Charles Dillon
Viscount Dillon
Detail from the portrait below
Tenure	1787–1813
Predecessor	Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon
Successor	Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon
Born	6 November 1745 London
Died	9 November 1813(1813-11-09) (aged 68) Loughglynn, Ireland
Spouse(s)	1. Henrietta-Maria Phipps 2. Marie Rogier
Issue Detail	Henry, & others
Father	Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon
Mother	Lady Charlotte Lee

Charles Dillon-Lee, 12th Viscount Dillon, KP, PC (Ire) (1745–1813) conformed to the established religion in 1767 and inherited Ditchley in England from his mother.

Birth and origins

Charles was born on 6 November 1745 in London.^[1]^[2] He was the eldest child of Henry Dillon and his wife Lady Charlotte Lee. His father was the 11th Viscount Dillon.

Charles's mother was the eldest daughter of George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield. His parents had married on 26 October 1744 in London.^[3]

He was one of seven siblings, who are listed in his father's article. His two younger brothers, Arthur and Henry, were colonels of Dillon's regiment in France.

Early life

In January 1766 Pope Clement XIII ended the Catholic Church's support for the Jacobites and recognised the Hanoverian Dynasty as the rightful rulers of England. On 4 December 1767, in Dublin, Charles conformed to the established church.^[4] In that same year he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[5]

Charles, in his youth, liked racing and gambling and made huge debts.^[6] He moved to Brussels to avoid his debtors.

In 1770 he was elected MP for the Westbury Borough constituency in Wiltshire, England.^[7]

In 1776 Charles changed his surname from Dillon to Dillon-Lee and quartered his arms accordingly to comply with the will of his maternal uncle George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield. In that same year, his mother inherited the Lichfield estate at the death of her uncle the fourth Earl, who died childless.

Family tree

Charles Dillon-Lee with his two wives, his parents, and other selected relatives.^[a]

Theobald
7th Viscount
d. 1691
Jacobite

Mary
Talbot
d. 1691

Henry
8th Viscount
d. 1714

Arthur
1670–1733
French
General

Christina
Sheldon
1684–1757

Richard
9th Viscount
1688–1737

Charles
10th
Viscount
1701–1741

Henry
11th
Viscount
1705–1787

Charlotte
Lee
d. 1794

Henrietta-
Maria
Phipps
1757–1782

Charles
12th
Viscount
1745–1813

Marie
Rogier
d. 1833

Arthur
1750–1794
French
General

Henry
Augustus
13th
Viscount
1777–1832

Henrietta
Browne

Charles
Henry
14th
Viscount
1810–1865

Theobald
Dominick
15th
Viscount
1811–1879

Arthur
Edmund
16th
Viscount
1812–1892

Ellen
Adderly
1809–1896

Legend

XXX

Subject of
the article

XXX

Viscounts
Dillon

First marriage and children

Charles married twice. He married firstly on 19 August 1776 in Brussels Henrietta-Maria Phipps, daughter of Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave and his wife Lepel Hervey.^[9] She was illegitimately descended from James II.

Charles and Henrietta Maria had two children:

Henry Augustus Dillon-Lee (1777–1832), succeeded him as the 13th Viscount
Frances Charlotte Dillon-Lee (1780–1819), married Thomas Webb, Baronet^[10]

Lichfield inheritance

On 4 November 1776 Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield, died and his earldom became extinct.^[11] The nearest relatives of the last earl were his nieces. Charles's mother, née Lee, inherited the estate as she was the eldest surviving of these nieces.

Second marriage and children

His first wife died in 1782.^[12] In 1787 he married, secondly, Marie Rogier of Mechelen.^[13] She had been an actress in Brussels and had been his mistress in the time before his first marriage.^[14]

Charles and Marie had at least three children:

James William Dillon-Lee (1792–1812), seems to have died unmarried^[15]
Henrietta Dillon-Lee (died 1811), seems to have died unmarried^[16]
Charlotte Dillon-Lee (died 1866), married in 1813 Frederick Beauclerk (1773–1850), a younger son of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans and an early cricketer^[17]^[18]

Later life

In 1787 he served as High Sheriff of Mayo, Ireland. On 3 November 1787, his father, Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon, died and Charles succeeded as the 12th Viscount Dillon.^[19] He was solemnly confirmed in the Viscountcy in 1788 by the Irish House of Lords.^[20] He was invested as a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick in 1798.^[21]

In 1794 Charles inherited the Lichfield estate from his mother. Ditchley became the seat of the Viscounts Dillon. It would remain in the possession of the family until 1934.

During the passing of the Acts of Union 1800 Lord Dillon supported the union.^[22]

In 1802 Lord Dillon sold the manor of Quarendon, where the seat of the Lee family had once stood, to James Du Pré of Wilton Park. Quarendon was of course part of the land inherited from his mother. In 1806 Lord Dillon raised a regiment, namely the 101st Regular, recruited from the inhabitants of his Irish lands and surrounding areas near Loughglinn, County Roscommon.

Ditchley House, the seat of the Lee family

Death, succession, and timeline

Lord Dillon died at Loughglinn, on 9 November 1813.^[23]^[24] Despite his conversion, he was buried in the Dillon Family Vault in the Cemetery at the Augustinian Friary, Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland. His widow died in London in 1833. He was succeeded by his only son, Henry Augustus, as the 13th Viscount Dillon.

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1745, 6 Nov	Born in London^[1]
14	1760, 25 Oct	Accession of King George III, succeeding King George II^[25]
22	1767, 4 Dec	Conformed to the established religion^[4]
30	1776, 19 Aug	Married, 1stly, Henrietta Maria Phipps, in Brussels^[9]
30	1776, 4 Nov	Mother inherited from Robert Lee, the 4th Earl of Lichfield.^[11]
36	1782, 1 Aug	First wife died.^[12]
41–42	1787	Married, 2ndly, Marie Rogier^[13]
41	1787, 3 Nov	Succeeded his father as the 12th Viscount Dillon'.
42	1788, 18 Mar	Confirmed as Viscount by the Irish House of Lords.
48–49	1794	Inherited the Lichfield estate from his mother
68	1813, 9 Nov	Died at Loughglinn, County Roscommon, Ireland^[23]

Notes and references

Notes

^ This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.^[8] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Citations

^ ^a ^b Debrett 1828, p. 749, line 3. "... [Charles] b. [born] 6. Nov 1745 ..."
^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 50, footnote. "... the former [Charles] in London, in November, 1745."
^ Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 22. "He m. [married], 26 Oct. 1744, at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel, Charlotte, 1st da. [daughter] and eventually h. [heir] of George Henry [Lee], 2nd Earl of Lichfield ..."
^ ^a ^b Brown & Power 2005, p. 284. "... the succession of the title and lands of the Dillons in Ireland was assured by the conversion of Henry's eldest son Charles Dillon (later twelfth Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen) in Dublin of 4 December 1767 ..."
^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 8 November 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ La Tour du Pin 1913b, p. 162, line 11. "... Charles Dillon, était joueur et accablé de dettes."
^ House of Commons 1878, p. 145. "Charles Dillon, esq., vice Sir William Blackstone, knt., appointed one of the Puisne Justices of the King's Bench / 21 Feb. 1770 / ditto [Westbury Borough]"
^ La Tour du Pin 1913a, pp. 14–15. "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"
^ ^a ^b Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 10b. "He m. [married], 1stly, 19 Aug. 1776 at Brussels, Henrietta Maria, da. [daughter] of Constantine John (Phipps) 1st Baron Mulgrave [I. [Ireland]] by Lepell da. of John (Hervey) Baron Hervey of Ickworth. She, who was b. [born] 26 Mar. 1757, d. [died] 1 Aug. 1782.
^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, line 11. "Frances-Charlotte, b. [born] 17 Feb. 1780, m. [married] 14 March 1799, sir Thomas Webb, of Oddstock, co. Wilts, bart., and d. [died] 27 April 1819."
^ ^a ^b Burke 1883, p. 317, right column, bottom. "His lordship d. [died] 4 November 1776, when the earldom of Lichfield and minor honours became extinct."
^ ^a ^b Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 13a. "She [Henrietta-Maria], who was b. 26 Mar. 1757, d. 1 Aug. 1782."
^ ^a ^b Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 13b. "He m. [married], 2ndly, in 1787, Marie Rogier, of Malines, in Belgium.
^ La Tour du Pin 1913b, p. 162, line 3. "... elle avait toutes les apparences de ce qu'elle était en réalité: une vieille actrice. Mon oncle l'avait eue comme maitresse avant d'épouser Miss Phipps, fille du Lord Mulgrave."
^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 647, left column, line 26. "James William, Ensign, Gren. Guards, b. [born] 1792, d. [died] 10 Oct. 1812."
^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 647, left column, line 27. "d. [died] 11 April 1811."
^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, line 18. "Charlotte, m. [married] 3 July 1813, lord Frederick Beauclerk."
^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 647, left column, line 28. "Charlotte, m. [married] 1813, Rev. Lord Frederick Beauclerk, D.D., 4th son of the 5th Duke of St. Albans, and d. [died] 26 Sept. 1866."
^ Debrett 1828, p. 748, last line. "The viscount d. 3 Nov 1887, and was succeeded by his only son."
^ Debrett 1828, p. 749, line 1. "Charles, 12th viscount, whose claim to the viscountcy was established by the house of lords in Ireland, after a solemn hearing, 18 March 1788;"
^ Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 10a. "K.P. 19 Mar. 1798."
^ MacDougall 1799, p. 77. "Lord Dillon. This nobleman is the brother of the celebrated 'Arthur Dillon,' so well known at the court of France, who was guillotined, and of the handsome Dillon, the favourite of the Queen of France, who was massacred. He possesses considerable property, power and influence, which he exerts in favour of the union."
^ ^a ^b Debrett 1828, p. 749, line 11. "The viscount d. [died] 9 Nov 1813, and was succeeded by his only son ..."
^ Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 14. "He d. [died] 9 Nov. 1813 at Loughglin House, County Roscommon, aged 68.
^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 46, line 35. "George III … acc. 25 Oct. 1760;"

Sources

Brown, Michael; Power, Thomas P. (2005). Converts and Conversion in Ireland 1650–1850. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-810-9.
Burke, Bernard (1883). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 499232768.
Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1915). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (77th ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 1155471554.
Cokayne, George Edward (1916). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. IV (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Dacre to Dysart
Debrett, John (1828). Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. II (17th ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. OCLC 54499602. – Scotland and Ireland (for Dillon)
Debrett, John (1838). Courthope, William (ed.). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (22nd ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. OCLC 315551200.
Fryde, Edmund Boleslaw; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
House of Commons (1878). Return. Members of Parliament – Part II. Parliaments of Great Britain, 1705–1796. Parliaments of the United Kingdom, 1801–1874. Parliaments and Conventions of the Estates of Scotland, 1357–1707. Parliaments of Ireland, 1599–1800. London: His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office. OCLC 13112546. – (for the subject as MP)
La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913a). Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans [Diary of a Woman in her Fifties] (in French). Vol. I (7th ed.). Paris: Librairie Chapelot. OCLC 1047408815.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913b). Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans [Diary of a Woman in her Fifties] (in French). Vol. II (7th ed.). Paris: Librairie Chapelot. OCLC 1047478749.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
MacDougall, Henry (1799). Sketches of Irish Political Characters of the Present Day. London: P. O'Shea Publisher. OCLC 642449386.
O'Callaghan, John Cornelius (1854). History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France. New York: P. O'Shea Publisher. OCLC 1046538374.

Parliament of Great Britain Preceded byPeregrine Bertie William Blackstone Member of Parliament for Westbury 1770–1774 With: Peregrine Bertie Succeeded byThomas Wenman Nathaniel Bayly Peerage of Ireland Preceded byHenry Dillon Viscount Dillon 1787–1813 Succeeded byHenry Dillon-Lee