Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond

His Grace
 The Duke of Richmond
KG, PC
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
11 April 1807 – 23 June 1813
Monarch George III
Prime Minister The Duke of Portland
Hon. Spencer Perceval
The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by The Duke of Bedford
Succeeded by The Viscount Whitworth
Governor General of British North America
In office
1818–1819
Monarch George III
Preceded by Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
Succeeded by The Earl of Dalhousie
Personal details
Born 9 December 1764 (1764-12-09)
Gordon Castle, Gight, Aberdeenshire
Died 28 August 1819(1819-08-28) (aged 54)
Richmond, British North America
Nationality British
Political party Tory
Spouse(s) Lady Charlotte Gordon
(1768–1842)
Alma mater None

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox KG, PC (9 December 1764 – 28 August 1819) was a British soldier and politician and Governor General of British North America.

Contents

Background

Richmond was born at Gordon Castle, near Fochabers, Scotland, the son of General Lord George Lennox, the younger son of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. His mother was Lady Louisa, daughter of William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian.

Cricket

Richmond was a keen cricketer. He was an accomplished right-hand bat and a noted wicket-keeper. An amateur, he was a founder member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. In 1786, together with the Earl of Winchilsea, Richmond offered Thomas Lord a guarantee against any losses Lord might suffer on starting a new cricket ground. This led to Lord opening his first cricket ground in 1787. Although Lord's Cricket Ground has since moved twice, Lennox' and Winchilsea's guarantee provided the genesis of the best-known cricket ground in the world, a ground known as the Home of Cricket. Nearly always listed as the Hon. Colonel Charles Lennox in contemporary scorecards, Lennox had 55 recorded first-class appearances from 1784 to 1800 and played a few more games after that.

Army general

Richmond became a British Army captain in at the age of 23 in 1787. On 17 May 1789, while a colonel in the Duke of York's regiment, he was involved in a duel with Frederick, Duke of York, who had expressed the opinion that "Colonel Lennox had heard words spoken to him at Daughbigny's, to which no gentleman ought to have submitted", effectively an accusation of failing to respond to an insult in the way that a gentleman should. At Wimbledon Common, Lennox fired, but his ball "grazed his Royal Highness's curl"; the Duke did not fire.[1] Colonel Lennox shortly after exchanged his company for the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel in the 35th Regiment of Foot.[2] On July 1 of the same year, he was involved in another duel, with Theophilus Swift, Esq., in consequence of a pamphlet criticising Lennox's character published under Swift's name. They met in a field near the Uxbridge Road, where Swift was wounded in the body, but recovered.[3] Later in the year he married Lady Charlotte Gordon, daughter of the 4th Duke of Gordon. In 1794 and 1795 he participated in naval engagements against the French in the West Indies and Gibraltar, but was sent home when he came into conflict with his superiors. He was also MP for Sussex, succeeding his father, from 1790 until he succeeded to the dukedom.

Duke

He became the 4th Duke of Richmond on 29 December 1806, after the death of his uncle, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond. In April 1807 he became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He remained in that post until 1813, with Arthur Wellesley (the later Duke of Wellington) as his secretary. He participated in the Napoleonic Wars and in 1815 he was in command of a reserve force in Brussels, which was protecting that city in case Napoleon won the Battle of Waterloo. On 15 June, the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras, his wife held a ball for his fellow officers. Although he observed the battle the next day, as well as Waterloo on 18 June, he did not participate in either.

Governor General of Canada

See also: List of Governors General of Canada

In 1818 he was appointed Governor General of Upper Canada. While visiting the territory in 1819, he was bitten by a pet fox, and died of rabies on 28 August of that year. The night before his death, he slept at the "Masonic Arms" a tavern in Richmond, Ontario owned by Andrew Hill (former Sgt. Maj. of the 100th Regiment of Foot) and Maria Hill, his wife and heroine of the War of 1812. After the Duke of Richmond’s death, Maria prepared his body to be sent back to Quebec City for burial and Hill’s tavern was renamed the ‘Duke of Richmond Arms’ to commemorate the visit. Lennox's title was inherited by his son, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond. Lennox was given a state funeral in Quebec City, and he is buried in the city's Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral.[4]

Legacy

The towns of Richmond, Ontario, Richmond, Quebec, and Richmond County, Nova Scotia, along with Richmond Street in Toronto, Ontario were named after him. According to tradition, the town of Richmond Hill, Ontario, was also named after him, as he was said to have passed through the then village during his visit in 1819.

Ancestry and issue

Ancestry

Issue

Richmond had fourteen children:

References

Notes

  1. ^ Millingen, pp. 131-32.
  2. ^ Millingen, p. 133.
  3. ^ Millingen, p. 135.
  4. ^ Woods, p. 45.

Bibliography

External links

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Lord George Henry Lennox
Lord Pelham		 Member of Parliament for Sussex
with Lord Pelham
1790–1801		 Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain		 Member of Parliament for Sussex
with Lord Pelham 1801
John Fuller 1801–1806
1801–1806		 Succeeded by
John Fuller
Charles William Wyndham
Government offices
Preceded by
The Duke of Bedford		 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1807–1813		 Succeeded by
The Viscount Whitworth
Preceded by
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke		 Governor General of British North America
1818–1819		 Succeeded by
The Earl of Dalhousie
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir William Medows		 Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull
1813–1814		 Succeeded by
The Lord Hill
Preceded by
The Viscount Howe		 Governor of Plymouth
1814–1819		 Succeeded by
The Duke of Wellington
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Ashburnham		 Vice-Admiral of Sussex
1812–1819		 Succeeded by
The Earl of Egremont
Preceded by
The Duke of Norfolk		 Lord Lieutenant of Sussex
1816–1819
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Lennox		 Duke of Richmond
3rd creation
1806 – 1819		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Charles Lennox		 Duke of Lennox
2nd creation
1806 – 1819		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
Post-Confederation (1867-present)
Province of Canada (1841-1866)*
Lower Canada (1791-1841)
British Province of Quebec (1759-1791)*
  • The Crown's representative from 1759 to 1791, and from 1841 to 1866 held the office and rank of Governor-General