Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt
Encyclopedia
Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (c. 1717 – 15 October 1770), was a courtier, member of parliament, and royal governor of the colony of Virginia from 1768 until his death in 1770.

Life

Norborne Berkeley was born about 1717. He was of the family of Berkeley of Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life...

 in Gloucestershire, descended from Maurice de Berkeley (d. 1347), who had acquired the manor of Stoke Gifford in 1337, the second son of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley
Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley
Maurice Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley , sometimes termed The Magnanimous, was an English baron and rebel....

 (1271–1326). In 1726, Berkeley was admitted to Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

. His political career began in 1741 when he was elected to the House of Commons
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...

 as a knight of the shire for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)
The constituency of Gloucestershire was a UK Parliamentary constituency. After it was abolished under the 1832 Electoral Reform Act, two new constituencies, West Gloucestershire and East Gloucestershire, were created....

, a seat he held until 1763. Considered a staunch Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

, Berkeley's fortunes were boosted considerably on the accession of George III in 1760. In 1764, he successfully claimed the title of Baron Botetourt
Baron Botetourt
The title Baron Botetourt was created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons on 19 June 1305. It became abeyant in 1406, was recalled from abeyance in 1764 for Norborne Berkeley. However, it became abeyant again on his death in 1770...

 as the lineal descendant of Maurice de Berkeley (d. 1361) and his wife Catherine de Botetourt, sister & co-heir of John Botetourt, son and heir of Sir John de Botetourt (d. 1324), baron by writ 1309-15. Maurice (d. 1361) was the son and heir of Maurice de Berkeley (d. 1347 at the Siege of Calais
Siege of Calais
The Siege of Calais began in 1346, towards the beginning of what would later be called the Hundred Years' War. Edward III of England, who was at the time claiming dominion over France as well, defeated the French navy at Sluys in 1340, then went on to make raids throughout Normandy, culminating at...

), who had acquired the manor of Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life...

, Gloucestershire, in 1337, the second son of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley
Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley
Maurice Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley , sometimes termed The Magnanimous, was an English baron and rebel....

 (1271–1326). He thus took a seat 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....

 as the 4th Baron de Botetourt, and in 1768 was appointed governor of Virginia. He died in Williamsburg
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville , California*Williamsburg, Colorado*Williamsburg, Florida*Williamsburg, Dunwoody, Georgia*Williamsburg, Indiana*Williamsburg, Iowa*Williamsburg, Kansas*Williamsburg, Kentucky...

 on 15 October 1770, after an illness lasting several weeks. Botetourt never married and left no direct heirs.

Statues

A statue of Botetourt was placed in the Capitol in Williamsburg in 1773. The Capital of Colonial Virginia was located in Williamsburg from 1699 until 1780, but at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 was moved to Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 for security reasons during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. In 1801 the statue of Botetourt was acquired by the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

 and moved to the campus from the former Capitol building. Barring a brief period during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 when it was moved to the Public Asylum for safety, it stood in the College Yard until 1958 when it was removed for protection from the elements, and then in 1966 was installed in the new Earl Gregg Swem Library, in the new Botetourt Gallery. In 1993, as the College celebrated its tercentenary, a new bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 statue of Botetourt by the William and Mary alumnus Gordon Kray was installed in the College Yard in front of the Wren Building
Wren Building
The Wren Building is the signature building of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Along with the Brafferton and President's House, these buildings form the College's Historic Campus....

, in the place occupied for generations by the original.

Legacy

Botetourt County, Virginia
Botetourt County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,496 people, 11,700 households, and 9,114 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 12,571 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...

, was named in Botetourt's honour. Historians also believe that Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is a county located in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population is 104,169, making it the second-most populous county in West Virginia, behind Kanawha...

, and the town of Berkeley Springs
Bath (Berkeley Springs), West Virginia
Bath is a town in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Morgan County. The town is incorporated as Bath, but it is often referred to by the name of its post office, Berkeley Springs. The population of the town was 663 according to the 2000 United States...

, both now in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, were also named in his honour, or possibly that of another popular colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley.

Lord Botetourt High School
Lord Botetourt High School
Lord Botetourt High School is one of two high schools in Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built in 1958, in suburban Daleville, Virginia, opening the fall of 1959. It currently has 73 faculty members serving over 1,000 students grades 9-12. LB, as it is commonly known, is named after Lord...

 in the unincorporated town of Daleville
Daleville, Virginia
Daleville is a census-designated place in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,454 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 in Botetourt County, Virginia, is also named for him, as is the Botetourt Dorm Complex at The College of William and Mary.

External links


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