Duke of Denver
Encyclopedia
The fictitious title of Duke of Denver was created by Dorothy Sayers for the family of Lord Peter Wimsey
. Lord Peter is the second of the three children of Mortimer Wimsey, 15th Duke of Denver. Gerald Wimsey, 16th Duke of Denver and Peter's elder brother, is the chief murder suspect in Clouds of Witness
, in which he is tried by his peer
s, in full form in the House of Lords
.
, discussed the family with Miss Sayers from February 1936 until 1940, and they discovered many former Wimseys in their correspondence. These came in two types:
In the supposed biographical note by his uncle Paul Austin Delagardie, Delagardie says:
Miss Sayers published several articles and pamphlets on the Wimseys, including a series of "Wimsey Papers", the wartime letters of the family, which appeared in the Spectator
from November 1939 to January 1940. After that she turned to her translation of Dante and other religious works. Scott-Giles writes that they met often, but he never ventured to bring up the Wimseys.
After her death, he wrote an article on Wimsey heraldry, (Coat of Arms, January 1959), and a correspondent discovered a crux
. The Wimseys are well-established as being of unbroken succession for sixteen generations (although, as will be seen above, Miss Sayers' genealogy found this too simple) but Gerald Wimsey is described at his trial as "Duke of Denver, in the Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland
", which would mean that the title was created after the Union
with Ireland
, which was passed on 2 July 1800 and came into effect on the following St. Sylvester's Day
(New Year's Eve).
Scott-Giles answered this in the manner of a Baker Street Irregular, by assuming that all the data given by Miss Sayers were correct, and coming up with an explanation to save the appearances, and he eventually produced a book on the House of Wimsey. He invented no Wimseys, which explains certain blanks in the list, but he enlarged some from half a sentence.
; the arms were actually changed after Edward I
's crusade
while Prince. (Gerald de Wimsey also fought for Prince Edward against Simon de Montfort
at the battle of Evesham
and elsewhere.)
Roger de Wimsey, his father, supported de Montfort; ever since, there has been a Wimsey on each side of civil strife, to preserve the family estates and intercede for their lives.
Gerald's grandfather, Peter de Guimsey, had guided King John
across the Wash
in 1215, and was very assiduous in searching for the King's treasury after it was swept away. He must have been unsuccessful, for none of it was handed in.
The supporters were adopted under Elizabeth; the badge, now unused, goes back to when Peter, Earl of Denver, left Richard III
's camp on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth. One of King Richard's supporters sent a hangman's rope after him, so that he could get used to the feel; Earl Peter knotted it and sent it back.
Paul Wimsey, 7th Duke of Denver ( -1677 ) m. Frances Montagu.
Peter Wimsey, 8th Duke of Denver ( - ), half-br. of prec.; 1st Viscount St. George.
George Wimsey, 9th Duke of Denver (c.1662 - ) m. Charlotte Death
Thomas George Churchill Wimsey, 10th Duke of Denver (1703 - ), who initially disinherited his son for an imprudent marriage.
George Augustus Wimsey, 11th Duke of Denver (c.1728 - ) m. Elizabeth ? surname unattested.
William Stanhope Wimsey, 12th Duke of Denver (1753–1817). He died without children; at his death, his higher titles became extinct, the Barony of Wimsey fell into abeyance
. He however conveyed his estates to his kinsman Charles Wimsey, 13th Duke of Denver, a descendant of the Barons Denver.
Gerald Christian Wimsey, 16th Duke of Denver (c. 1888 - ? ) m. his second cousin Helen Wimsey.
Lady Winifred Wimsey, daughter.
summoned his good servant Gerald de Wimsey to Parliament
, the king created a barony by writ: an hereditary title, and an hereditary right to be summoned to Parliament. It is inherited according to strict customary law: If a Baron Wimsey leaves sons, the eldest succeeds him; if he leaves an only daughter, she succeeds him (compare Baron Noel). If he dies without descendants, the title goes to the children of the previous Lord Wimsey by the same rules; this usually means his next eldest brother succeeds.
If he leaves no sons, but several daughters, the rules are different: The title is left in abeyance
between the daughters, and no-one succeeds. When all but one of the daughters die without offspring, or the offspring of all but one of them die out, the remaining daughter or her heir automatically succeed, as if she had been an only daughter all along. (The Crown may, of its grace, choose one of the heirs involved to succeed before all but one of them die out. It may choose the heir of a younger daughter over the older, and has done so.)
(Cokayne's Complete Peerage contains massive evidence that the 13th century did things differently; Edward I summoned many men to Parliament once, without their being summoned, or their sons, ever again. But this did not happen to the Wimseys.)
The other Wimsey titles were granted by letters patent, which specified inheritance by heirs male: no daughters could succeed, and no-one could succeed through descent from a daughter.
If Colonel George Wimsey had not died at the Battle of Waterloo
, he would have succeeded, as the only other descendant in the male line of the Earls and Dukes of Denver. (Younger Wimsey sons led adventurous lives; and the practice of having one Wimsey on each side of a civil war kept the property together, but took a high toll in deaths, attainder
s, and executions.) Colonel Wimsey left an only daughter, Grace, who married a Charles Wimsey from another branch of the family; he was descended from the Barons Wimsey, and also from a daughter of the 6th Duke.
Neither of them inherited any titles, but the 12th Duke arranged for them to inherit the lands. In recognition of this, and the multiple family connexion, Charles Wimsey was created, in 1820, Viscount St. George, Earl and Duke of Denver. Although strictly first Duke of the new creation, he is almost always called (as in the case of Lord De La Warr
) 13th Duke of Denver, since the title was recreated promptly in the same family.
of the Wimseys, to whom the 12th Duke transferred the Wimsey properties (the entail
s lapsed at his death). Sir Bredon was descended from John Wimsey, Colonel in the Parliamentary armies, during the English Civil War
; who descended in turn from a brother of the first Earl. Matthew Wimsey, Lord Peter's third cousin, the family archivist, would himself descend from a younger son of this Sir Bredon, and thus have no claim on any of the family titles.
Colonel Wimsey was assigned to watch over Duke's Denver and Bredon Hall, in the interests of the Commonwealth of England
, while the seventh Duke was in exile as a Royalist
after the Battle of Worcester
. The Colonel did his duty to his government and his family. The Wimsey estates survived the war intact, and Colonel Wimsey's small force did its best to prevent Bredon Hall being used for Royalist intrigue.
The Duke, however, managed to get into the broad Wimsey lands at night, dressed as "Captain Brown", and his efforts helped to persuade the Earl of Manchester
to support the Restoration
of Charles II
. After the Restoration, "Captain Brown" invited Colonel Wimsey to visit Bredon Hall again, and in short order, Colonel John Wimsey married the Duke's sister, Lady Elizabeth Wimsey.
The descent from the Colonel is not specified; but the Wimsey papers tell us that Captain Henry Wimsey, RN
, was a nephew of the 7th Duke, whom his uncle had taken sailing in the yacht which had been used by Captain Brown. He lived to a ripe old age, and his son and grandson were admirals; his sea stories may have inspired Horatio Nelson. He is presumably the younger son of Colonel John and Lady Elizabeth: if the 6th Duke had been his paternal grandfather, his descendants would have had to be extinct by 1817.
This Richard Wimsey was a "much older first cousin" of the 10th Duke (which implies that fourth cousin above = "third cousin once removed", as it can), who was also the Duke's next heir after his only son. This makes it likely, but not certain, that he was born about 1685, and his father was the Lord Richard Wimsey who met Evelyn.
Lord Peter Wimsey
created by Dorothy L. Sayers
. He appears most notably as chief murder suspect in the novel Clouds of Witness
, where he is tried in the House of Lords
but eventually acquitted through his brother's efforts.
Scott-Giles feels this is a bit much, even for an Elizabethan Wimsey, and suggests that the Dowager Duchess had confounded the accomplishments of different Lords Christian.
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
. Lord Peter is the second of the three children of Mortimer Wimsey, 15th Duke of Denver. Gerald Wimsey, 16th Duke of Denver and Peter's elder brother, is the chief murder suspect in Clouds of Witness
Clouds of Witness
Clouds of Witness is a 1926 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the second in her series featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.It was adapted for television in 1972, as part of a series starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter.-Plot introduction:...
, in which he is tried by his peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
s, in full form in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Origin of the genealogy
C. W. Scott-Giles, Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms ExtraordinaryFitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary
Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary is a current officer of arms in England. As a pursuivant extraordinary, Fitzalan is a royal officer of arms, but is not a member of the corporation of the College of Arms in London...
, discussed the family with Miss Sayers from February 1936 until 1940, and they discovered many former Wimseys in their correspondence. These came in two types:
- Most Wimseys were like the 16th Duke, and his father: "Bluff, courageous, physically powerful" but not very intelligent; of hearty and voracious appetites of all kinds. They could be "cruel, yet without malice or ingenuity."
- The other type is physically slighter, smarter, with great nervous energy, and "lusts no less powerful, but more dangerously controlled to a long-sighted policy." These became churchmen, statesmen, traitors; but sometimes poets and saints. Obviously, Lord Peter is of this type.
In the supposed biographical note by his uncle Paul Austin Delagardie, Delagardie says:
- "Peter, I am glad to say, takes after his mother and me. True, he is all nerves and nose - but that is better than being all brawn and no brains like his father and brothers, or a mere bundle of emotions, like Gerald's boy, Saint-George. He has at least inherited the Delagardie brains, by way of safeguard to the unfortunate Wimsey temperament." NB: he says "brothers" i.e. plural--?
Miss Sayers published several articles and pamphlets on the Wimseys, including a series of "Wimsey Papers", the wartime letters of the family, which appeared in the Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
from November 1939 to January 1940. After that she turned to her translation of Dante and other religious works. Scott-Giles writes that they met often, but he never ventured to bring up the Wimseys.
After her death, he wrote an article on Wimsey heraldry, (Coat of Arms, January 1959), and a correspondent discovered a crux
Crux (literary)
Crux is a term applied by palaeographers, textual critics, bibliographers, and literary scholars to a point of significant corruption in a literary text...
. The Wimseys are well-established as being of unbroken succession for sixteen generations (although, as will be seen above, Miss Sayers' genealogy found this too simple) but Gerald Wimsey is described at his trial as "Duke of Denver, in the Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
", which would mean that the title was created after the Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
with Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, which was passed on 2 July 1800 and came into effect on the following St. Sylvester's Day
Silvester
Silvester is used in some countries as a name for New Year's Eve, including Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia.The origin of the name is Saint Sylvester's Day in the Roman Catholic Church, named...
(New Year's Eve).
Scott-Giles answered this in the manner of a Baker Street Irregular, by assuming that all the data given by Miss Sayers were correct, and coming up with an explanation to save the appearances, and he eventually produced a book on the House of Wimsey. He invented no Wimseys, which explains certain blanks in the list, but he enlarged some from half a sentence.
Armorial bearings
- Arms: sableSableThe sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
, three mice courant argentArgentIn heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
. - Crest: A domestic cat, crouched to spring, properTincture (heraldry)In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
- Supporters: Two SaracenSaracenSaracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s armed, proper. - Motto: I Hold by my Whimsy or As my Whimsy Takes Me
- Badge: a noose.
Adoption
The arms were altered from Sable, three plates argent when a crusading Wimsey advised his King to watch a besieged city as closely as a cat his mousehole. The family chronicles record this as being Richard the Lion-Hearted at AcreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
; the arms were actually changed after Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
's crusade
Ninth Crusade
The Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. It took place in 1271–1272....
while Prince. (Gerald de Wimsey also fought for Prince Edward against Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
at the battle of Evesham
Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...
and elsewhere.)
Roger de Wimsey, his father, supported de Montfort; ever since, there has been a Wimsey on each side of civil strife, to preserve the family estates and intercede for their lives.
Gerald's grandfather, Peter de Guimsey, had guided King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
across the Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
in 1215, and was very assiduous in searching for the King's treasury after it was swept away. He must have been unsuccessful, for none of it was handed in.
The supporters were adopted under Elizabeth; the badge, now unused, goes back to when Peter, Earl of Denver, left Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
's camp on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth. One of King Richard's supporters sent a hangman's rope after him, so that he could get used to the feel; Earl Peter knotted it and sent it back.
Baron Wimsey (1289)
- Gerald de Wimsey, 1st Baron Wimsey ( -1300), although he allegedly went with King Richard The Lion HeartRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
on the Third CrusadeThird CrusadeThe Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
and took part in the Siege of Acre., which would set his dates a century earlier. ). The first baron's younger brother was Ralph de Wimsey, student of Roger BaconRoger BaconRoger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
, imprisoned for the heresy of calendar reformCalendar reformA calendar reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar.Most calendars have several rules which could be altered by reform:...
. The 1st Baron's son was - Roger de Wimsey, 2nd Baron Wimsey, who was father of
- Peter de Wimsey, 3rd Baron Wimsey
- Ralph de Wimsey, 4th Baron Wimsey
- Peter de Wimsey, 3rd Baron Wimsey
- Ralph de Wimsey, 4th Baron Wimsey, br. of preceding.
- Gerald de Wimsey, 5th Baron Wimsey (1307- ) m. Margaret Bredon, heiress.
- Ralph de Wimsey, 6th Baron Wimsey ( -1405) Promoted to Earl of Denver by Henry IV (Bolingbroke)Henry IV of EnglandHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, following the deposition of Richard IIRichard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III... - Roger de Wimsey, 2nd son, fellow of Balliol College, student and follower of John WycliffeJohn WycliffeJohn Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
. - Peter de Wimsey, 3rd son, esquire, ancestor of the 13th Duke.
- Ralph de Wimsey, 6th Baron Wimsey ( -1405) Promoted to Earl of Denver by Henry IV (Bolingbroke)
- Ralph de Wimsey, 6th Baron Wimsey ( -1405) Promoted to Earl of Denver shortly after voting for the deposition of Richard IIRichard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
Earl of Denver(c. 1399)
- Ralph Wimsey, 1st Earl of Denver ( -1405), father of the next three Earls
- Gerald Wimsey, 2nd Earl of Denver ( - c. 1425)
- Ralph Wimsey, 3rd Earl of Denver ( - )
- Roger Wimsey, 4th Earl of Denver
- Gerald Wimsey, 2nd Earl of Denver ( - c. 1425), the "Earl of Hell"
- Ralph Wimsey, 3rd Earl of Denver ( - ) br. of prec., celibate mystic
- Roger Wimsey, 4th Earl of Denver ( - ) br. of prec.
- Gerald Wimsey, 5th Earl of Denver ( -1460)
- Gerald Wimsey, 5th Earl of Denver ( -1460), killed at battle of WakefieldBattle of WakefieldThe Battle of Wakefield took place at Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire in Northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses...
- Peter Wimsey, 6th Earl of Denver ( - 1499) Promoted to Duke "early in Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
's reign". - Ralph Wimsey, son, joined Bishop John Morton of ElyEly, CambridgeshireEly is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
in an effort at fen drainage.
- Peter Wimsey, 6th Earl of Denver ( - 1499) Promoted to Duke "early in Henry VII
- Peter Wimsey, 6th Earl of Denver ( - 1499) Promoted to Duke "early in Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
's reign" after Bosworth and a large loan to the Crown.
Duke of Denver (c. 1485)
- All daughters of Dukes are entitled by courtesy to the style of Lady; all younger sons, to the style of Lord. These are omitted here for readability.
- Peter Wimsey, 1st Duke of Denver ( - 1499), 6th Earl of Denver.
- Richard Wimsey, 2nd Duke of Denver ( - ), father of several sons
- Roger Wimsey, 3rd Duke of Denver ( -c.1557 )
- Henry Wimsey ( - ), 2nd son, "raised the standard for Mary I of EnglandMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
in Norfolk" at her accession. (Busman's HoneymoonBusman's HoneymoonBusman's Honeymoon is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. It is the fourth and last novel to feature Harriet Vane.-Plot introduction:...
) - Gervase Wimsey ( -c. 1555 ) , 3rd son. Canon of St. Paul's. Protestant martyr.
- Christian Wimsey, son (- )
- Roger Wimsey, 3rd Duke of Denver ( -c.1557 )
- Gerald Wimsey, 4th Duke of Denver ( - )
- Christian Wimsey, son (- 1570?)
- Gerald Wimsey, 4th Duke of Denver ( - )
- Henry Wimsey, 5th Duke of Denver ( - )
- Roger Wimsey, son: poet, friend of Sir Philip SidneyPhilip SidneySir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
. - Christian Wimsey, son (- 1596?)
- Lady N Wimsey (Lady Stavesacre), m. Lord Stavesacre, Boxed the ears of Francis BaconFrancis BaconFrancis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
, the Lord Chancellor, when he decided a law suit against her.
- Henry Wimsey, 5th Duke of Denver ( - )
- Christian Wimsey, 6th Duke of Denver ( -1653 )
- Christian Wimsey, 6th Duke of Denver ( -1653 )m. twice, 2ndly to the daughter of Lord St. George, last of that name.
- (by first marriage) Paul Wimsey, 7th Duke of Denver ( -1677 )
- (by second marriage) Peter Wimsey, 8th Duke of Denver ( - ); 1st Viscount St. George.
- Lady Elizabeth Wimsey, daughter, ancestress of Charles, 13th Duke of Denver.
- ? Henry Wimsey, RN, (c.1665-c.1765), grandson. Captain at the battle of La Hogue
- George Wimsey, 9th Duke of Denver (c.1662 - ) m. Charlotte Death
- Lord Richard Wimsey, (1663- ), met John EvelynJohn EvelynJohn Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
c. 1685.- Mr. Richard Wimsey, grandson (c.1685- ), whose son
- Christian Wimsey, Major in the French army in 1751, whose son
- Thomas Wimsey, was father of
- Colonel George Wimsey ( - 1815 Waterloo), "fourth cousin" of the 12th Duke and his heir presumptive after the death of his brother Lord Mortimer Wimsey. His daughter
- Grace Wimsey, m. her distant cousin Charles Wimsey, 13th Duke of Denver.
- Colonel George Wimsey ( - 1815 Waterloo), "fourth cousin" of the 12th Duke and his heir presumptive after the death of his brother Lord Mortimer Wimsey. His daughter
- Thomas Wimsey, was father of
- Christian Wimsey, Major in the French army in 1751, whose son
- Mr. Richard Wimsey, grandson (c.1685- ), whose son
- Walter Wimsey, youngest son; JacobiteJacobitismJacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
.- James Wimsey, grandson, Jacobite, plotted to disrupt George II's coronation.
- Thomas George Churchill Wimsey, 10th Duke of Denver (1703 - )
- Lord Paul Wimsey, son, bird-watcher.
- George Augustus Wimsey, 11th Duke of Denver (c.1728 - ) m. Elizabeth ? surname unattested, as Lord St. George.
- Lady Henrietta Wimsey, older daughter,
- Lady Caroline Wimsey, younger daughter.
- William Stanhope Wimsey, 12th Duke of Denver (1753–1817)
- Lady Elizabeth Wimsey, (1751–1815), daughter
- Mortimer Wimsey (1758–1815), the "Hermit of the Wash"
Abeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...
. He however conveyed his estates to his kinsman Charles Wimsey, 13th Duke of Denver, a descendant of the Barons Denver.
Second creation (1820)
- Charles Wimsey, styled 13th Duke of Denver, actually 1st Duke of Denver of the 2nd creation ( - ) m. Grace Wimsey.
- George Bredon Wimsey, styled 14th Duke of Denver, actually 2nd Duke of Denver ( - )
- George Bredon Wimsey, styled 14th Duke of Denver, actually 2nd Duke of Denver ( - ) m. Mary Death.
- Mortimer Gerald Bredon Wimsey, 15th Duke of Denver (1865–1911)
- Mortimer Gerald Bredon Wimsey, 15th Duke of Denver, 3rd Duke of Denver, but styled 15th Duke of Denver (1865–1911 ) m. Honoria Lucasta Delagardie.
- Gerald Christian Wimsey, 16th Duke of Denver, 4th Duke of Denver, but styled 16th Duke of Denver (c. 1888 - ? )
- Lord Peter Wimsey, second son (1890 - fl. 1943)
- Lady Mary Wimsey, daughter, m. Charles Parker, and had issue one son Peter Charles "Peterkin" Parker, and one daughter, Mary Lucasta Parker. A third child, Harriet Parker, has been added by A Presumption in Death, the continuation of the series by Jill Paton WalshJill Paton WalshJill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL is an English novelist and children's writer.Born as Gillian Bliss and educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, London, she read English Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford...
, where the older children are known by the nicknames "Charlie" and "Polly."
- Gerald Wimsey,
Abeyance and succession
When Edward I of EnglandEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
summoned his good servant Gerald de Wimsey to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, the king created a barony by writ: an hereditary title, and an hereditary right to be summoned to Parliament. It is inherited according to strict customary law: If a Baron Wimsey leaves sons, the eldest succeeds him; if he leaves an only daughter, she succeeds him (compare Baron Noel). If he dies without descendants, the title goes to the children of the previous Lord Wimsey by the same rules; this usually means his next eldest brother succeeds.
If he leaves no sons, but several daughters, the rules are different: The title is left in abeyance
Abeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...
between the daughters, and no-one succeeds. When all but one of the daughters die without offspring, or the offspring of all but one of them die out, the remaining daughter or her heir automatically succeed, as if she had been an only daughter all along. (The Crown may, of its grace, choose one of the heirs involved to succeed before all but one of them die out. It may choose the heir of a younger daughter over the older, and has done so.)
(Cokayne's Complete Peerage contains massive evidence that the 13th century did things differently; Edward I summoned many men to Parliament once, without their being summoned, or their sons, ever again. But this did not happen to the Wimseys.)
The other Wimsey titles were granted by letters patent, which specified inheritance by heirs male: no daughters could succeed, and no-one could succeed through descent from a daughter.
The second creation
The 12th Duke of Denver died in 1817 without children, or siblings, and with him the male line from the first Earl of Denver died out. As a result, his higher titles became extinct; and the Barony of Wimsey went into abeyance between his aunts, as daughters of the 10th Duke.If Colonel George Wimsey had not died at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, he would have succeeded, as the only other descendant in the male line of the Earls and Dukes of Denver. (Younger Wimsey sons led adventurous lives; and the practice of having one Wimsey on each side of a civil war kept the property together, but took a high toll in deaths, attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
s, and executions.) Colonel Wimsey left an only daughter, Grace, who married a Charles Wimsey from another branch of the family; he was descended from the Barons Wimsey, and also from a daughter of the 6th Duke.
Neither of them inherited any titles, but the 12th Duke arranged for them to inherit the lands. In recognition of this, and the multiple family connexion, Charles Wimsey was created, in 1820, Viscount St. George, Earl and Duke of Denver. Although strictly first Duke of the new creation, he is almost always called (as in the case of Lord De La Warr
Earl De La Warr
Earl De La Warr is a title created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1761.In the United States, Thomas West, 3rd baron is often named in history books simply as Lord Delaware. He served as governor of the Jamestown Colony, and the Delaware Bay was named after him...
) 13th Duke of Denver, since the title was recreated promptly in the same family.
The 13th Duke
Charles Wimsey, the 13th Duke, was the son of Sir Bredon Wimsey, a cadetCadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
of the Wimseys, to whom the 12th Duke transferred the Wimsey properties (the entail
Entail
Entail may refer to:* Fee tail, a term of art in common law describing a limited form of succession....
s lapsed at his death). Sir Bredon was descended from John Wimsey, Colonel in the Parliamentary armies, during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
; who descended in turn from a brother of the first Earl. Matthew Wimsey, Lord Peter's third cousin, the family archivist, would himself descend from a younger son of this Sir Bredon, and thus have no claim on any of the family titles.
Colonel Wimsey was assigned to watch over Duke's Denver and Bredon Hall, in the interests of the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, while the seventh Duke was in exile as a Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
after the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
. The Colonel did his duty to his government and his family. The Wimsey estates survived the war intact, and Colonel Wimsey's small force did its best to prevent Bredon Hall being used for Royalist intrigue.
The Duke, however, managed to get into the broad Wimsey lands at night, dressed as "Captain Brown", and his efforts helped to persuade the Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
to support the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. After the Restoration, "Captain Brown" invited Colonel Wimsey to visit Bredon Hall again, and in short order, Colonel John Wimsey married the Duke's sister, Lady Elizabeth Wimsey.
The descent from the Colonel is not specified; but the Wimsey papers tell us that Captain Henry Wimsey, RN
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, was a nephew of the 7th Duke, whom his uncle had taken sailing in the yacht which had been used by Captain Brown. He lived to a ripe old age, and his son and grandson were admirals; his sea stories may have inspired Horatio Nelson. He is presumably the younger son of Colonel John and Lady Elizabeth: if the 6th Duke had been his paternal grandfather, his descendants would have had to be extinct by 1817.
His Duchess
Lady Grace Wimsey was, as said, the daughter of- Colonel George Wimsey ( - 1815), "fourth cousin" of the 12th Duke. son of
- Thomas Wimsey, son of
- Christian Wimsey, Major in the French army in 1751, son of
- Mr. Richard Wimsey.
This Richard Wimsey was a "much older first cousin" of the 10th Duke (which implies that fourth cousin above = "third cousin once removed", as it can), who was also the Duke's next heir after his only son. This makes it likely, but not certain, that he was born about 1685, and his father was the Lord Richard Wimsey who met Evelyn.
Gerald Christian Wimsey, 16th Duke of Denver
Gerald Christian Wimsey, the 16th Duke of Denver, is elder brother of the fictitious detectiveDetective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
created by Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
. He appears most notably as chief murder suspect in the novel Clouds of Witness
Clouds of Witness
Clouds of Witness is a 1926 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the second in her series featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.It was adapted for television in 1972, as part of a series starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter.-Plot introduction:...
, where he is tried in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
but eventually acquitted through his brother's efforts.
Literary References
- Inns named after the Wimsey arms, the Cat and Infidel, are now commonly known as the Cat and Fiddle.
- "Three Blind MiceThree Blind MiceThree Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
, who all ran after the Farmer's wife" is a lampoon about the 11th or 12th Duke's unceasing quest for favors from Queen Charlotte, wife of the "farmer king", George III. - Shakespeare pilloried the 4th duke as TybaltTybaltTybalt is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is Lady Capulet's nephew, Juliet's hot-tempered cousin and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox, a point of...
, "king of Cats" in Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Act III, scene i, lines 37-150. - The duel between the 5th Baron and Bertrand du GuesclinBertrand du GuesclinBertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...
was the occasion for the sayings: while the cat's away, the mice will play and á bon chat, bon rat. - The second Earl was known to the French as '"le chat d'Enfer" for the severity of his pacification of France under Henry VHenry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. The French verse-
-
-
- le comte d'Enfer
-
- Sourisoit comme un chat chasseur
-
- ("the Earl of Hell moused like a hunting cat") has been distorted into "grinned like a Cheshire catCheshire CatThe Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll's depiction of it in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Known for his distinctive mischievous grin, the Cheshire Cat has had a notable impact on popular culture.-Origins:...
.
-
- The same Earl, some days after he hanged a priest, began to see mice springing from his armor that no cat could catch. He retired into solitude, fearing all mice including his own arms, and died. This may well have inspired the White Knight's mousetrap, lest mice get onto his saddle.
Lord Christian Wimsey
There were three Elizabethans called Lord Christian Wimsey. Lord Peter's mother wrote him, in the "Wimsey Letters":- ...the third Lord Christian, for example, who could write four languages at eleven, left Oxford at fifteen, married at sixteen, had two wives and twelve children by the time he was thirty (two lots of twins, certainly, but it's all experience) besides producing a book of elegies and a learned exhibition [Qy: disquisition ? D.L.S.] on Leviathans, and he would have done a great deal more, I dare say, if he hadn't unfortunately been killed by savages on Drake's first voyage into the Indies - I sometimes feel that our young people don't get enough out of life these days.
Scott-Giles feels this is a bit much, even for an Elizabethan Wimsey, and suggests that the Dowager Duchess had confounded the accomplishments of different Lords Christian.
External links
- Balliol College portrait of Lord Peter Wimsey
- Balliol describes this as "By Roderick Condie Lachlan Munro, after John Singer Sargent (1911)." (A 24" by 18" watercolour, creat. 1990)
- A look at the Wimsey family
- connects Mary and Honoria Lucasta, Duchesses of Denver, spouses of the 14th and 15th Dukes, to the Wold Newton familiesWold Newton familyThe Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the science fiction writer Philip José Farmer...
.
- connects Mary and Honoria Lucasta, Duchesses of Denver, spouses of the 14th and 15th Dukes, to the Wold Newton families
