Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans

Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) was a British landowner, and a collector of antiquities and works of art.[1]

Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans
Aubrey Beauclerk (centre) (Franciszek Smuglevicz)
Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Thetford
In office 1761–1768 Serving with Henry Seymour Conway
Preceded by	Lord Henry Beauclerk Herbert Westfaling
Succeeded by	Henry Seymour Conway John Drummond
Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Aldborough
In office 1768–1774 Serving with Andrew Wilkinson 1768–1772 Earl of Lincoln 1772–1774
Preceded by	Nathaniel Cholmley Viscount Villiers
Succeeded by	Charles Wilkinson Abel Smith
Personal details
Born	3 June 1740
Died	9 February 1802 (aged 61)
Resting place	St George's Church, Hanworth, England
Spouse(s)	Lady Catherine Ponsonby ​ ​ (m. 1763; died 1789)​
Children	Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans Lady Catherine Burgess Lord Amelius Beauclerk Lord Frederick Beauclerk Lady Caroline Dundas Lady Georgiana Beauclerk
Father	Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere

Early life

Aubrey Beauclerk was born in 1740, the son of Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere (third son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans) and Mary Chambers (eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Chambers of Hanworth Park, Middlesex).[2]

Career

From 1761 to 1768, he served as Member of Parliament for Thetford; from 1768 to 1774 he was Member for Aldborough.

In 1778, Beauclerk and his wife went to Rome, following rumours in the press concerning Catherine Beauclerk's relationship with Thomas Brand (junior). Brand accompanied the Beauclerks to Rome, abandoning his own wife and children.

In 1779, Beauclerk financed an excavation with Thomas Jenkins at Centocelle, which produced several ancient sculptures. To celebrate this successful excavation Beauclerk commissioned Franciszek Smuglewicz to paint a portrait of him and his family at the site (the painting is now at Cheltenham Art Gallery). Some of the sculptures were sold to Giovanni Battista Visconti for the Museo Pio-Clementino at the Vatican in Rome, and others to the British collector, Henry Blundell; many were displayed at Beauclerk's house at Hanworth by 1783. While in Italy Beauclerk also bought several paintings.

On the death of his father in 1781, Beauclerk became the 2nd Baron Vere, and in 1787, on the death of his unmarried cousin George, he became the 5th Duke of St Albans.[2] In 1781, he inherited Hanworth. In 1802, five years after inheriting the Dukedom, he sold Hanworth to James Ramsey Cuthbert.

Beauclerk disposed of his collection of antiquities at sales in 1798 and 1801 - which did not deter him from being a major purchaser in 1801 at sales of his father-in-law's collections.

Personal life

Thomas Gainsborough: Portrait of Lady Catherine Ponsonby

On 4 May 1763 Beauclerk married Lady Catherine Ponsonby (1742–1789), daughter of William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough (who served in both the Irish and the British House of Commons, and held office as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, a Privy Counsellor, and Chief Secretary for Ireland)[3] and Lady Caroline Cavendish (eldest daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire).[2] Together, Lady Catherine and Lord Aubrey were the parents of seven children:[2]

• Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans (1765–1815)
• William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans (1766–1825)
• Lady Catherine Elizabeth Beauclerk (c. 1768–1803), who married Rev. James Burgess on 1 September 1802.[2]
• Admiral Lord Amelius Beauclerk (1771–1846), who died unmarried.[2]
• The Reverend Lord Frederick Beauclerk (1773–1850), who married the Hon. Charlotte Dillon (daughter of Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount Dillon).[2]
• Lady Caroline Beauclerk (c. 1775–1838), who married the Hon. Charles Dundas (son of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas).[2]
• Lady Georgiana Beauclerk (1776–1791), who died unmarried at age 15.[2]

Beauclerk died in 1802, and is buried in St George's Church, Hanworth.[4]

References

1. I. Bignamini, Digging And Dealing in Eighteenth-Century Rome (2010), p.236-237
2. "St Albans, Duke of (E, 1683/4)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
3. "PONSONBY, William, Visct. Duncannon (c.1704-93)". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
4. "St George's Church - History". St George's Church, Hanworth. Retrieved 2 February 2015.