Senior Subaltern and Captain in the Scots Fusilier Guards during the Crimean War. Following his actions at the Battle of the Alma (20 September 1854) and the Battle of Inkerman (5 November 1854), Lindsay was awarded the Victoria Cross.
	Although the order of the Victoria Cross was not established until 1856, it was backdated to 1854 so as to recognise acts of valour performed during the Crimean War.
	Lindsay's award was gazetted on 24 February 1857, the citation reading as follows:-
	When the formation of the line of the regiment was disordered at Alma, Captain Lindsay stood firm with the colours, and by his example and energy greatly tended to restore order. At Inkerman, at a most trying moment, he, with a few men, charged a party of Russians, driving them back, and running one through the body himself.
	William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward
	According to a report in the Chicago Daily Tribune of 7 September 1902, which reports upon the appointment of the 2nd Earl of Dudley as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the 2nd Earl's grandfather, the 10th Baron Ward:-
	was in holy orders [and] displayed towards the latter portion of his life such an unconquerable aversion not merely to ecclesiastical vestments but even to ordinary clothes that he used constantly to be found wandering about the country roads and lanes in the garb of Adam prior to the fall. Indeed, whenever he could manage to escape his keepers he would at once proceed to dispense with his attire, no matter what the condition of the weather or where he happened to be.
	Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick (creation of 1618)
	Warwick was tried in the House of Lords on 28 March 1699 for the murder of Richard Coote. The following account of the events which led up to his trial was written by Martin Hume and published in The English Illustrated Magazine for November 1898:-
	It was a dark, rainy night at the end of October 1698. In an upper room of the Greyhound Tavern in the Strand, hard by Charing Cross, there sat drinking deeply a roistering crew of fine gentlemen in flowing periwigs and gold-laced coats. Among them were the Earl of Warwick and Holland, a very great personage indeed; Lord Mohun, the famous duellist, who six years before had been an accessory to the murder of Mountfort, the actor, in Howard  Street, Strand; and three other gentlemen bearing the King's commission. Most of them had wandered from tavern to tavern all the afternoon, and at eight o'clock in the evening had settled down at the Greyhound to make a night of it. While the carouse was in full swing the company was joined by a bosom friend of the Earl's, called by courtesy Captain Richard Coote, whose ensign's commission in the Guards, which two months before had cost four hundred guineas, had been partly paid for with money lent by the Earl.
	Coote was a quarrelsome young swashbuckler in his cups, and at one o'clock in the morning took umbrage at something that Captain French had said or done. As a quarrel seemed brewing, the reckoning was called for and paid, and the six gentlemen trooped downstairs to the tavern bar, there to take a parting glass. Tapsters and porters were sent shouting down the Strand for coaches, but the night was tempestuous and the hour late, and no coaches were to be had. In the meanwhile Coote had again fallen out with French. "Damn ye, sirrah," he shouted, "I shall smile when I like and frown when I like!" "Nay, Dick," said Mohun, "there shall be no fighting tonight!" And Lord Warwick, more sober than the rest, also sought to appease the rising storm. But when the porters came back to say that they could find no coaches, but that two chairs were at the door, they heard the clash of arms, and found Lords Warwick and Mohun with Coote, outside the bar, their swords drawn, facing French, James, and Docwra, who were behind the bar flourishing their weapons. But soon the arms were sheathed, and the company wended their way to the door, while the attendants shouted for more chairs to take them home.
	Into the two chairs that were standing there Coote and French entered. "We will settle this business at once," said the former. But Mohun interfered. "Whither go ye, Dick?" said he to Coote. "Where but to Leicester Fields to settle with this rogue?" was the reply. "That shall ye not," said Mohun. "There shall be no fighting tonight, and I will pink the first man who tries it." Then he invited his friends to come to his lodgings to crack another bottle or two. But the would-be combatants threatened the poor chairmen to stick them through if they did not trot off to Leicester Fields; and only when Warwick and Mohun talked of calling the watch and the Guard from Whitehall, did Coote and French leave the sedan chairs and re-enter the tavern. Soon six chairs were collected at the door. The Lords put Coote into the first one, and themselves entered the next two, ordering the three to go towards Westminster. But when they reached the corner of St. Martin's Lane, where the post-office now stands, Coote directed his chairmen to turn up the lane. The two noblemen behind him called to them to stop, and brought their chairs abreast. There again in the road they renewed their entreaties that Coote would defer his quarrel and accompany them to Westminster; but as they were reasoning with him, the chairs containing the three other gentlemen swung past them up St. Martin's Lane, just visible through the night by the dim lanterns they carried. At the sight of them Coote whipped out his sword, and swore that he would stick it into his front chairman if he did hurry on to overtake them. "Well," said Mohun, "if ye will, ye will, and I will see ye through with it," and up St. Martin's Lane trotted the chairmen at their best pace, after those who had passed them on the way.
	Through the mire and slush, by narrow Hemming's Row and Green Street, all deserted and silent at this hour of the morning, they reached the lower corner of Leicester Fields, where the chairmen were bidden to halt and set down their passengers. The neighbourhood was a quiet and aristocratic one, the field around it only just developing the streets. At the upper side of the square was the great mansion of the Earls of Leicester, occupying the site of the present Leicester Place. To the west of this, where the Empire now stands, was the stately Savile House, and beyond it, a tavern called the Standard; and other fine mansions were arising on the other sides of the square, among them being the house of the Marquis of Carmarthen, who only a few months before had entertained there his boon-companion, the great Czar Peter. The centre of the fields was enclosed by an iron railing, with an entrance to each of the sides, wide enough only for a foot-passenger to pass through.
	The three leading chairs had set down their passengers at the upper end of the square; and as their chairmen plodded their way back again to Charing Cross, glad to be free to go home for the night, they passed the chairs that had brought Warwick, Mohun, and Coote, still standing at the corner of Green Street. In answer to inquiry as to why they waited there, the bearers said they only tarried to light their pipes; but it may be questioned whether curiosity or the chance of a profitable job had not a share in their delay. In any case, the statements of those men throw the only impartial light that exists upon the event that followed. Warwick, Mohun, and Coote wended their way up the square past where the Alhambra now stands, and entered the so-called fields in the centre, where, doubtless, French, James, and Docwra awaited them.
	According to their own statement, the three chairmen at the corner of Green Street very shortly afterwards heard excited cries of "Chairs! Chairs!" from the fields, and hurried up to the railings at the upper end, where Lord Warwick excitedly begged the first comers to lift the sedan over the rails. The men demurred at this, as they said they could not lift it back again with a man inside. While they were arguing thus, Captain French staggered out of the nearest passage with his sword in his hand. "I am a dead man," he groaned; "take me to the Bagnio in Long Acre!" And with this he entered the chair and was carried off. Next Lord Warwick issued from the fields bleeding copiously from a wound in his right hand, his sword covered with blood from hilt to point, and entering the second chair, called for a handkerchief to bind up his hand, and ordered the bearers to take him also to the Bagnio to have his wounds dressed. When the third chairman entered the fields with a lantern they found two gentlemen, whom they professed to be unable to identify, holding up Coote, who was mortally wounded. The gentlemen, they said, seemed greatly distressed at Coote's condition, and earnestly begged the men to lift their chair over the rails that the dying man might be carried away. Who was to pay, the men asked, for the damage that would be done to the vehicle by the blood? Besides, if they lifted it over how could they get it back again? Promises of lavish reward - a hundred guineas, if needful - at last prevailed upon them to do as they were asked, the chair being broken in the process. With the unconscious man huddled up bleeding to death in their broken chair, the bearers soon found themselves alone, for the two gentlemen sought safety in flight. In dire distress the men clamoured for the watch; but one guardian of the peace came after the other, and sagely shook his head. This was a serious business, and great gentlemen were mixed up in it. It was safer to let it alone - besides, they belonged to another ward. At last, when Captain Coote was dead in real earnest, a posse bolder than the rest marched the unoffending chairmen to the lock-up, and carried the corpse of Captain Coote to the Round House in St. Martin's Lane.
	In the meanwhile, Lord Warwick and French were being cared for by the surgeon at the Bagnio. The Earl on his arrival was intensely agitated, and showed deep concern for the condition of French, a fact which was afterwards used to his disadvantage at his trial. He had begged the servants who had admitted him to the Bagnio to deny his presence to any person who might inquire there for him; and when, some half-hour later, a loud knocking was heard at the door, the Earl himself insisted on going down and reconnoitring through the spyhole in the door. When he found it was James and Docwra, he unhesitatingly welcomed them, another point which went against him. Attention was called to the fact that while the Earl's sword was red - he said from the wound in his hand, which had filled the hilt and sheath with blood - and Coote's sword, which had been brought in by James, was slightly stained, the weapons of the other three gentlemen had no marks of blood upon them. At three o'clock in the morning, the whole company, except French, who was too ill to be moved, left the Bagnio, and the Earl appears to have made immediate arrangements for flight. Mohun's share in the affray is not certainly known. On his trial before his peers for manslaughter, when he was acquitted, he asserted that he had been wounded in the hand during the preliminary affray at the tavern, and at the fatal fight was unable to draw his sword.
	The next day, Oct. 30, all fashionable London was astir with the news of the encounter. It was found that Coote had two wounds, either of which would have been mortal, both on the left side; and it was contended that these, from their position, could hardly have been dealt by an adversary in front of him. Warwick asserted that he had stood by his friend Coote's side, to defend him against his assailants, and told the story of the fight next day to some friends at the Ship and Castle Tavern on Cornhill, that French had killed Coote, whilst he, Warwick, was engaged with James. But news reached him in the City from the Court end of the town that public gossip spoke already of him as the homicide. His sword, it was said, was alone stained with blood; he had shown more concern for French's hurt than was likely if he knew that the latter had killed his dear friend Coote; he had sought concealment at the Bagnio, and his agitation was marked; he welcomed James and Docwra with effusion, though, according to his version, they had sided against him; he had spoken of flight to the country as soon as he entered the Bagnio. The King was in Holland and Parliament was not sitting. Warwick had no relish for languishing in a gaol until he could claim the privileges of his peerage, and when he learnt that all fingers pointed to him as the murderer of his friend while pretending to defend him, he fled to the coast and thence to France; and Mohun also placed the sea between himself and pursuit. The three commoners were in due course arrested and put upon their trial for manslaughter at the Old Bailey. They were found guilty and adjudged light sentences, French escaping punishment by pleading clergy, in which cases burning in the hand was nominally substituted for imprisonment, but was usually remitted by the King.
	When Parliament met early in the following year, 1699, the two peers surrendered themselves to be tried by the House of Lords. A Royal Commission was issued by the King, a special court erected in Westminster Hall, and, under the Presidency of the Lord Steward (Somers), with all the pomp and ancient circumstance usual at the trial of a peer, the Earl of Warwick was arraigned for murder. It is difficult at this time to understand why this was done, as the three commoners concerned in the affair had only been indicted and convicted of manslaughter; and the evidence against the Earl was purely presumptive and circumstantial. He contended that the blood on his sword came from his own wounded hand, that the dead man was his dearest friend, that far from gaining by his death, he had lent him large sums of money; that from the very beginning of the quarrel, he (the Earl) had acted the part of peacemaker, and only when he saw his friend assailed by superior numbers had he drawn to defend, not to injure him. The prosecutors - the law officers if the Crown - tried their hardest to prove that the wounds of the dead man were such as would be made by the Earl's sword, which was stated to be a broad one; but they had to deal with a stolid surgeon who made the post mortem examination. He knew nothing; was unable to judge; could not say; refused to commit himself, and so on, until the Lord Steward had firmly to rebuke him for his obvious unwillingness. A grave Constitutional question arose during the Earl's defence. The remission of French's penalty of burning on the hand was signed by the King during the peer's trial; and Warwick asked for permission to call French to testify that he himself had killed Coote in fair fight. At great length it was argued, and finally decided, that remission of punishment did not necessarily carry with it the King's pardon; and that French, still being an unpunished criminal, could not be called as a witness. For some reason or another, it is evident that the Crown was anxious to secure the Earl's conviction for murder; but as each peer in his turn - nearly a hundred of them in all - was called upon for his verdict he gave his vote for manslaughter, and refused to convict on the graver charge. When the final verdict of manslaughter was pronounced the Earl, of course, did what in the good old days he was entitled to do - he pleaded privilege of peerage, and walked out a free man; but with the indelible stain upon him of having killed his friend while fighting by his side. The evidence against him seems strangely inconclusive now, and leads to the opinion that there were political reasons for seeking to fasten upon him the odium of murder. It was some hours after the fight that French ostentatiously called the attention of the servant at the Bagnio to the fact that, although his sword was dirty, it had no blood upon it; but Coote's wounds, though fatal, were only a few inches deep, and French's sword might have cleaned of blood by thrusting it into the wet ground immediately after the wound was given. The share in the affray of the fire-eating Mohun, moreover, was not satisfactorily defined. He disappeared immediately after the encounter, and was subsequently acquitted even of manslaughter by the House of Lords.
	The Curse of the Waterfords
	The number of violent deaths in the Waterford family is traditionally attributed to a curse uttered against one of the earlier Marquesses during the agrarian troubles in the 19th century. Popular belief has it that the curse would always remain on the family until seven Beresfords had died. The curse may or may not be related to the 'Black Ribbon' worn by the wife of Sir Tristram Beresford, 3rd baronet (qv).
	Whatever the origin of the curse, there seems to be little doubt that the Beresford family suffered more than their fair share of violent deaths. Attached below are the details of seven of such deaths:-
	Lord James Beresford (6 Oct 1816-27 Apr 1841) - Lord James was the 5th son of the 2nd Marquess of Waterford, and thus younger brother of the 3rd Marquess, of whom more below. He committed suicide in April 1841 by cutting his throat while aboard a ship in which he was travelling home to England from Colombo, and was consequently buried at sea.
	The following rather gruesome account appeared in The Times of 17 May 1841:-
	… It appears that Lord James Beresford, who was only in the 25th year of his age, embarked passenger on board the Tigris for England, and that it was remarked at the time, and at a subsequent period during the voyage, that his Lordship appeared to be labouring under slight symptoms of insanity, and that his servant was in consequence ordered to pay more than usual care and attention to his Lordship, which he did. On the night of Tuesday, the 27th of April, his Lordship was in his own cabin, and did not evince to the servant or to the passengers during the day anything particularly remarkable in his usually somewhat eccentric manners. The servant, before going to lie down in his settee for the night, went to his Lordship's cabin for the purpose of inquiring whether his Lordship needed any further attendance that evening, and having repeatedly knocked at his state-room door without receiving any answer, the servant opened it, and discovered the cabin floor partly covered with blood, and on proceeding to the water-closet adjoining the apartment he found his master reclining over the seat, with his head nearly severed from his body, and quite dead. The rash act was committed with a razor, and so determined had been his Lordship to effect his dreadful purpose, that only a small portion of skin at the back part of the neck attached the head to the body …
	Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford - as a young man, the 3rd Marquess was notorious for his wild behaviour. After being educated at Eton, he was sent down from Oxford. His name often appears in the newspapers of the 1830s, usually in connection with the racetracks, the hunting fields or the police-courts. His companions were generally young men of wealth such as the 7th Earl Waldegrave, prostitutes and prize-fighters.
	Waterford's pranks were the stuff of legend. On one occasion he arranged for a donkey to be placed in the bed of a sleeping stranger at an inn at Melton Mowbray; with his pistol, he shot out the eyes of the family portraits hanging on the walls of the ancestral home; he smeared aniseed on the hooves of the local parson's horse, and then hunted the terrified cleric with a pack of hounds, and he was greatly disappointed with the attitude of the Great Western Railway when it refused his request to start two locomotives from opposite directions on a single line so that he could witness the resulting crash, even though he offered to pay all costs.
	Given the Marquess's nature, it is not surprising that he was invited to the Eglinton Tournament in 1839 [see the note under 'Eglinton' for further information on this tournament]. Here he met and fell in love with Louisa Stewart, daughter of the 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay. They were married in June 1842, after which the Marquess gave up his wild ways and settled down to live happily on his estates, where he became somewhat of a model landlord, working hard to reduce the effects of the Great Famine on his tenants and neighbours. He remained devoted to hunting, however, and it was on the hunting-field that he met his death when he was thrown from his horse, breaking his neck.
	John Henry de la Poer Beresford, 5th Marquess of Waterford - about 12 years before his death, the 5th Marquess suffered a severe back injury which caused him to be in constant pain. In the year before his death, he underwent an operation which considerably relieved his pain, but a few months before his death he tripped on a carpet at the family seat at Curraghmore, which aggravated his old injury, causing the pain to return. On 23 October 1895, the Marquess committed suicide by shooting himself through the head with a revolver.
	Lord Delaval James de la Poer Beresford, brother of the 5th Marquess - Lord Delaval was born 19 January 1862. At some point around 1890 he migrated to America, where he is reported to have owned a large ranch in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and another property at Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada. He was travelling between his two properties on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad on 22 December 1906. The train was running two hours late, and the driver was running at high speed in an attempt to make up some of the lost time when, at Enderlin in North Dakota, the train ran into a switch engine and the carriages were derailed before bursting into flames. Nine passengers were killed, including Lord Delaval.
	Charles Claudius de la Poer Beresford, kinsman of the 5th Marquess - Charles was a Captain in the Army, commanding the 1st Field Troop, Royal Engineers. On 30 May 1910, at 6.30 a.m., Captain Beresford was with his troop when a horse being exercised on the road near where he was, in turn, seated on his horse, suddenly bolted with its rider. Beresford attempted to check the other horse's flight, with the result that a collision occurred and both horses and riders were thrown to the ground. When he was taken to hospital, Beresford was found to have a fractured skull, from which he died later that day.
	Henry de la Poer Beresford, 6th Marquess of Waterford - on 1 December 1911 the 6th Marquess was drowned when he fell into a small river which ran through his estate. At the subsequent inquest, evidence was given that he was last seen talking with one of his gardeners before returning to his house. At the time it was dark, and it appears that the Marquess had wandered off the path and fallen down a steep slope into the river, where his body was found early the following morning.
	John Charles de la Poer Beresford, 7th Marquess of Waterford - in April 1923, the Marquess was being driven home to his house at Curraghmore when someone fired a shot at his car, wounding his driver in the head. In December 1927, he was nearly killed when the car he was driving skidded and overturned in a ditch. His luck finally ran out on 25 September 1934 when he saw a hare on his front lawn and, after picking up a rifle in his gun-room, he slipped and the gun accidentally discharged, shooting him through his right temple.
	The Waterford Peerage Claim of 1913‑1918
	The claimant in this case was a gardener named George Tooth who claimed to be the son of the fifth Marquess of Waterford. His case was that, on 29 March 1873, the wife of the fifth Marquess gave birth to a still-born child. The Marchioness died a week later, on 4 April 1873, and the mother and child were buried together. At that time, Lady Waterford had a cook whose sister had given birth to an illegitimate child at a workhouse. Lady Waterhouse, out of sympathy, had taken the child from the workhouse and had it educated, and Lord Waterford continued to do so after her death.
	Tooth alleged that he was the child that was supposed to have been still-born. He began to make this claim about 1893, and, as time passed and the witnesses were reaching old age, he commenced an action to perpetuate their testimony. The chief witnesses were Mrs. Priscilla White who, as Miss Priscilla Kynaston, had been a maid companion to the Marchioness, and Mrs. Price (now Mrs. Vivian) who had been a personal friend of the Marchioness. The testimony of these two witnesses was taken in July 1913. Both witnesses denied that Tooth was the son of the Marquess, and confirmed that the child had been still-born and buried with his mother.
	In March 1914, Tooth commenced an action for slander against Mrs. White for having stated that he was not the son of the fifth Marquess. This case was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, but immediately afterwards, Tooth began to send abusive letters and postcards to Mrs. White, accusing her of being part of a conspiracy and of being a murderess. He was arrested and charged with criminal libel, and, after pleading guilty, was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
	Tooth's claim to be the son of the fifth Marquess was heard in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court in January 1918. The claim was made in the form of a petition by "George Beresford, sometimes known as George Tooth", a gardener, for a declaration under the Legitimacy Declaration Act that he was the lawful son of John Henry de la Poer, fifth Marquess of Waterford. The petition was opposed by the current Marquess, who was then a minor, whose mother appeared as guardian.
	The following extract from The Times of 1 February 1918 gives the judgment of the presiding judge (Lord Coleridge):-
	In this case the petitioner claims real and personal property, and applies by petition to this Court for a declaration that he is the legitimate child of the fifth Marquess of Waterford, born on March 29, 1873, in lawful wedlock. The respondent says that the petitioner is the child of one Georgina Tooth, and was born in the Holborn Workhouse on January 25, 1872.
	On August 9, 1872, Mrs. Vivian, the divorced wife of a Captain Vivian, was married to Lord Waterford. At that time she was living at 7, Upper Brook-street, Mayfair, but in the autumn of 1872 she moved to 27, Chesham-place. There, on March 29, 1873, she was confined. There was a doctor in attendance, named Gream, a man of high repute, and I have before me a signed certificate by him that Lady Waterford was delivered of a stillborn child. Lord Waterford, Doctor Gream, and Lady Waterford's maid, Priscilla Kynaston, and, possibly, other persons were present at the birth, and their account is that the infant was born, and that it cried, but that after a short time it died. The little dead body was handed to Priscilla Kynaston by Dr. Gream. All the household knew of its death.
	His Lordship referred to the burial of the child at Brompton Cemetery on April 1, and continued: "Three days later Lady Waterford died, and it was decided that, in the sad circumstances, the little thing which had been born of her body should be buried with its mother at Curraghmore, the family seat. Mr. Pitney has proved the exhumation and the making of another coffin, which was somewhat more elaborate than the original one, and which was also encased in blue velvet. That coffin was taken by Mr. Pitney to Ireland. He travelled with it, and did not lose sight of it, and I have the most conclusive evidence of its interment in Ireland. The family vault was either full or its was thought advisable not to bury the two coffins in it, and, therefore, a brick grave, or vault, had been prepared. A great many members of the family attended the funeral, and in that new brick grave at Curraghmore were placed the body of Lady Waterford in her coffin and, alongside it, the body of the stillborn infant. No one doubted these facts at the time; no one thought of doubting them. There was a tomb erected with an inscription on it that Lady Waterford had died and was buried with her stillborn child. Later, in the church, an exquisite monument was placed to the memory of Lady Waterford showing her robed, with her infant nestling at her side.
	"These facts have been proved before me. I am asked by the petitioner to pronounce, in face of these facts, that the child was born alive, and that it survived; that it was smuggled out of the house, 27 Chesham-place, without the knowledge of any of the servants, no one knows whither; and that some dead body was smuggled into the house without the knowledge of any of the servants, no one knows whence; that Dr. Gream knowingly gave a false certificate; that Priscilla Kynaston, now Mrs. White, was privy to this conspiracy, and that her account of what occurred is a tissue of lies; and that Lord Waterford, who had had a son and heir born to him and members of his family were privy to this conspiracy. All I can say is that I should be credulous indeed if I were to adopt so incredible a story based on nothing but insinuation."
	His Lordship asked:- Who, then, is the claimant? He referred to the birth, on January 25, 1872, in the Holborn Workhouse, of the son of Georgina Tooth, a servant in the service of Mrs. Vivian, and the death of the mother nine days later. He continued:- The death of this friendless and deserted girl and the survival of the little, derelict infant were brought to the knowledge of Mrs. Vivian. Mrs. Vivian, whatever may have been her frailties, seems to have been a very warm-hearted woman. Mrs. Vivian was at that time, at the convent, no doubt an occasion in the life of anyone which would enlist sober and humane thoughts.
	The child of Georgina Tooth had no lawful claim on Mrs. Vivian. Compassion alone determined her to provide for it. She sent Priscilla Kynaston to the guardians of Holborn Workhouse to take the child to the convent, and on February 21, 1872, it was christened in the name of "George Tooth". By that name the claimant has since been known, and in that name he now brings his suit. A kindly, respectable woman of middle age, Mrs. Duncan, was found to take charge of this little, derelict orphan. It cannot be denied that the child handed to Mrs. Duncan was the claimant. As George Tooth was living, and was shown at 7, Upper Brook-street, where his maintenance was paid for, in the autumn of 1872, he could not be the child of Lord and Lady Waterford which was born at 27, Chesham-place, dead or alive, on March 29, 1873. The petitioner attempts to combat that by urging that Mrs. Duncan did not take charge of the child before April, 1873. That is merely pure contradiction. The petitioner himself was too young to know, and the evidence on this point which has been presented to me I entirely decline to accept.
	Further, the claimant urges that his upbringing was paid for by Lord Waterford after Lady Waterford's death, and that that was suspicious conduct on the part of Lord Waterford and ground for supposing that he must have been his father. The real truth is this. Lord Waterford was undoubtedly deeply moved by the tragedy of his wife's death. It was natural, it was very creditable, that he should wish to continue the maintenance of the little orphan, the subject of such disinterested charity on the part of his dead wife. I find that it has been conclusively proved before me that Lady Waterford was, on March 29, 1873, confined of a stillborn child, and that she and her little one sleep together in Curraghmore Churchyard. It has also been proved before me, and I also find, that the claimant is the son of Georgina Tooth, and was born in the Holborn Workhouse on January 25, 1872, and that he has not, and never has had, any connexion, legitimate or illegitimate, with any member of the Waterford family.
	Archibald John Arthur Wavell, 2nd and last Earl Wavell
	Wavell was killed while leading a patrol against Mau Mau guerrillas in Kenya in December 1953, as reported in the Perth Mirror of 26 December 1953:-
	Mau Mau terrorists shot and killed Major Earl Wavell, 37, only son of the late Field Marshal, in a nightlong battle on Christmas Eve in the Thaika area, 25 miles north of Nairobi.
	Wavell, who was leading the Black Watch Regiment was killed instantly by a burst of terrorist fire which also wounded a non-commissioned officer and an assistant police inspector when the Mau Mau gang fled from the cover of the copse.
	During the 10-hour battle several African police Askari [soldier or police officer] and two European police officers were killed and 4 African Askaris wounded. Mau Mau casualties were 5 killed and 4 captured.
	British headquarters in Nairobi said that the engagement began after a force of Black Watch troops and police led by Wavell chased the gang of about 60 which had beheaded a local Kikuyu tribesman in the Thaika area. [The] force trapped about 20 in a gang in the copse. [The] terrorists were armed with automatic weapons, rifles, pistols, and shot guns and opened heavy fire from a wood, inflicting the first casualties.
	Police reinforcements rushed up and surrounded the copse under [a] hail of terrorists' fire. Battle raged in light burning trees which were fired in an attempt to burn out the gang. Fire spread through the wood and at dawn a number of trapped Mau Mau burst from cover, trying to break through the troop cordon.
	At first light security forces moved into the burning copse, killing 5 terrorists and wounding 4. They were patrolling the area on Christmas Day with armoured cars and tracker dogs, hunting the remaining members of the gang in a nearby forest.
	One armed Major Archibald Wavell [he lost his left hand fighting against the Japanese in Burma in June 1944] succeeded his one-eyed father [he had lost his left eye in the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915], who was the famous wartime commander of the North African campaign and former Viceroy of India in 1950, 3 years after the title was created. He was holder of the Military Cross. Recently he ended a year's leave from the army, when he was collecting papers for a biography of his father. He was unmarried and there is no heir.
	Philip James Stanhope, Baron Weardale
	Lord Weardale was a son of the 5th Earl Stanhope, and had sat in the House of Commons for Wednesbury 1886‑1892, Burnley 1893‑1900 and Harborough 1904‑1905, in the following year being created Baron Weardale.
	In March 1912, Weardale became joint president (with Lord Curzon) of the National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage, an organisation devoted to opposing the extension of the right to vote to women. Needless to say, this position did not endear him to members of the Suffragette movement.
	On 18 February 1914, Lord Weardale was attacked at Euston Station, as reported in The Times of the following day:-
	A violent attack was made on Lord Weardale at Euston Station just before 10 o'clock yesterday morning. His assailant was a young woman armed with a dog-whip, who apparently mistook him for the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith] … Lord Weardale had just alighted from his motor-car and was walking towards the train when the young woman rushed at him. The first blow struck knocked his hat off, and further blows caused him to fall. The suffragist was immediately seized by members of the London and North-Western Railway Police.
	Although the woman initially refused to divulge her name, by the time she appeared before the Clerkenwell Police Court on 25 February 1914, she had been identified as Mary Lindsay, aged 24. The Times reported:-
	At Clerkenwell Police Court yesterday Mary Lindsay, 24, of Harvard Court, West Hampstead, was charged, on remand with assaulting Lord Weardale by striking him on the head with a dog-whip at Euston Station.
	At a previous hearing a solicitor had appeared on behalf of Miss Lindsay and had stated that she struck Lord Weardale in mistake for Mr. Asquith and that an apology would be tendered. When asked yesterday by Mr. Bros [the Magistrate] if she wished to say anything, she replied, "I did make a mistake in taking Lord Weardale for Mr. Asquith. At the same time, I cannot possibly offer an apology. Although Lord Weardale was not so much power for torturing women as Mr. Asquith, I hold him in just as much contempt."
	Mr. Bros -You were remanded to see whether you were really of sound mind. The doctor who has had you under his care says he is of opinion that, although you are of highly-strung nerves and impulsive, there is no evidence to justify him saying you are insane. It occurred to me that it was the act of an insane person.
	The accused - Not at all.
	The Magistrate - You understand your act? - Yes, absolutely. I think men who torture women in the 20th century should be thrashed.
	This old gentleman had not tortured women. - It was quite enough that he is president of the Anti-Suffrage Society.
	Here is an old man, 70 years of age, nearly - All the more shame.
	You seem to me really to have no respect for age. - I don't see that age comes into it. It is not a question of age at all.
	But here is a harmless old gentleman going about his business, and he is suddenly attacked by a wild woman, who hits him on the head with a dog-whip, a most offensive weapon. Had you been insane, there would have been some excuse. But you knew what you were doing, and you must pay the penalty. Forty shillings or 14 days.
	The fine was paid.

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