Thomas Levett-Prinsep
Encyclopedia
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, was a Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, member of the Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
, landowner and cattle breeder in Derbyshire who took on the additional name of Prinsep
Prinsep
Prinsep may mean any of several notable members of the British Prinsep family.The family descended from John Prinsep, an 18th-century merchant who was the son of Rev. John Prinsep, rector of Saundby, Nottinghamshire, and Bicester, Oxfordshire...
upon inheriting his uncle's holding of Croxall Hall
Croxall Hall
Croxall Hall is a restored and extended 16th century manor house situated at Croxall, Staffordshire . It is a Grade II* listed building....
.
Thomas Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
was born at Wychnor Park
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
in Wychnor
Wychnor
Wychnor is a civil parish in Staffordshire, England, situated in the East Staffordshire local government district adjoining Alrewas and Barton-under-Needwood. It is situated on the A38, formerly the Roman road Ryknild Street, and contains the hamlet of Wychnor Bridges where the A38 crosses the...
, Staffordshire, the third son of Theophilus Levett. Thomas was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and in 1831 married Margaret, the daughter of Scottish merchant David Monro
David Monro (merchant)
David Monro was a seigneur, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. His surname was also sometimes spelled Munro....
, a seigneur, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
who, after building a fortune in the Canadian ironworks, left North America and moved to Bath, Somerset.
Shortly afterwards, in 1835, Levett inherited Croxall Hall
Croxall Hall
Croxall Hall is a restored and extended 16th century manor house situated at Croxall, Staffordshire . It is a Grade II* listed building....
in Derbyshire, located eight miles (13 km) southwest of Burton-on-Trent, and which the Curzon family held for 15 consecutive generations. Mary Curzon, the heiress of the Curzon family and governess to the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, married Sir Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset
Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset
Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset KG was the son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset and the brother and heir of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset.-Life:...
. John Prinsep
John Prinsep
John Prinsep was born the son of a vicar in rural Oxfordshire, England, with limited horizons for advancement. He joined the East India Company as a cadet, travelling to Bombay, and was soon engaged in mercantile pursuits, eventually becoming the earliest British merchant to plant indigo, and...
Esq., India merchant and progenitor of the Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
family of the same name, purchased the property from George Sackville, 4th Duke of Dorset
George Sackville, 4th Duke of Dorset
George John Frederick Sackville, 4th Duke of Dorset , styled Earl of Middlesexuntil 1799, was a British nobleman....
, and became lord of the manor. The Prinseps became well known for the cattle they bred at their Croxall estate, which at 1450 acres (5.9 km²) was said to be the biggest family farm in Derbyshire at the time.
Thomas Prinsep, High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1802, died without an heir, and so left Croxall Hall to his nephew, the son of Theophilus Levett of Wychnor Hall, High Sheriff of Staffordshire
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
, who had married in 1794 Frances Prinsep, daughter of John Prinsep of Croxall Hall, and sister of Thomas Prinsep. Prinsep left his property to his nephew Levett on condition that he adopt the name and coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of Prinsep in addition to Levett.
Following the early death of his wife Margaret, the by-now Thomas Levett-Prinsep married in 1838 as his second wife Caroline Mary Templer. She was the daughter of Rev. John James Templer of Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, the Rector of Teigngrace and a member of the Templer family who owned Stover House and the 80000 acres (323.7 km²) Stover Estate in Devon – later sold due to Templer family financial troubles to Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset
Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset
Edward Adolphus St. Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset KG FRS was the son of Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset and Mary Bonnell. He was also a baronet....
. Rev. Templer's other daughter Henrietta was married to Thomas Levett-Prinsep's elder brother Theophilus Levett, who had inherited the Levett family's Wychnor Park
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
.
By his first wife, Levett-Prinsep had a daughter Margaret Catherine Levett-Prinsep, born in 1837 in Bath. In 1860 she married her cousin Robert Thomas Kennedy Levett, son of John Levett and his wife, the former Sophia Eliza Kennedy, of Wychnor Park. By his second wife, Caroline, Levett-Prinsep had an eldest son, also Thomas Levett-Prinsep, to whom he left the Croxall estate at his early death in 1849. The son Thomas Levett-Prinsep married Georgina Holdsworth, the granddaughter of Devonshire merchant and member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Arthur Howe Holdsworth
Arthur Howe Holdsworth
Arthur Howe Holdsworth was a Devon merchant named Governor of Dartmouth Castle, a position held by his father Arthur from 1760 to 1777, in 1809. He was elected member of Parliament for Dartmouth in 1802, holding the seat until December 1819, when he vacated it in favour of Charles Milner Ricketts,...
, in 1868 at Stokenham, Devon.
Following his marriage in Devon, Thomas Levett-Prinsep returned to Croxall Hall, which he inherited from his father. He renovated the Hall, and built The Grange to control his farmland. He and his wife had three daughters and a son, Thomas. Ultimately, their daughter Katherine Mary married Lt. Col. Henry Edward Disbrow Wise, CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
. The couple moved to nearby Walton Hall, Walton-on-Trent
Walton Hall, Walton-on-Trent
Walton Hall is an 18th century country house situated in the village of Walton on Trent, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II* listed building but is in slow decay and is officially registered on the Buildings At Risk Register....
.
Eventually the Levett-Prinsep heirs sold Croxall Hall in 1920, and moved to the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, closer to family relations there. The Levett-Prinseps eventually inherited Widdicombe House in Kingsbridge
Kingsbridge
Kingsbridge is a market town and popular tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of about 5,800. It is situated at the northern end of the Kingsbridge Estuary, which is a textbook example of a ria and extends to the sea six miles south of the town.-History:The...
, Devon, the home of Arthur Bastard Easterbrook Holdsworth, son of MP Arthur Howe Holdsworth
Arthur Howe Holdsworth
Arthur Howe Holdsworth was a Devon merchant named Governor of Dartmouth Castle, a position held by his father Arthur from 1760 to 1777, in 1809. He was elected member of Parliament for Dartmouth in 1802, holding the seat until December 1819, when he vacated it in favour of Charles Milner Ricketts,...
.
Croxall Hall is near to Catton Hall
Catton Hall
Catton Hall is a country house near the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. It gives its postal address as Walton-on-Trent although there was a village of Catton at one time. It is a Grade II* listed building....
, once a property of the Anson family, who later intermarried with the Levetts of nearby Milford Hall
Milford Hall
Milford Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country mansion house at Milford, near Stafford. It is the home of the Levett Haszard family and is a Grade II listed building....
, distant relations of Thomas Levett-Prinsep. The author John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
was said to have visited the Curzon family at Croxall Hall, and the land once known as Dryden's Walk was said to be named for the poet.
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
Harbour.
Sources
- The Levetts of Staffordshire, Dyonese Levett Haszard, Milford, Staffordshire, privately printed
- Victoria County History: A History of the County of Stafford, M.W. Greenslade, R.B. Pugh (editors)