Canting arms of Lethbridge: Argent, over water proper, a bridge of five arches embattled gules and over the centre arch a turret in chief an eagle displayed sable charged on the breast with a bezant[1]
Sir John Lethbridge, 1st Baronet (12 March 1746 – 15 December 1815), of Whitehall Place, Westminster; Sandhill Park, Somerset; Westaway in the parish of Pilton, Devon, and Winkleigh Court, Winkleigh,[2] Devon, was Member of Parliament for Minehead in Somerset from 1806 to 1807. He served as Sheriff of Somerset in 1788–9. In 2010 he was discovered to have been the natural father of Claire Clairmont,[3] and thus the grandfather of Lord Byron's daughter Allegra.
Origins
He was born on 12 March 1746, the only son of John Lethbridge (died 1761)[4][5] of Westaway House in the parish of Pilton, North Devon, by his wife Grace Cardor (alias Carder), daughter of Amos Cardor of Westdown House in Devon. John Lethbridge was the only surviving son of Thomas Lethbridge (1698–1734),[6][7] Gentleman, a lawyer of Clement's Inn, by his wife Sarah Periam, daughter of John Periam (died 1711)[8] of Milverton, Somerset, and sister of John Periam (c. 1701 – 1788) of Milverton, MP for Minehead (1742-7).[9] John Periam in 1720 built a mansion at Sandhill Park in the parish of Bishops Lydeard, Somerset, which descended to the Lethbridge family. Periam was descended from Sir William Peryam (1534–1604) of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer under Queen Elizabeth I.[10] Thomas had another son Thomas Lethbridge (1724–1744), Gentleman, who died aged 20 and was buried in the Bowchier vault in Pilton Church.[11] Thomas Lethbridge was a younger son of Christopher Lethbridge, Esquire, of Westaway, by his wife Margaret Bowchier (whom he married on 3 January 1681/2[7]), daughter and heiress of Phillip Bowchier (1623–1687) of Westaway. Christopher's uncle was Christopher Lethbridge (died 1670) of Exeter in Devon, Mayor of Exeter in 1660, and one of the Worthies of Devon of the biographer John Prince, (1643–1723). Mayor Christopher Lethbridge appears to have been the ultimate source of the great wealth of the Lethbridge family of Sandhill Park.[12]
Mural monument to Christopher Lethbridge (died 1713) of Westaway, south aisle wall of Pilton Church, Devon, displaying arms of Lethbridge, Bowchier of Westaway and Incledon of Pilton House
The connection to the Bowchiers of Westaway provided the basis for a Lethbridge claim of heirship to the Barons FitzWarin, which had fallen into abeyance in 1636 with the death of Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath,[13] though there is no documented connection between him and the Bowchiers. In 1786 John Lethbridge, the future 1st Baronet, made a generous gift of several thousand pounds to the Prince Regent "to relieve the Prince of Wales, out of concern for the dignity of the Royal family and the country and with no ulterior motive." However, it seems this gift was later used as a reason for the king to compensate the 1st Baronet by the grant of the title "Baron FitzWarin", alias "Fitzwarren". In 1809 he made an application to the king for the barony, and in 1811 his son wrote to the Prime Minister that this had been desired by his father "for many years", "as a mark of royal favour". A third application was made in 1812, but all without result.
A Ledger stone survives in St Mary's Church, Pilton, to Phillip Bowchier (1623–1687) of Westaway, inscribed as follows:
"Here lyeth ye body of Phillip Bowchier, Gent., buried ye 3d day of Agust 1687 aged 64 years. Here also layeth the body of Agnes late wife of Phillip Bowchier, Gent., who departed this life ye 25th day of Nobr 1698 aged 66. Here lyes also buryed the body of Thomas Lethbridge, Gent., son of Thomas Lethbridge of Clement's Inne, Gent., a younger son of Christopher Lethbridge of Westaway, Esq., by Margaret his wife daughter of the above named Philip Bowchier. Obt 10th Augst 1744 aetatis 20"
The Tate holds a 1785 portrait entitled The Lethbridge Children, presumably commissioned by him. The accompanying description states that he was a governor of the British Mineral Water Hospital in the 1770s and 80s (now the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases).[15]
Character
He was described (under the name of "Sir Richard Lethmore") by Lady Spencer, wife of the prime ministerSpencer Perceval, as "a most abominable profligate—a rustic roué, very rich and using his riches for the worst purposes".[14]
Landholdings
"Sandhill Park, Somersetshire", 1829 engraving
Sandhill Park the estate of which lies partly in the parishes of Bishops Lydeard and Ash Priors,[16]Somerset, built in 1720 by his grandfather's father-in-law John Periam (or possibly by the latter's son John Periam,[17] MP for Minehead) who called it "Hill House".[18] The subject of this article came to Sandhill in 1767, aged about 21, and it was in all probability at that time that the house was enlarged and the walls hung with pictures, including valuable examples by Salvator Rosa, Poussin, Guido Reni, Vandervelt, Snyders, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Gainsborough, and at the same time the library received its large collection of ancient books.[19] The 1st Baronet spent lavishly on "adorning his place and mansion", as was reported by Lady Spencer, who related the following story (in which she refers to him as Sir Richard):
"He has a near neighbour[20] who is at daggers drawn with him and has completely got the better of (him) in the art of tormenting, by imitating instantly every improvement Sir Richard is making at his seat, in his own, which kills with spleen the unhappy man of taste, for these imitations are very ill-executed. Sir Richard bethought himself however, lately, of a scheme which he conceived entirely out of the reach of his persecutor, namely a large and magnificent piece of water which he knew from the nature of the place his neighbour possessed, could not be equalled by him. However, here again he was mistaken, for the tormentor immediately made a frightful piece of water and placed in the very centre of it a large horrid statue holding a label out of its hand on which is written 'The way to Harlots Hall'. Did you ever hear such thorough-paced country gentlemen’s raillerie?".
In June 1776 he married Dorothea Buckler, a daughter and co-heiress of William Buckler of Boreham in Wiltshire, by whom he had one son and two daughters as follows.[25]
In 2010 Lethbridge was discovered to be the father of Claire Clairmont. It appears that Lethbridge had an affair with Mary Jane Vial Clairmont, who gave birth to a daughter on 27 April 1798 in Brislington, near Bristol. Births outside marriage then carried great stigma for the mother and child. Correspondence, including lawyers' letters, show that, after some pressure, he acknowledged paternity and made a financial settlement. Nonetheless, the child did not bear his name: the mother identified him as a "Charles Clairmont", adopting the name Clairmont for herself and both her children, to disguise their illegitimacy.[27] A few years later, she married the writer and philosopher William Godwin, so Lethbridge's daughter grew up in a literary household with a blended family, including Godwin's stepdaughter (Fanny Imlay) and daughter by his late wife Mary Wollstonecraft. When the younger of these, Mary, eloped with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claire Clairmont accompanied them on their flight to Europe. Through Shelley, she formed an attachment to Lord Byron, and bore him a daughter. Thus Lethbridge was the grandfather of Allegra Byron.
Death
He died on 15 December 1815. On his deathbed he tore up a will by which he had disinherited his son.[14] His monument in Bishops Lydeard Church is inscribed as follows:[28]
"Underneath are deposited the relics of Sir John Lethbridge, Bart., who departed this life 15 Dec, 1815, in his 70th year. He had lived at Sandhill Park in this Parish for the last 48 years, but was formerly of Westaway House, in the county of Devon, where, and at Winkley Court, in the same county, his ancestors had been for many generations situated. This stone is also sacred to the memory of Dame Dorothy Lethbridge, relict of Sir John Lethbridge, Bart, and elder daughter and co-heiress of the late William Buckler, of Boreham, in the county of Wilts. She lived a pattern of Christian piety and virtue, and died full of good works Dec. 1st 1831, aged 82 years".
^Baynham, 1908, confused John Lethbridge (died 1761) with John Lethbridge (died 1759) of Wolborough, Newton Abbot, Devon, the inventor of the Diving Bell
^A monument survives in Bishops Lydeard Church inscribed: "To the memory of John Periam, Esqre., who died Jan. 16, 1755, aged 54 years, and was buried the 31st of the same month".(Baynham, p.130). John Periam married Elizabeth Southey, daughter of John Southey, of Fitzhead, Esq.(Baynham, p.131)
Baynham, Rev. Arthur Wilfrid, Memorials of Ash Priors, Exeter, 1908, pp. 125 et seq, "Lethbridge Family"Memorials of Ash Priors
Further reading
Lethbridge, Sir Roper, C.I.E (1840–1919), MP, Some Hatherleigh Worthies of the Seventeenth Century, Transactions of the Devonshire Association, vol.36, 1904, pp. 289–301. Concerning three members of the Lethbridge family of Deckport, Hatherleigh, living at the time of the 1660 Restoration.
