Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield

Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706–1776) was an English politician and peer, the last of the Earls of Lichfield.

Robert Lee
Earl of Lichfield
Reign	–1776
Predecessor	George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield
Born	3 July 1706
Died	4 November 1776
Spouse(s)	Catherine Stonhouse
Detail Issue The marriage was childless
Father	Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield
Mother	Charlotte FitzRoy

Birth and origins

Robert was born on 3 July 1706 in St. James Street, Westminster, London.[1] He was one of the ten children and the youngest of the sons of Edward Henry Lee and his wife Charlotte FitzRoy. His father was created the 1st Earl of Lichfield just before his marriage. Robert's mother was a natural daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.[2]

Family tree

Robert Lee with wife, parents, and other selected relatives. Charles II 1630–1685 Barbara Villiers 1640–1709 Edward 1st Earl 1663–1716 Charlotte FitzRoy 1664–1718 George 2nd Earl 1690–1742 Frances Hales d. 1769 Robert 4th Earl 1706–1766 Catherine Stonhouse 1708–1784 George 3rd Earl 1718–1772 Diana Frankland c. 1719–1779 Henry 11th Viscount 1705–1787 Charlotte Lee d. 1794 Henrietta- Maria Phipps 1757–1782 Charles 12th Viscount 1745–1813 Marie Rogier d. 1833 Legend XXX Robert Lee XXX Earls of Lichfield XXX Viscounts Dillon Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Robert listed among his brothers

He appears at the bottom of the list of brothers as the youngest: Edward Henry (died 1713), became the colonel of the Royal Regiment of Guards and never married;[3] James (died 1711), became a captain in the Royal Navy and married Sarah, daughter of John Bagshaw, but the marriage stayed childless;[4] Charles (died 1708), never married;[5] George Henry (died 1742), became the 2nd Earl;[6] Fitzroy Henry Lee (1699–1750), became a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy;[7] and Robert Lee (1706–1776).

Robert's sisters
Charlotte (1678–1721), married Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore;[8] Anne, died young;[9] Elizabeth, married first Colonel Lee and secondly the Reverend Dr. Edward Young;[10] and Barbara, married Sir Charles, 2nd Baronet Browne of Kiddington.[11][12]

Hunting scene by John Wootton (1744), with Robert Lee on the left holding the gun, George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield, his nephew, mounted in the centre

Early life

Lee was MP for Oxford from 1754 to 1768, and considered a Tory.[13] Lee held the sinecure position of Custos Brevium of the Court of Common Pleas, in the royal gift.

Marriage

On 29 May 1745, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Lee married Catherine Stonhouse (1708–1784), daughter of Sir John Stonhouse, 3rd Baronet, of Radley, Berkshire.[14][15] The marriage was childless.[16]

4th Earl

On 17 September 1772, at the age of 66, Lee became the 4th Earl of Lichfield when the 3rd Earl, his nephew, died childless.[17]

Death, succession, and timeline

Lord Lichfield, as he now was, died childless on 4 November 1776,[18] falling off his horse while hunting near Ditchley.[19] He was buried in the All Saints church in Spelsbury in an elaborate marble monument by William Tyler (architect). He was the last Earl of this, the second, creation of the title. The earldom became extinct, but the estate went to his niece Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest surviving daughter of his brother, George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield. In 1744 Charlotte had married Viscount Dillon. Their son Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount Dillon inherited the estate at his mother's death in 1794. This included the house at Ditchley, which remained the home of the Viscounts Dillon until 1934.

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1706, 3 Jul	Born, in London.[1]
38	1745, 29 May	Married Catherine Stonhouse at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.[15]
66	1772, 17 Sep	Succeeded his nephew as 4th Earl of Lichfield.[17]
70	1776, 4 Nov	Died at Ditchley.[18]

References

1. Cokayne 1893, p. 76, line 3: "He [Robert Lee] was b. 3 July 1706, in St. James' Street Westm.;"
2. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 29: "His lordship [Edward Lee, 1st Earl] m. Lady Charlotte Fits-Roy, natural dau. of King CHARLES II., by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ..."
3. Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 19: "EDWARD HENRY LEE, styled Viscount Quarendon, 2d but 1st surv. s. and H. ap., b. at Windsor 6 June 1681, Col. of the Royal Reg. of Guards. He d.v.p. and unm. 1713."
4. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 35: "James, capt. R.N., m. Sarah, dau. of John Bagshaw, and d. in 1711, s.p."
5. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 37: "Charles, d. unm. 1708."
6. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 67: "The [2nd] earl d. 13 February 1742, and was s. by his eldest son GEORGE HENRY LEE, 3rd earl."
7. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 39: "Fitzroy Henry, vice-admiral R.N., d.s.p. 1720."
8. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 41: "Charlotte, m. to Benedict Calvert, Lord Baltimore."
9. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 42: "Anne, d. young."
10. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 43: "Elizabeth, m. 1st to Col. Lee 2ndly to Rev. Dr. Edward Young."
11. Burke & Burke 1838, p. 89, right column, line 4: "The gentleman [George Browne] m. first, in 1725, Lady Barbara Lee, youngest daughter of Edward, first Earl of Lichfield and widow of Colonel Lee ..."
12. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 44: "Barbara, m. to Sir Charles Browne, Bart. of Kiddington."
13. "Lee, Hon. Robert (1706–76), of Charlbury, Oxon., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 16 June 2015.
14. Betham 1801, p. 318, line 35: "Catherine [Stonhouse] was married in May 1745, to the hon. Robert Lee, afterwards Earl of Lichfield: she died his widow, March 8, 1784."
15. Cokayne 1893, p. 76, line 6: "He m. 29 May 1745, at St. Paul's Cathedral London, Catherine, da. of Sir John STONEHOUSE, Bart., of Radley ..."
16. Burke 1949, p. 1911, right column, line : "Catherine Stonhouse, b. 25 May, 1708, m. 29 May, 1745, Robert Lee, Earl of Lichfield, and d. 8 March 1784. He d.s.p. 4 Nov. 1776."
17. Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 72: "... but as he d.s.p. in 1772, the honours reverted to his uncle, ROBERT LEE as 4th earl ..."
18. Cokayne 1893, p. 76, line 8: "He d. s.p. at Ditchley, 4 Nov. 1776, aged 71 ..."
19. "The Scots Magazine". Edinburgh: Sands, Brymer, Murray and Cochran. 1776. p. 622. His death was occasioned by a fall he received from his horse the Friday preceding, as he was hunting near Ditchley.

• Betham, Rev. William (1801), The Baronetage of England: Or The History of the English Baronets, and Such Baronets of Scotland, as are of English Families; with Genealogical Tables, and Engravings of Their Coats of Arms, 1, London: William Miller
• Burke, John; Burke, John Bernard (1838), A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, London: Scott, Webster and Geary
• Burke, Bernard (1866), A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.), London: Harrison
• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1893), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 5 (1st ed.), London: George Bell and Sons – L to M (for Lichfield)

External links

• Genealogy of Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield on The Peerage website