14-28 Nov 1837 Death of Earl of Egremont - Cumberland and Westmorland Newspaper Transcriptions

14-28 Nov 1837 Death of Earl of Egremont

DEATH OF THE EARL OF EGREMONT. - George O'Brien WYNDHAM, Earl of EGREMONT, Baron
COCKERMOUTH, and a baronet, was born December 13, 1751, and he died at
Petworth-house, deeply lamented, on Saturday night at 11 o'clock, in the 86th
year of his age. Sir M. TIERNEY was in attendance upon his Lordship from the
time he was taken seriously ill - namely, on last Tuesday morning, till he died.
This excellent and munificent nobleman, "whose name is associated with almost
every institution of the country of which the object is to increase the sum of
human happiness," (vide BAXTER's History of Sussex,) was a liberal patron of the
arts, a generous benefactor to the poor in the neighbourhood and for miles
around Petworth, by whom his death will be sincerely and deeply felt. He
succeeded his father August 21, 1763, and was for a number of years
Lord-Lieutenant of the county. His health during the last year or two had been
rapidly declining, and his Lordship when last in Brighton was heard to say that
he should not go through another winter. He is succeeded in his title by his
nephew, Captain Francis WYNDHAM, R.N. The Earl and Countess of MUNSTER were at
Petworth when the venerated parent of the latter breathed his last. The families
of Carnarvon, Romney, Porchester, and Marsham, will be thrown into mourning by
the death of his Lordship. - Standard.

The Times, Wednesday, Nov 15, 1837; pg. 5; Issue 16574; col C

[Advertisement.] - On Saturday night, the 11th inst., died George O'Brien
WYNDHAM, Earl of EGREMONT and Baron of COCKERMOUTH, after a short illness, at
his house at Petworth. The decease of this nobleman, at the great age of nearly
86, has been attended by the deepest regret of his relatives and numerous
friends, and his memory is accompanied by the esteem and regard of all classes;
and more especially in the county of Sussex, where his liberality, benevolence,
and urbanity have been, during his long life, more immediately exercised.

The Times, Thursday, Nov 16, 1837; pg. 6; Issue 16575; col B

                              THE LATE EARL OF EGREMONT.
                                            -------------------

[The following panegyric has perhaps one or two exceptionable passages: but in
the main it is just. The deceased Peer was certainly a noble specimen of the
best breed of English gentlemen.]

                                     (From the Brighton Patriot.)

The Earl of EGREMONT was not eminent as a statesman or a warrior; neither
illustrious for eloquence or genius; he was remarkable for one quality alone,
and that was immense benevolence. To do good seemed to be his great
characteristic; and as other men are praised for their figure, or their rank,
their wit, or their splendour, the Earl of EGREMONT was praised, and praised
universally, for his generosity. He seemed to delight in giving, as other men
delight in accumulating; and to do good was in him the mere instinct of a noble
nature.

Fortunately for the Earl of EGREMONT, and more fortunately for that portion of
mankind that inhabited the county of Sussex and the neighbourhood of Petworth,
he possessed a princely fortune and long life. These enabled him to indulge to
the utmost his charities and his gifts, and allowed him to perform a long
succession of useful actions to his fellow-creatures.

In the early part of his life he was gay and splendid; loved and indulged in
expense without extravagance, or without impairing his fortune; but he detested
gambling and drinking, and injured his estates and his constitution neither by
one nor the other.

Nature had been bountiful to him in form and face. He possessed a good, but not
a lofty figure, and his features were regular and handsome. His manners too were
easy, simple, and unaffected; and if he possessed the pride which usually
accompanies exalted rank and splendid fortune, it was never shown in haughtiness
of demeanour or roughness of conduct.

He never took, we believe, any part or interest in politics. It may be supposed,
from the rank he held in society, that his political opinions inclined to
Toryism; for in his youth Tory principles were held in honour, and it was quite
sufficient to be noble, rich, and exclusive, to be respected by the high and
reverenced by the low. But if he held high Tory principles, and was intolerant
and overbearing in his opinions respecting his own rank, and persons of his own
class, he certainly never obtruded them on public notice, and was content with
keeping "the even tenour of his way," unmolesting and unmolested. In truth, he
never meddled with politics, nor appeared, if we may form an opinion from his
conduct, to understand them; he might despise them or he might not; or, which is
more probable, he might think that actions are more sincere than words, and that
instead of making long harangues respecting the means of making mankind happy,
the better way was to do them some immediate and effectual good. He certainly
had more to do with the poor than with the rich, and received a greater
satisfaction in seeing a thousand hungry persons enjoying a hearty meal at his
expense than in making a vapid discourse to famished multitudes respecting the
means of existence.

We might cite a thousand examples of public and private charity, without
enumerating a twentieth part of his good acts, and fill pages of useful deeds,
and yet have pages to fill. To all public charitable establishments he was a
donor, and no person in want ever went out of his presence unassisted. He might
sometimes give imprudently, but he always gave. We cite the following acts of
generosity, because we have heard them from the best authority: -

Lord C., a venerable and respected nobleman, was known to be much embarrassed,
and a subscription was opened at WHITE's to relieve him. Lord EGREMONT was
applied to, and he gave an indefinite answer. A few days afterwards he called on
the receiver of the subscriptions, and putting a check for 10,000L. into his
hands, said "There, put my name down for 300L., and say nothing about the rest."

Dr. B., a physician well known at one time in Brighton, was much involved. "How
is it," said Lord EGREMONT, when he happened to see him, "that I hear so much of
your debts and difficulties? Here, take this," putting a thousand pounds into
his hand, "pay your debts, and let me hear no more of these things."

The family of EGREMONT, as is well known, is ancient and illustrious, and
connected by descent with some of the most eminent English and Irish families.
The title of the Earl of EGREMONT passes to the late Lord's nephew in default of
legitimate children, and part of the estates also, it being generally understood
that the late Earl had the power of bestowing the greater part of his large
estates and other property on his children by the late Countess of EGREMONT
previous to their marriage.

The death of the Earl of EGREMONT will leave a gap in English society which will
not be very easily filled up. He was, we believe, almost the only example left
of that old English nobility who regarded themselves as the accountable stewards
of their own wealth - as the depositary of immense riches for the benefit of
mankind. If he had some errors in his youth, he repaired them all by the
regularity and virtues of his advanced life. It was said of Augustus, "That it
had been well for mankind if that he had never lived, or never died." This was
said of a man who did much evil in his youth, and much good in his age; but Lord
EGREMONT was consistent throughout, for no one ever accused him of doing evil;
his life, therefore, should have been eternal, as an example and a blessing.

The Times, Saturday, Nov 18, 1837; pg. 5; Issue 16577; col E

                              THE LATE EARL OF EGREMONT.
                                            -------------------

The following just and discriminating tribute to the merits of this deceased
nobleman comes from one who knew him well: -

"The late Earl of EGREMONT, who died after a few days' illness, within one month
of having attained his 86th year, was a remarkable man, and his loss will be
more felt within the sphere of his personal influence (and that extended over
the whole county of Sussex) than perhaps any private individual's ever was
before. He was immensely rich, and his munificence was as unbounded as his
wealth. No man probably ever gave away so much money in promoting charitable
institutions or useful undertakings, and in assisting, pensioning, and
supporting his numerous relations and dependents. His understanding was
excellent, his mind highly cultivated, and he retained all his faculties, even
his memory, unimpaired to the last. He was remarkably acute, shrewd, and
observant, and in his manner blunt without rudeness, and caustic without
bitterness. Although he had for some years withdrawn himself from the world, he
took an eager interest and curiosity in all that was passing in it; and though
not mixed up in politics, and sedulously keeping aloof from all party contests,
he did not fail to think deeply, and express himself strongly, upon the
important questions and events of the times. His political opinions and
principles were of a Tory complexion, and latterly he was an alarmist as well as
a Conservative. Nevertheless, he numbered many distinguished Whigs amongst his
oldest and most attached friends, and to these friendships he adhered with
unshaken constancy, never suffering any difference of political opinion to
disturb the harmony of his social relations. Although a Tory, his mind was cast
in a liberal mould, to which the only exception seems to have been his
opposition to Catholic emancipation; this is difficult to account for in a man
so sagacious and benevolent, but from the force of prejudices early instilled
into a mind of tenacious grasp, which was not latterly exposed to the changeful
influence of worldly commerce and the interchange of political thoughts. It is
probable that Lord EGREMONT might have acted a conspicuous part in politics if
he had chosen to embark on that troubled sea; and upon the rare occasions when
he addressed the House of Lords he delivered himself with energy and effect; but
his temper, disposition, and habits, were altogether incompatible with the
trammels of office or the restraints of party connexions, and he preferred the
unfettered enjoyment of the pursuits and pleasures of private life, which a vast
fortune, a vigorous constitution, and literary tastes, placed in abundant
variety before him. But in the system of happiness which he marked out for
himself the happiness of others formed a large and essential ingredient, nor did
old age, as it stole upon him with gradual and insensible steps, dull the
brightness of his intellect, or chill the warmth of his heart: his mind was
continually intent on ministering to the necessities or providing for the
pleasure of those around him, and there was nothing in which he took such keen
delight as the rural festivals with which he annually celebrated his birth-day,
when thousands of the surrounding villagers were assembled in his park, to eat,
drink, and be merry. At Petworth, where he almost always resided, he exercised a
boundless hospitality. He was a zealous, munificent, and judicious patron of the
arts, and to the numerous painters and sculptors whom he protected and employed
his loss will be no less irreparable than severe. To describe in minute detail
those pecularities of habit and disposition, the idiosynchrasies which
illustrate character, would be an indecorous violation of the sanctities of
private life; and it is sufficient to say that in Lord EGREMONT, such as they
were, they served to exhibit the vivacity of his mind and its shrewd and
epigrammatic turn in a remarkable manner; and few persons visited Petworth
without being struck with delight at the benevolence of his disposition and
amazement at the vigour and freshness of his intellectual powers. To have lived
to a great age in the practice of beneficence and the dispensation of happiness,
and to die without bodily suffering or mental decay, in the enjoyment of
existence up to the instant of its close, affords an example of human
prosperity, both in life and in death, which has fallen to the lot of few, but
which may well excite the envy and admiration of all."

The Times, Friday, Nov 24, 1837; pg. 5; Issue 16582; col D

FUNERAL OF THE EARL OF EGREMONT. - The interment of the remains of
the late Earl of EGREMONT took place at Petworth to-day (Tuesday) with much
heartfelt sorrow, amid many outward tokens of respect to the departed nobleman.
The body did not lie in state, but all persons, however poor, who desired it,
were allowed to take a parting view of the corpse up to Tuesday night, the 14th.
It was laid in a leaden coffin in the late lord's bed-room, the coffin being
lined with white kerseymere, and trimmed with satin. The corpse was covered with
white satin fluted down each side, and fastened at the neck with a white silk
cord and tassels, which reached down to the centre. The head was covered with a
white satin cap, and the features of the venerable Earl were not in any way
distorted; and so quiet and calm was their expression, that many of the
beholders could scarcely persuade themselves their late benevolent friend had
ceased to breathe. The leaden coffin was next day placed within another coffin
covered with purple velvet, ornamented with brass nails. The body having been
then removed into the marble hall, was there left till the time appointed for
the burial to-day, when it was carried out by 12 labourers and placed on a car
which stood in front of the house, and which, by means of six handles on each
side, was slowly propelled to the place of interment. The funeral procession,
which was pedestrian, started at half-past 2 o'clock, proceeding round the
house, out at the lodge by the stable-yard, and so through the town. The remains
of the late Earl are deposited in a vault built by himself, where also repose
the remains of his three brothers, a nephew, and three of his grand-children.
Colonel George WYNDHAM and Sir C. BURRELL are the late Lord's executors.
Petworth-house, and most of the other property in Sussex, is, we hear, left to
Colonel George. - Brighton Guardian.

The Times, Friday, Nov 24, 1837; pg. 5; Issue 16582; col D

THE LATE EARL OF EGREMONT. - Various statements of the distribution of the late
Earl's property have appeared; but we are assured that the following is the more
accurate one: - Colonel George WYNDHAM (his Lordship's eldest son) is to take
Petworth, the princely property, and mansion; Major-General WYNDHAM (the second
son) will have the estates of Cockermouth, in Cumberland; and Colonel Charles
WYNDHAM (the youngest son) the estates in Norfolk, &c. The present Earl (his
Lordship's nephew) will have the estates in Somersetshire, Devon, and Cornwall.
Prior to his Lordship's decease, and we believe on his death-bed, the
kind-hearted Earl particularly requested that his Christmas donations to the
poor of the village of Petworth might be continued this year as usual. The
donations on Christmas-eve have for many years consisted of a liberal supply of
meat; and, during the ensuing week, of clothing of every description, as well as
bed linen, to each poor family in the parish, according to their necessities. -
Taunton Courier.

The Times, Tuesday, Nov 28, 1837; pg. 7; Issue 16585; col E

THE EARL OF EGREMONT'S WILL. - The will of the Earl of EGREMONT, which was read
before the family, and to those to whom bequests were made, on Wednesday last,
gives to the present Earl the ancient family residence in Somersetshire, called
Orchard Wyndham, and 16,000L. per annum; to his eldest son, General WYNDHAM, he
has bequeathed the Cumberland estates, with Cockermouth Castle, amounting to
15,000L. a-year; to George WYNDHAM, Petworth-house, the estates adjoining, and
60,000L. in cash; to his third son, the whole of the funded property, amounting
to about 220,000L. 3 per Cents.; to each of his daughters, 45,000L. Legacies
have been left to many friends and artists who have been patronized by his
Lordship; and the estates have been charged with adequate annuities for the
lives of his various domestics. The executors are Colonel WYNDHAM and Sir
Charles BURRELL. - Evening paper. We believe George WYNDHAM is the eldest son.