Ballensworth, Duke of
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[edit] Biography
James, Henry, George, Duke of Ballensworth (1822-1901) was a prominent politician and artist in XIXth century Britain, also known for his great eccentricity. He is certainly the most remembered member of the otherwise discreet House of Ballensworth.
Born in 1822 in the Castle of Ballensworth (Cambridgeshire) son of the VIth Duke of Ballensworth and of Caroline de Broglie (daughter of the French Duc de Broglie), James spent a rather lonely childhood in the countryside. Later, as an adolescent, he made frequent trips to London, generally under covered identities, initiating a tradition in the family of traveling and socialising under fake names. It is reported that it is in those trips that he started developing an unconventional attitude in Victorian times, befriending Lords, tramps, artists and dancers, and often sleeping in St James Park, less than a mile away from his cousin the Queen.
When his own father died, James became the VIIth Duke of Ballensworth at age 16. At this time, he had already been painting and sculpting for a few years and had a great interest for ancient languages. He started a degree in classics at Trinity College, Cambridge, which he did not finish because he was found guilty of having an affair with a Professor's young wife. He did not come back to the city of Cambridge until the late 1860s, when he made a donation to help the construction of a new college for women.
Lord Ballensworth went to London after being expelled from Cambridge and then lived most of his life between the family Castle and London, also paying regular visits to his mother's family in southern France.
He started his political carrier soon after. Affiliated to no party, he was renowned for his eccentric positions on a wide range of subjects, revealing what could be considered a very modern thought. Many of his ideas can be found in his "Light Treatise on Politics: How Things Ought to be in the Modern World". Several times members of the cabinet in the 1850s and 1860s, he was appreciated in many circles but considered too odd to lead the country, hence his repeated failures to become Prime Minister, and his decision to quit political arena in 1872.
It is said that Henry , the present Duke of Ballensworth, following the tradition started by his great great grandfather, is currently a student at Girton College, Cambridge, under a fake name for more privacy, and possibly even faking a different nationality.
[edit] Other sources on the House of Ballensworth:
Bradbrook (M.C.), `That Infidel place': A short history Of Girton College 1869-1969 ([1])
Bush, Michael L. 'The English Aristocracy: a Comparative Synthesis', Manchester University Press, 1984. Concise comparative historical treatment. ([2])
Jeremias, Alexios, The Ballensworth: Three Centuries serving Arts and Politics, Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Martins, Collin, The Houses of Ballensworth and Windsor, Freedom Press, 1998.
La Rochefoucaud (de), Jean, "Le duc de Ballensworth dans l'Angleterre victorienne", Gallimard Presse, 1988.
