Thomas Wildman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Wildman (1787 - 1859) was an officer in the Napoleonic Wars, a draftsman, and landowner. He was a nephew of the political reformer John Horne Tooke and friend of Lord Byron at Harrow. In 1816 he married Louisa Preisig. They had no children.

At the Battle of Waterloo he was with the 7th (or the Queens Own) Regiment of Light Dragoons (7th Hussars) as an "extra aide-de-camp" to Lord Uxbridge. His letter after the battle described Uxbridge's wounding at the end of the battle (grapeshot to the knee) and the subsequent amputation. Wildman himself was slightly wounded in the battle.

The Wildman family had obtained Quebec Estate, a large sugar plantation in Jamaica, from William Beckford, who was having financial problems. The wealth generated from this plantation provided Wildman with the means to purchase Newstead Abbey in December, 1817 for £94,000. The Abbey was owned by his friend and old schoolmate Lord Byron who, like Beckford, was having financial difficulties. Byron had been trying to sell the Abbey since 1812. Of the sale, Byron's half-sister Augusta said Wildman had "soul enough to value the dear Abbey..."

Although Wildman's purchase ended almost four centuries of Byron family ownership of the Abbey, he was considered to be the man who saved Byron's home. He spent £100,000 restoring it, hiring the architect John Shaw to make improvements. He also amassed a large collection of Byron memorabilia there.

The Wildmans entertained many guests who wished to visit the home of Lord Byron, including Franz Liszt and Washington Irving. The Duke of Sussex visited annually for a six-week holiday with his chaplain. After Wildman's death, Louisa sold the Abbey to William Frederick Webb.