Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden

Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, 4th Baron Seaford (9 May 1880 – 5 November 1946), was a British peer, landowner, writer and patron of the arts. He was also a motorboat racer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Biography

He was baptised with the name of Thomas Evelyn Ellis, and was known within his family as "Tommy". In 1917 his name was legally changed to Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis. He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and saw military service in both the Boer War and the World War I. He succeeded his father to the barony in 1899 and in 1901 inherited further estates. He had an interest in genealogy and heraldry. He amassed one of the most extensive collections of armour in the UK, most of which is now on display at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock. He lived for years at Chirk Castle, Denbighshire, and learned the Welsh language.

As a crew member of the Dylan he participated in the first and only motor boat competitions at the Olympics 1908 in London.

Lord Howard de Walden was also an author, who produced several plays under the pseudonym of T. E. Ellis. He was succeeded as Baron Howard de Walden by his son, John Osmael Scott-Ellis. He was also the maternal grandfather of the writer Miranda Seymour through his daughter Rosemary's marriage to George Fitzroy Seymour.

Family

He married Margarita van Raalte, herself a collector of antiquities. Children from this marriage were:

• John Osmael Scott-Ellis, 9th Baron Howard de Walden (27 Nov 1912 - 9 Jul 1999) married firstly Irene Gräfin von Harrach, daughter of Hans-Albrecht Graf von Harrach and Helene Gräfin von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, on 21 August 1934. He married secondly, Gillian Margaret Buckley, daughter of Cyril Francis Stewart Buckley and Audrey Burmester, in 1978.
• Hon. Bronwen Mary Scott-Ellis (b. 27 Nov 1912) married Hon. James Louis Lindsay, son of David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford and Constance Lilian Pelly, on 26 April 1933
• Hon. Elisabeth Gwendolen Ellis (b. 5 Dec 1914) married, firstly, Count Serge Orloff-Davidoff, son of Alexis Orloff-Davidoff, Count Orloff-Davidoff, on 24 July 1935. She married, secondly, Bernard Wheeler Robinson, son of Dr. Henry Wheeler Robinson, on 31 October 1959.
• Essylt Priscilla Ellis (b. 15 Nov 1916) married Jose Luis de Volallongay Careza de Vaca on 27 September 1945.
• Hon. Margaret Irene Gaenor Scott-Ellis (b. 2 Jun 1919) married Lieutenant Richard Frank Heathcoat-Amory, son of Lt.-Col. Harry William Ludovic Heathcoat-Amory and Evelyn Mary Stanley, on 18 July 1938.
• Hon. Rosemary Nest Scott-Ellis (b. 28 Oct 1922) married George Fitzroy Seymour on 1 June 1946.

Dispute with John Lewis

John Lewis of the eponymous Department store on Oxford Street engaged in a protracted legal dispute with de Walden, his ground landlord, over the Holles Street premises. The litigation went through the courts for twenty-three years and cost Lewis £40,000 pounds. At one point John Lewis was sent to Brixton Jail for contempt of court, and De Walden sued him for libel following his erection of placards at his stores. The case was eventually settled amicably.^[1]

Works

• Some feudal lords and their seals (1903)
• Banners standards and badges from a Tudor mansucript in the College of Arms (1904)

References