The Earl of Dysart | |
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_School_-_Wilbraham_Tollemache_(1739%25E2%2580%25931821)%2c_6th_Earl_of_Dysart%2c_as_a_Boy_-_1139786_-_National_Trust.jpg) | |
| Born | (1739-10-21)21 October 1739 England |
| Died | 9 March 1821(1821-03-09) (aged 81) Ham House, London |
| Occupations | MP forNorthampton &Liskeard High Sheriff of Cheshire &High Steward of Ipswich |
| Spouse | Anna Maria Lewis |
| Parents |
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Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart,FRS (21 October 1739 – 9 March 1821) was a British military officer, politician and peer who sat in theHouse of Commons from 1771 to 1784.[1][2]
Tollemache was a younger son ofLionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart. He originally served in theRoyal Navy, and then in theBritish Army, retiring in 1775 as amajor in the6th Regiment of Foot. He first entered theHouse of Commons asMember of Parliament forNorthampton in 1771.[1] On 4 February 1773, he married Anna Maria Lewis, but had no children. He continued to sit for Northampton until 1780, and then representedLiskeard until 1784. He wasHigh Sheriff of Cheshire in 1785, and laterHigh Steward of Ipswich, like his elder brother.[3]
He inherited the earldom and the accompanying estates from his childless elder brother,Lionel, at the age of sixty in 1799. One of his first acts was to purchase themanor ofCanbury fromGeorge Hardinge, bringing the area back into the family. Wilbraham carried out a programme of improvements atHam House, including the creation of the Yellow Satin Bedroom, demolishing part of the northern wall and opening the view of the house to the river, relocating the busts of Roman Emperors to niches in the house wall, creating theha-has and the addition of theCoade stone statues. Wilbraham was a collector of art and was an early patron ofJohn Constable.[4] Tollemache was also a patron ofReynolds andGainsborough.[5] The historian Evelyn Pritctard describes him as "a different character from the three previous earls – cultivated, humane, generous, with polished manners, treating his dependents and servants extremely well".[4]
Dysart died without children. All five sons of the 4th Earl were dead, and there were no grandsons. The Tollemache baronetcy, therefore, became extinct, while the Earldom of Dysart passed to his sisterLady Louisa Manners. The estates were divided between Louisa and her younger sister, Lady Jane Halliday, with Jane receiving Helmingham, Suffolk, Cheshire and Northants, whilst Louisa inherited Ham House and the surrounding estates in Ham, Petersham and Canbury. Both families took the name of Tollemache.[3][4]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorthampton withSir George Brydges Rodney 1771–1774 Sir George Robinson, Bt 1774–1780 1771–1780 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLiskeard withSamuel Salt 1780–1784 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Willis | High Sheriff of Cheshire 1785 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Dysart 1799–1821 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Helmingham) 1799–1821 | Extinct |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
