• About
  • Ahentafel index
  • Books
    • Champions from Normandy
    • C F C Crespigny nee Dana
  • Index
    • A to Z challenges
    • DNA research
    • UK trip 2019
    • World War 1
    • Boltz and Manock family index
    • Budge and Gunn family index
    • Cavenagh family index
    • Chauncy family index
    • Cross and Plowright family index
    • Cudmore family index
    • Dana family index
    • Dawson family index
    • de Crespigny family index
    • de Crespigny family index 2 – my English forebears
    • de Crespigny family index 3 – the baronets and their descendants
    • Edwards, Ralph and Gilbart family index
    • Hughes family index
    • Mainwaring family index
      • Back to 1066 via the Mainwaring family
    • Sullivan family index
    • Young family index

Anne's Family History

~ An online research journal

Anne's Family History

Category Archives: CdeC baronets

Vierville de Crespigny 1882 – 1927

21 Saturday May 2022

Posted by Anne Young in Africa, CdeC baronets, divorce, military

≈ Leave a comment

Claude Vierville Champion de Crespigny, one of my 5th cousins twice removed, was born at Heybridge, Maldon, Essex, on 25 January 1882. He was the seventh of nine children and fourth of five sons of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny the fourth baronet and Georgiana Lady Champion de Crespigny née McKerrell. The five sons of the fourth baronet were all given the first name Claude. The younger four sons each had a middle name: Raul, Philip, Vierville, Norman.

On 25 January 1900, just a few weeks after it was established, Vierville joined the Imperial Yeomanry, a volunteer light cavalry force, to serve in the war in South Africa. On the record he claimed to be 20 years old; he was actually 18. Two of his older brothers were already serving in the army, the other was in the navy.

Vierville was initially a trooper with the 21st Lancers but in February 1901 was appointed 2nd Lieutenant with the Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment). He was made Lieutenant in 1903 and in 1904 became aide-de-camp to Sir D. W. Stewart, Commissioner, East Africa Protectorate.

From January 1906 to September 1909 he was employed with the King’s African Rifles. He was said to have spoken Swahili fluently. In 1908 he was tried and acquitted of the charge of causing the death of his native servant by a rash and negligent act.

Image from Europeans in East Africa database entry for CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, Claude Vierville (Major)

In 1910 he was promoted to captain. From 1912 he served in the Special Reserve, a force established on 1 April 1908, responsible for maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war.

On 19 July 1911 Vierville married Mary Nora Catherine McSloy on 19 July 1911 at the Brompton Oratory in Kensington, London. They had one daughter together, Mary Charmian Sara Champion de Crespigny (1914 – 1967).

British (English) School; Captain Vierville Champion de Crespigny (1882-1927); Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/captain-vierville-champion-de-crespigny-18821927-49105

In December 1916 he was appointed Assistant Provost Marshal, with rank equivalent to staff captain. He was promoted to major in 1917. In December 1918 he incurred the Army Council’s displeasure when he turned a water hose on men who were attempting to rush the doors of the Albert Hall during a boxing tournament. He was demobilised in July 1919.

In June 1919 he sailed for Canada with his wife and daughter intending to settle there. They lived on a ranch near the remote settlement of Wilmer, British Columbia. However, Vierville left in December 1920 and returned to England.

In February 1921 he joined the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC). With the RIC, the Auxiliary Division was disbanded in 1922.

In February 1924 Vierville was appointed game ranger, at a salary of £300, in the Game Preservation department of the Tanganyika Territory Government.

In March 1924 his wife divorced him.

Daily Mirror 18 March 1924 page 11

On 6 December 1924 at Mombassa in present day Kenya, Vierville married for a second time to Elspie Madge Salmon, daughter of the Rev. Frank and Mrs Salmon of Langton rectory, Blandford.

On 17 July 1927, well-mauled by a leopard, Vierville died in Singida, Tanganyika. His usual residence was recorded as Arusha, 325 kilometres to the north-west, near the border with Kenya.

Essex Newsman 30 July 1927 page 3

Probate was granted to his widow in March 1928. His effects were less than £350. Elsie later lived with his brother Raul at Champion Lodge, Essex, acting as his housekeeper.

Memorial in St Peter’s Church, Great Totham, Essex.
Photographed by Simon Knott and reproduced with permission.

RELATED POSTS

  • Extinction of the de Crespigny baronetcy

Vierville’s four brothers:

  • Claude de Crespigny 1873 – 1910
  • Claude Raul: Raul de Crespigny the 5th baronet
  • Claude Philip: The sailor and the princess
  • Claude Norman: C is for Compiègne on 1 September 1914

Wikitree: Claude Vierville Champion de Crespigny (1882 – 1927)

Raul de Crespigny the 5th baronet

19 Thursday May 2022

Posted by Anne Young in baronet, CdeC baronets, divorce, military, World War 1

≈ 3 Comments

Claude Raul Champion de Crespigny, one of my 5th cousins twice removed, was born at Durrington, Wiltshire on 19 September 1878. He was the fifth of nine children of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny the fourth baronet, and Georgiana Lady Champion de Crespigny née McKerrell. The five sons of the fourth baronet were all given the first name Claude. The younger four sons each had a middle name: Raul, Philip, Vierville, Norman.

Raul was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire. He joined the army and served in the prestigious Grenadier Guards regiment. He became a 2nd Lieutenant on 17 January 1900 and was promoted Lieutenant two years later, on 1 April 1903. Raul was awarded the Queen’s Medal with four clasps in the South African War. He became a Captain in 1908.

On 24 Jun 1913 Raul married Violet Rose (Vere) Sykes in the Royal Military Chapel (The Guards’ Chapel) on Birdcage Walk opposite St James Park. Vere’s brother Claude Alfred Victor Sykes was also an officer in the Grenadier Guards.

Over the course of World War 1 Raul was promoted from Captain to Brigadier-General. He was Commanding Officer of the 2nd battalion Grenadier Guards at the Somme and remained in command until 22 Sep 1917, when he replaced Brigadier-General G. D. Jeffreys as commander of the 1st Guards Brigade. Raul de Crespigny was mentioned seven times in despatches. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, D.S.O., in 1916, invested with the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, C.M.G., in 1918, and the Companion of the Order of the Bath, C.B., a year later. In 1916 he was also decorated with the Montenegrin Cross (Order of Danilo 4th class).

Sprinck, Leon; Major Claude Raul Champion de Crespigny (1878-1941), 5th Bt; Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/major-claude-raul-champion-de-crespigny-18781941-5th-bt-49166

An article in a New Zealand newspaper called the ‘Dominion‘, dated 29 January 1918, with the headline ‘The Perfect Soldier’ described Raul’s distaste for staff work and eagerness to return to his battalion. He was:

'One of those commanding officers who believe in being in the thick of the fighting, he used to lead his men over the top with a 'loaded stick' as a weapon. In one of the recent engagements in Flanders he charged a Hun machine-gunner who was scattering death right and left with his stream of bullets. With one mighty swing of his stick he broke the neck of the Hun, and the regiment went on. The Hun's gas mask and steel helmet are in England now hanging on the walls of Brigadier-General de Crespigny's Essex home among innumerable trophies of the chase, grim relics of a man whose hobby is fighting.'

The article goes on to list his sporting accomplishments in steeple-chasing, boxing, cricket, shooting and aquatic sports.

Though Champion Lodge was certainly cluttered with sporting trophies, bashing a Hun to death then then mounting a trophy of the occasion on your wall seems more likely to have been a literary trope than solid fact. Nancy Mitford’s ‘Uncle Matthew’ comes to mind, in ‘The Pursuit of Love‘:

"THERE is a photograph in existence of Aunt Sadie and her six children sitting round the tea-table at Alconleigh. The table is situated, as it was, is now, and ever shall be, in the hall, in front of a huge open fire of logs. Over the chimney-piece plainly visible in the photograph hangs an entrenching tool, with which, in 1915, Uncle Matthew had whacked to death eight Germans one by one as they crawled out of a dug-out. It is still covered with blood and hairs, an object of fascination to us as children."
Trophies at Champion Lodge in the early 1900s. Image from opposite page 295 of the 1910 edition of Forty Years of a sportsman’s life by the 4th baronet.

Raul’s marriage ended in divorce in 1926.

Daily Mirror 22 March 1926 page 1 retrieved from the British Newspaper Archive via FindMyPast
“A Retired Army Officer Divorced.” Times, 3 June 1926, p. 6. The Times Digital Archive, retrieved through Gale Primary Sources
I notice that Raul signs himself Crawley to his wife; his older brother’s nickname was Creepy.

Raul became the 5th baronet after the death of his father in 1935. He died on 15 May 1941. His obituary in the Chelmsford Chronicle noted that he “settled at Champion Lodge, and took a kindly interest in the affairs of the neighbourhood, especially the British Legion. His last public duty was performed a few months ago, when he opened the gift sale of the Maldon Farmers’ Union in Maldon Market on behalf of the Red Cross.” Members of the British Legion provided a guard of honour at his funeral.

Claude Raul had no children. Of the five sons of the fourth baronet, only Claude Vierville had a daughter, but women could not inherit the baronetcy. The title passed to a cousin, Henry Champion de Crespigny (1882-1946), son of Philip Augustus Champion de Crespigny (1850-1912). Philip was the younger brother of the fourth baronet, second son of the third baronet.

RELATED POSTS

  • Extinction of the de Crespigny baronetcy

Three of Claude’s four brothers:

  • Claude de Crespigny 1873 – 1910
  • Claude Philip: The sailor and the princess
  • Claude Norman: C is for Compiègne on 1 September 1914

Wikitree: Claude Raul Champion de Crespigny (1878 – 1941)

Claude de Crespigny 1873 – 1910

17 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by Anne Young in CdeC baronets, military, sport

≈ 5 Comments

Claude Champion de Crespigny, one of my 5th cousins twice removed, was born in London on 11 September 1873. He was the oldest of nine children of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny the fourth baronet and Georgiana, Lady Champion de Crespigny née McKerrell. The five sons of the fourth baronet were all given the first name Claude. The younger four sons each had a middle name: Raul, Philip, Vierville, Norman.

Claude was the oldest of five sons, all of whom were named Claude. From the Black and White Budget of 19 May 1901.

Claude was sent to Eton College, and from there to the Army College at Aldershot. On 13 April 1891 he graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment, joining the 2nd Life Guards on 3rd July 1895.

Claude served in the South African war, and was mentioned twice in despatches, once for special bravery at Rensburg, where he saved the life of a wounded trooper by mounting him on his own horse. For this he was recommended for (though not awarded) the Victoria Cross. On 3 February 1900 Claude was promoted to captain. A month later on 7 March in the Battle of Poplar Grove—a rout for the Boers—he was severely wounded. In 1901 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his services in South Africa.

From December 1900 to January 1902 he served as aide-de-camp to Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India. In 1903 he was appointed to the British colonial garrison West African Frontier Force in Southern Nigeria. There he was again wounded.

Sutton, Isobella M.; Captain Claude Champion de Crespigny (1873-1910), DSO; Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/captain-claude-champion-de-crespigny-18731910-dso-49167
Redworth, William Josiah; Captain Claude Champion de Crespigny on ‘Fillipeen’; Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/captain-claude-champion-de-crespigny-on-fillipeen-49156

Claude was an accomplished polo player, on his regiment’s team until his retirement from the army in 1909.  In 1907 and 1908 his team the Leopards won the Roehampton Cup, in England the game’s most prestigious trophy. In 1909 he played for England against Ireland, and in 1910, for the English Hurlingham Club touring the United States.

Polo match at Hurlingham between Hurlingham and the Freebooters. Captain C, de Crespigny, “a strong player”, was playing for the Freebooters.
From The Bystander 20 May 1908, page 403. Retrieved from the British Newspaper Archive through FindMyPast.
Collier, Imogen; Claude Champion de Crespigny (1873-1910); Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/claude-champion-de-crespigny-18731910-49118

“JOHN WHACKS JONATHAN: Captain Bellville’s English Polo Team do Brilliantly in America.” Tatler 27 April 1910 page 41. Retrieved from the British Newspaper Archive through FindMyPast.

On 18 May 1910 Claude, then thirty-seven, was discovered dead by the side of the road at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire. A friend lived nearby. The coroner found that Claude had killed himself in a temporary fit of madness which may have been caused by influenza and repeated heavy falls while playing polo. The New York Times however, noted that he had been named as co-respondent in a divorce case, and speculated that Claude had believed the only way to save the woman’s name and honour was to commit suicide. This explanation was not offered at the inquest.

Related posts

  • Extinction of the de Crespigny baronetcy

Two of Claude’s younger brothers:

  • Claude Philip: The sailor and the princess
  • Claude Norman: C is for Compiègne on 1 September 1914

Wikitree: Claude Champion de Crespigny DSO (1873 – 1910)

The sailor and the princess

12 Thursday May 2022

Posted by Anne Young in CdeC baronets, navy, probate

≈ 10 Comments

Claude Philip Champion de Crespigny, one of my 5th cousins twice removed, was born on 3 August 1880 in Maldon, Essex. He was the sixth of nine children of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny the fourth baronet, and Georgiana Lady Champion de Crespigny née McKerrell. The five sons of the fourth baronet all had the first name Claude. Accordingly the four younger sons, including Philip, went by their middle name.

In 1896 Philip joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 15 November 1899 and a year later, on 31 December 1901, he became a Lieutenant. From 28 May 1906 to 1 August 1909 he served as captain of the destroyer HMS Dove. On 31 December 1909 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander. Philip was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 17 August 1910, but he remained eligible to apply for the rank of Commander on reaching the age of 40. While retired he attended several short Mine-Sweeping Courses.

During World War I he came out of retirement and was initially engaged in mine-sweeping operations. On 6 June 1915 Claude was appointed to command of the monitor M.32 (a monitor was a small heavy vessel designed for shore bombardment). He was Captain of the patrol boat HMS P13 from January to July 1917, and in command of the monitor M.24 on 24 July 1917 until April 1919. He was mentioned in despatches and in 1919 was awarded the Croix de Guerre. On 11 December 1919 he became Commander (Retired).

THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN, APRIL 1915-JANUARY 1916 (Q 13541) Lieutenant Commander Claude Champion de Crespigny, who was in command of one of the monitors engaged in the Dardanelles operations.
Copyright: IWM. Original Source and reused under the IWM Non-commercial Licence: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205248723

Philip is mentioned in various memoirs as well as in the social pages of newspapers and magazines. In 1914 he was photographed by Tatler with Princess Hatzfeldt, an American heiress and the widow from 1910 of a German prince, attending the National Hunt Steeplechases at Cheltenham.

Tatler 18 March 1914 page 303. British Newspaper Archive.

The Princess knew the de Crespigny family; a dinner party she gave at Claridge’s Hotel in 1904 included Philip’s oldest brother Claude, who was also at a shooting party the Prince and Princess held on their estate at Draycot Cerne in Wiltshire. Several other social occasions included various members of the de Crespigny family and the princess, and she was also at the 1910 funeral for Claude. In 1913 the princess lent her Draycot Cerne manor for the honeymoon of Raul de Crespigny. In 1919 Commander Philip de Crespigny and the princess were seen dining at the London Flying Club at Hendon.

In 1923 The Bystander reported a number of English guests at the Imperial Hotel at Menton in January, including Commander P. de Crespigny and Princess Hatzfeldt. In October 1925 Princess Hatzfeldt and Commander P. de Crespigny, the Duke of Devonshire and various others were reported in the Derbyshire Advertiser to be taking the treatment at the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire.

Princess Clara Hatzfeldt died in 1928. In her will she left bequests to friends. Philip was one of the principal heirs. She left nothing to her relatives.

“£100,000 for ‘one of the Best.” Chelmsford Chronicle, 12 Apr. 1929, p. 7. British Library Newspapers.

The will was contested by her nephew but a settlement was reached.

When Philip died in 1939 he left his estate, including his interest in the estate of the late Princess Hatzfeldt, shared equally between his brother Raul and his niece Valencia Lancaster. Philip’s estate was probated at £37,902 ( millions in today’s pounds).

Valencia Lancaster inherited Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire from her brother and set up a trust in 1982 for its conservation. Many portraits of the Champion de Crespigny family hang on the walls, including a portrait of Claude Philip Champion de Crespigny.

British (English) School; Claude Philip Champion de Crespigny (1880-1939); Kelmarsh Hall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/claude-philip-champion-de-crespigny-18801939-49108

Related posts

  • V is for Valencia
  • A visit to Kelmarsh Hall

Wikitree:

  • Claude Philip Champion de Crespigny (1880 – 1939)
  • Claude Raul Champion de Crespigny (1878 – 1941)
  • Cicely Valencia Lancaster (1898 – 1996)
  • Clara Elizabeth (Prentice) von Hatzfeldt (1860 – 1928)

U for Unregistered

24 Saturday Apr 2021

Posted by Anne Young in A to Z 2021, CdeC baronets, military, Tipperary

≈ 10 Comments

This genealogy blog is mostly about people. Even where the topic is broadened to cover family history generally, the subject is human events. Pets are not often remembered, and our much-loved companions of other species seldom get a mention.

In a small way, under ‘U for Unregistered’ I have a chance to put this right.

Tyrell Other William Champion de Crespigny (1859 – 1946), my 4th cousin 3 times removed, was a much-decorated soldier who fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878 – 1880, the Boer War of 1880 – 1881, and the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882. He rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the Great War of 1914 – 1919.

I do not know if Tyrell de Crespigny was a fire-eater; he certainly sounds fierce enough. However, he seems to have had a soft spot, for on 26 April 1890, Captain de Crespigny of the 15th Hussars, deployed with his regiment to Cahir in Tipperary, licensed his grey terrier.

I like to think that it was from affection for his dog that Captain de Crespigny submitted to the dog-registration rules of Tipperary’s civil authorities. Even a grey terrier may have its fond guardian and protector.  However, the Petty Sessions Court Registers of 24 April 1890 for Cahir, County Tipperary recorded that Captain de Crespigny of the 15th Hussars had an unlicensed dog in his possession at the Cahir Barracks on 23 April 1890. He was fined and directed to take out a license. A number of men of the 15th Hussars appeared that day in the Court Registers for the same offence and on 26 April 14 men from the 15th Hussars registered 18 dogs.

In 1891 Captain de Crespigny of the 15th Hussars licensed a white and tan fox terrier and in 1892 again licensed a white and tan fox terrier. I wonder if the first dog was misdescribed in 1890 or replaced with a puppy by 1891.

Gatsby, a wire fox terrier. Photograph from Flickr by AHLN CC by 2.0

The 15th Hussars, a British army cavalry regiment, had been deployed to Cahir between 1889 and 1893.

Image retrieved from Bracken, Pat. “Guest Post: Military Athletics in Tipperary’s Garrison Towns.” Irish Garrison Towns, 30 July 2012.

The Captain was Tyrrell Other William Champion de Crespigny (1859 – 1946), third son of the third baronet, Sir Claude William Champion de Crespigny, and a younger brother to the fourth baronet, Sir Claude (1847 – 1935).

His military career, as summarised when his medals were sold in 2008:

[Tyrell Other William Champion de Crespigny] was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Limerick Artillery Militia in 1876. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th Hussars in 1879 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1881. He served in the Afghan War in the relief of Kandahar, 1880; in the 1st Boer War, 1881, and the Egypt War, 1882, serving at Kassasin and Tel-el-Kebir. He was promoted to Captain in 1888; was Adjutant in 1889, advanced to Major in 1896 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1902. Placed on Half Pay in 1903, he served as Inspecting Officer Eastern Command and London District; Staff Officer for Imperial Yeomanry, and Colonel in Charge of Cavalry Records, 1905. He was granted the local rank of Colonel in 1905 and promoted to that rank in 1907. During the Great War he attained the rank of Brigadier-General with 8th Army Corps.

Lot 561, 25 June 2008.” Dix Noonan Webb, https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/lot-archive/lot.php?lot_uid=156994

Related post

  • D is for dog licences

Wikitree: Tyrell Other William Champion de Crespigny

South from Suffolk to Sussex

13 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by Anne Young in CdeC baronets, Fonnereau, UK trip 2019

≈ 3 Comments

On 22 May we drove from our B&B at Troston in Suffolk to our next stay, a small rented house in Lewes, Sussex. We went via Ipswich and Maldon, crossing the Thames at Dartford. The weather continued glorious: sunny and warm but not hot, with clear skies and a pleasant breeze.

Ipswich, once an important seaport on the River Orwell, was the home of some of my Fonnereau forebears. In 1734 my 7th great grandfather, Claude Fonnereau (1677 – 1740) purchased and moved with his family to Christchurch Mansion, an imposing three-storey edifice with a large park, just a few streets from the centre of the town.

20190522 Christchurch Mansion 100945_IMG_5328

Christchurch Mansion

20190522 Christchurch Park 100503_IMG_5321

Christchurch Park

Since 1885 the Mansion has been a public museum. We were given an excellent tour, our guide, friendly and knowledgeable, doing all he could to make the Fonnereau relatives from Down Under welcome. In her diary my daughter wrote:

“In Ipswich we visited the Christchurch Mansion. This mansion was owned by the Fonnereaus who married the de Crespignys. Mummy was delighted by this mansion and went on a long tour and took lots of photos of portraits. The rest of us humoured her and were very patient.”

20190522 Christchurch Mansion 104439_IMG_5405

20190522 Christchurch Mansion 102519_IMG_5369
20190522 Christchurch Mansion 115534_IMG_5448
20190522 Christchurch Mansion 103312_IMG_5388
20190522 Christchurch Mansion 104505_IMG_5407
20190522 Christchurch Mansion 104459_IMG_5406

20190522 Claude Fonnereau 102302_IMG_5360

Claude Fonnereau (1677-1740) my 7th great grandfather

20190522 Fonnereau daughter 102326_IMG_5362

One of the paintings above the doors on the landing. These may be the daughters of Claude Fonnereau one of whom was my 6th great grandmother Anne Champion de Crespigny née Fonnereau (1704 – 1782) – perhaps this is her portrait.

 

We also visited St Margaret’s Church nearby. Hanging in the nave and chancel were nine hatchments, four of them in memory of members of the Fonnereau family. (A hatchment is a large coat of arms, usually painted on a wood and canvas frame and placed over the door of a deceased person’s house shortly after their death.)

20190522 Ipswich St Margaret's 121850_IMG_5462
20190522 Ipswich St Margaret's 125442_IMG_5493
20190522 Ipswich St Margaret's 122406_IMG_5474

20190522 Fonnereau hatchments 125404_IMG_5490

hatchments for Rev. Dr. Claudius Fonnereau died 1785 and Rev. Charles William Fonnereau died 1840

20190522 Ipswich St Margaret's 122548_IMG_5481

Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich

From Ipswich we drove on to Great Totham, in Essex near Maldon. Champion Lodge, nearby, was once the home of Sir Claude de Crespigny (1847 – 1935), the fourth baronet, my fourth cousin three times removed. It is now a nursing home, not open to the public. We had lunch on the sunny terrace of a village pub.

Totham Lodge Care Home
Totham Lodge Care Home
gates of the former Champion Lodge
gates of the former Champion Lodge

pub at Great Totham
pub at Great Totham
a really excellent sandwich
a really excellent sandwich

There had been a family mausoleum at Champion Lodge but when the estate was sold in the 1940s the mausoleum was destroyed, with the remains of those buried there reinterred at St Andrew’s Hatfield Peverel, near Maldon.

20190522 Maldon145021_IMG_5514

Maldon

20190522 Hatfield Peverel 151041_IMG_5525

St Andrew’s Hatfield Peverel with Champion de Crespigny graves

20190522 Hatfield Peverel 150624_IMG_5517
20190522 Hatfield Peverel 150824_IMG_5521
20190522 Hatfield Peverel 150942_IMG_5523
20190522 Hatfield Peverel 150706_IMG_5518
20190522 Hatfield Peverel 150720_IMG_5519

Surprisingly, the various church inscriptions at St Andrew’s make no mention of the Champion de Crespignys. It appears that the family worshipped at St Peter’s Church Great Totham, where they had a private pew. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit St Peter’s, where there are many de Crespigny monuments and memorials. I do not know why the family graves were moved to Hatfield Peverel, not Great Totham.

Continuing south, we crossed the Thames at Dartford. The Dartford Crossing bridge – the crossing also has two tunnels – soars 200 feet over the river. Sorry; the great views going over were poorly captured by the photographer.

20190522 Dartford Crossing 160246_IMG_5535
20190522 Dartford Crossing160628_IMG_5538
20190522 Dartford Crossing160636_IMG_5539

20190522165632_IMG_5551

the highway south

Late in the afternoon we reached Lewes (pronounced ‘Lewers’), a very pretty town about ten miles inland from Brighton. Our house there was clean and comfortable but it was difficult to get to, approachable only by a series of one-way narrow lanes, known in Sussex as ‘twittens‘. The word has a Germanic root meaning ‘alley’; Greg thought it might be something to do with scratches on the paintwork of a hired German car. Ours was a Mercedes; we squeaked through with a just a single layer of black paint to spare.

20190526_093801

Navigating the twitten in Lewes

2019 UK map 20190522

Related posts

  • Z is for Zacharie
  • C is for Compiègne on 1 September 1914

A portrait of Betsy or of Anne?

03 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by Anne Young in CdeC 18th century, CdeC baronets, Kelmarsh Hall, portrait

≈ 3 Comments

In 1912 pastel portraits of four members of the Champion de Crespigny family were sold by the art-auction firm Christie’s. The unnamed artist was listed as ‘British school’.

Without offering any authority for its identifications, Christie’s sale catalogue names the sitters as:

  • Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, Bart., in grey coat and plum coloured vest
  • Susanna, sister of the above, and wife of Sir Richard Sutton, Bart,. in white flowered cloak and straw hat
  • Sarah, wife of Sir William Champion de Crespigny, Bart., in yellow dress with blue scarf
  • Anne, wife of Philip de Crespigny, Esq., in white flowered dress, oval

The portrait of Anne is now considered to have been the work of an eighteenth-century Scottish portrait-painter, Katherine Read (1723 – 1778). It was sold most recently by Sotheby’s auction house in 2018. The other three portraits are probably by the same artist.

CdeC Anne de Crespigny pastel sold by Sothebys in 2018

Katherine Read PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, PROBABLY ANNE CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY (1739-1797), BUST LENGTH, WITHIN A DRAWN OVAL sold by Sotheby’s lot 54 29 October 2018

Last year on a visit to Kelmarsh Hall, the Northamptonshire country residence of the Lancaster family who were cousins of the Champion de Crespigny family, I took the opportunity to view the various de Crespigny and other family portraits on display.

The Kelmarsh collection includes oil-on-canvas copies of all four of the portraits sold in 1912. However, there are discrepancies between the names attributed to the sitters of the pastel portraits and those of the oil copies.

Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny (1734–1818), 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 74 x W 62 cm
Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny (1734–1818), 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 74 x W 62 cm
Susan (1735–1776), Sister of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Susan (1735–1776), Sister of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Mary Clarke (1749–1812), Wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Mary Clarke (1749–1812), Wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Betsy Hodges (d.1772), Second Wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Betsy Hodges (d.1772), Second Wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm

Kelmarsh Hall oil on canvas portraits of Claude, Susan, Mary, and Betsy de Crespigny

The first two portraits, Claude (1734 – 1818), the first baronet, in a plum-coloured waistcoat and Susan wearing a straw hat, are clearly copies of the pastels and there is no discrepancy as to who the sitters were.

Susan, Claude’s sister, was born 1735 and died in 1766, which means that her portrait was probably drawn before 1766. In 1765 Susan married Richard Sutton. It seems reasonable to suppose that this portrait was done about the time of her wedding.

The sitter of the third pastel portrait was identified in the 1912 Christie’s catalogue as Sarah (1763 – 1825), wife of Sir William Champion de Crespigny (1765 – 1829).

Kelmarsh Hall has a oil portrait said to be of Sarah, and in this she is wearing a blue dress with a yellow shawl not, as in the pastel, a yellow dress with blue scarf. She is very much younger than the other sitters.

Kelmarsh Hall also has a portrait of Mary (1747 – 1812), wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny the first baronet. She is wearing a yellow dress with a blue shawl, as described in the 1912 catalogue. I think it more likely based on the description that the third pastel portrait in the 1912 catalogue is the portrait hanging at Kelmarsh and now said to be of Mary de Crespigny née  Clarke.

Lady Sarah Windsor (1763–1825) British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 74 x W 61 cm
Lady Sarah Windsor (1763–1825) British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 74 x W 61 cm
Mary Clarke (1749–1812), Wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Mary Clarke (1749–1812), Wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt British (English) School Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm

Kelmarsh Hall: Lady Sarah Windsor (1763–1825) and Mary Clarke (1749–1812), Wife of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 1st Bt

Claude and Mary married in 1764. I think perhaps the first and third portraits were done not long after their wedding, maybe about 1765, at the time when Susan’s portrait was done. It seems likely that the 1912 catalogue misidentified the sitter as the wife of the second baronet. She was in fact Mary, wife of the first baronet. The Kelmarsh Hall portrait of Mary seems to be a better match to the other three portraits and thus likely to be a copy of the third pastel sold in 1912.

There is another possibility: the third portrait is of Sarah Champion de Crespigny née Cocksedge, the first wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny who was the brother of Claude and Susan. Sarah de Crespigny died in 1768. It may be that the 1912 catalogue description correctly identified the sitter as Sarah de Crespigny but misattributed the husband as William de Crespigny (1765 – 1829) instead of his uncle Philip de Crespigny (1738 – 1803). I know of no other portrait of this Sarah de Crespigny.

The fourth portrait, of Anne, has been offered for sale several times since 1912, most recently in 2018. This portrait was probably of Anne Champion de Crespigny, the sister of Philip and Claude, not of her mother, Anne Champion Crespigny née Fonnereau (1704 – 1782), wife of Philip (1704 – 1765). The woman in the portrait, probably drawn in the 1760s, is too young to be the senior Anne de Crespigny.

Katherine Read PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, PROBABLY ANNE CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY (1739-1797), BUST LENGTH, WITHIN A DRAWN OVAL sold by Sotheby's lot 54 29 October 2018
Katherine Read PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, PROBABLY ANNE CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY (1739-1797), BUST LENGTH, WITHIN A DRAWN OVAL sold by Sotheby’s lot 54 29 October 2018
Betsy Hodges (d.1772), Second Wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm
Betsy Hodges (d.1772), Second Wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny George Romney (1734–1802) (circle of) Kelmarsh Hall Medium oil on canvas Measurements H 75 x W 62 cm

The pastel portrait sold most recently by Sotheby’s in 2018 and thought to be of Anne de Crespigny, and the Kelmarsh oil on canvas portrait said to be of Betsy de Crespigny née Handly. I am reasonably certain the painting at Kelmarsh Hall is a copy of the pastel portrait and is thus of the same woman – so is the portrait of Anne or of Betsy?

However, the copy of the portrait identified in 1912 and 2018 as Anne de Crespigny is identified at Kelmarsh as being of Betsy Hodges née Handly formerly Borradale, second wife of Philip Champion de Crespigny brother of Claude and Susan and Anne.

Betsy was born in 1743. In 1765 she married George Borradale, a clergyman. They were divorced in 1769 and Borradale died shortly afterwards. In 1770 or 1771 Betsy married again, to Philip Champion de Crespigny, who had been widowed in 1768. Betsy died in May 1772, not long after the birth of her son Charles Champion de Crespigny (1772 – 1774).

It is hard to know if the pastel portrait with a copy at Kelmarsh Hall is of Anne or her sister-in-law Betsy.

At the time of the 2018 sale of the pastel through Sotheby’s, the description of the work stated that there was an indistinct inscription on the reverse. The lot includes a photo of the reverse but I am unable to make out any inscription. Perhaps in the early 20th century the inscription was clearer and thus the attribution of the sitter as Anne de Crespigny was based on that inscription.

Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738 – 1803) had four wives: Sarah died 1768, Betsy died 1772, Clarissa died 1782 and Dorothy died 1837. Clarissa and Dorothy had their portraits painted by the fashionable artist George Romney. Philip was interested in portrait painting and it seems plausible that his first wife would have had her portrait done.

If the inscription on the reverse of the fourth portrait could be deciphered it might give more certainty as to who the sitter was. Similarly if the third portrait re-appears, an inscription would also give some certainty as to who the sitter might be.

I suspect that the 1912 catalogue was correct in the names of the sitters, that is the four portraits were of Claude, Susan, Sarah and Anne de Crespigny. Confusion may have arisen because the 1912 catalogue was incorrect as to who were the husbands of Sarah and Anne de Crespigny. It also may be that Kelmarsh Hall has misattributed the sitters of the portraits of Mary de Crespigny née  Clarke and Betsy de Crespigny née  Handley. Without further documentation I don’t think it is possible to be certain.

Follow Anne's Family History on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

  • . Surnames (498)
    • Atkin (1)
    • Bayley, Bayly, Baillie (2)
    • Beggs (5)
    • Bertz (3)
    • Bock (1)
    • Boltz (18)
    • Branthwayt (1)
    • Bray (2)
    • Brown (1)
    • Budge (7)
    • Cavenagh (21)
    • Cavenagh-Mainwaring (21)
    • Champion de Crespigny (135)
      • apparently unrelated Champion de Crespigny (4)
      • CdeC 18th century (3)
      • CdeC Australia (17)
        • Rafe de Crespigny (10)
      • CdeC baronets (7)
    • Chauncy (27)
    • Corrin (2)
    • Crew (4)
    • Cross (13)
    • Cudmore (59)
      • Kathleen (14)
    • Dana (26)
    • Darby (3)
    • Davies (1)
    • Daw (3)
    • Dawson (4)
    • Duff (3)
    • Edwards (13)
    • Ewer (1)
    • Fish (8)
    • Fonnereau (5)
    • Furnell (2)
    • Gale (1)
    • Gibbons (2)
    • Gilbart (7)
    • Goldstein (8)
    • Gordon (1)
    • Granger (1)
    • Green (2)
    • Grueber (2)
    • Gunn (5)
    • Hawkins (7)
    • Henderson (1)
    • Hickey (4)
    • Holmes (1)
    • Horsley (2)
    • Hughes (19)
    • Hunter (1)
    • Hutcheson (2)
    • Huthnance (2)
    • James (4)
    • Johnstone (4)
    • Jones (1)
    • Kemmis (2)
    • Kinnaird (4)
    • La Mothe (2)
    • Lane (1)
    • Lawson (3)
    • Leister (6)
    • Mainwaring (30)
    • Manock (14)
    • Massy Massey Massie (1)
    • Mitchell (4)
    • Morley (4)
    • Morris (1)
    • Movius (2)
    • Murray (5)
    • Niall (4)
    • Nihill (9)
    • Odiarne (1)
    • Orfeur (2)
    • Palliser (1)
    • Peters (2)
    • Phipps (3)
    • Plaisted (9)
    • Plowright (16)
    • Pye (2)
    • Ralph (1)
    • Reher (1)
    • Richards (1)
    • Russell (1)
    • Sherburne (1)
    • Sinden (1)
    • Skelly (3)
    • Skerritt (2)
    • Smyth (6)
    • Snell (1)
    • Sullivan (15)
    • Symes (9)
    • Taylor (2)
    • Toker (2)
    • Torrey (1)
    • Tuckfield (3)
    • Tunks (2)
    • Vaux (4)
    • Wade (2)
    • Way (13)
    • Whiteman (5)
    • Wilkes (1)
    • Wilkins (9)
    • Wright (1)
    • Young (28)
      • Charlotte Young (3)
      • Greg Young (9)
  • .. Places (353)
    • Africa (3)
    • Australia (157)
      • Canberra (10)
      • New South Wales (10)
        • Albury (2)
        • Binalong (1)
        • Lilli Pilli (2)
        • Murrumburrah (2)
        • Orange (1)
        • Parkes (3)
        • Wentworth (1)
      • Northern Territory (1)
      • Queensland (5)
      • Snowy Mountains (1)
      • South Australia (39)
        • Adelaide (27)
        • Glenelg (1)
      • Tasmania (5)
      • Victoria (96)
        • Apollo Bay (2)
        • Ararat (1)
        • Avoca (9)
        • Ballarat (14)
        • Beaufort (4)
        • Bendigo (3)
        • Bentleigh (2)
        • Betley (1)
        • Birregurra (1)
        • Bowenvale (1)
        • Bright (1)
        • Brighton (4)
        • Carngham (2)
        • Carwarp (1)
        • Castlemaine (3)
        • Charlton (2)
        • Clunes (1)
        • Collingwood (1)
        • Creswick (2)
        • Dunolly (2)
        • Eurambeen (4)
        • Geelong (4)
        • Heathcote (5)
        • Homebush (11)
        • Lamplough (2)
        • Lilydale (1)
        • Melbourne (11)
        • Portland (8)
        • Prahran (1)
        • Queenscliff (1)
        • Seddon (1)
        • Snake Valley (2)
        • St Kilda (1)
        • Talbot (4)
        • Windsor (1)
        • Yarraville (1)
      • Western Australia (2)
    • Belgium (1)
    • Canada (4)
    • China (3)
    • England (109)
      • Bath (5)
      • Cambridge (5)
      • Cheshire (2)
      • Cornwall (14)
        • Gwinear (1)
        • St Erth (9)
      • Devon (5)
      • Dorset (2)
      • Durham (1)
      • Gloucestershire (10)
        • Bristol (1)
        • Cheltenham (5)
        • Leckhampton (3)
      • Hampshire (2)
      • Hertfordshire (2)
      • Kent (3)
      • Lancashire (3)
      • Lincolnshire (3)
      • Liverpool (10)
      • London (7)
      • Middlesex (1)
        • Harefield (1)
      • Norfolk (2)
      • Northamptonshire (11)
        • Kelmarsh Hall (5)
      • Northumberland (1)
      • Nottinghamshire (1)
      • Oxfordshire (6)
        • Oxford (5)
      • Shropshire (6)
        • Shrewsbury (2)
      • Somerset (3)
      • Staffordshire (11)
        • Whitmore (11)
      • Suffolk (1)
      • Surrey (3)
      • Sussex (4)
      • Wiltshire (4)
      • Yorkshire (3)
    • France (12)
    • Germany (20)
      • Berlin (12)
      • Brandenburg (1)
    • Hong Kong (2)
    • India (10)
    • Ireland (40)
      • Antrim (2)
      • Cavan (3)
      • Clare (2)
      • Cork (4)
      • Dublin (9)
      • Kildare (2)
      • Kilkenny (4)
      • Limerick (6)
      • Londonderry (1)
      • Meath (1)
      • Monaghan (1)
      • Tipperary (5)
      • Westmeath (1)
      • Wexford (3)
      • Wicklow (1)
    • Isle of Man (2)
    • Jerusalem (3)
    • Malaysia (1)
    • New Guinea (3)
    • New Zealand (3)
    • Scotland (17)
      • Caithness (1)
      • Edinburgh (1)
    • Singapore (4)
    • Spain (1)
    • USA (9)
      • Massachusetts (5)
    • Wales (6)
  • 1854 (6)
  • A to Z challenges (244)
    • A to Z 2014 (27)
    • A to Z 2015 (27)
    • A to Z 2016 (27)
    • A to Z 2017 (27)
    • A to Z 2018 (28)
    • A to Z 2019 (26)
    • A to Z 2020 (27)
    • A to Z 2021 (27)
    • A to Z 2022 (28)
  • AAGRA (1)
  • ahnentafel (6)
  • Australian Dictionary of Biography (1)
  • Australian War Memorial (2)
  • Bank of Victoria (5)
  • bankruptcy (1)
  • baronet (13)
  • British Empire (1)
  • cemetery (23)
    • grave (2)
  • census (4)
  • Cherry Stones (11)
  • Christmas (2)
  • Civil War (4)
  • class (1)
  • cooking (4)
  • court case (12)
  • crime (11)
  • Crimean War (1)
  • demography (2)
  • divorce (8)
  • DNA (36)
    • FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) (2)
  • dogs (5)
  • education (9)
    • university (4)
  • encounters with indigenous Australians (8)
  • family history (52)
    • family history book (2)
    • UK trip 2019 (36)
  • Father's day (1)
  • freemason (3)
  • French Revolution (2)
  • genealogical records (23)
  • genealogy tools (50)
    • AncestryDNA (11)
    • DNA Painter (12)
    • FamilySearch (3)
    • GedMatch (6)
    • MyHeritage (11)
    • tree completeness (11)
  • geneameme (114)
    • 52 ancestors (22)
    • Sepia Saturday (28)
    • Through her eyes (4)
    • Trove Tuesday (49)
    • Wedding Wednesday (5)
  • gold rush (3)
  • Governor LaTrobe (1)
  • GSV (3)
  • heraldry (6)
  • illegitimate (2)
  • illness and disease (23)
    • cholera (5)
    • tuberculosis (7)
    • typhoid (7)
  • immigration (32)
  • inquest (1)
  • insolvency (2)
  • land records (3)
  • military (54)
    • ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day (7)
    • army (7)
    • Durham Light Infantry (1)
    • navy (15)
    • Remembrance Day (5)
  • Napoleonic wars (8)
    • Waterloo (2)
  • obituary (10)
  • occupations (40)
    • artist (5)
    • author (5)
    • aviation (3)
    • British East India Company (1)
    • clergy (2)
    • farming (1)
    • lawyer (8)
    • medicine (12)
    • public service (1)
    • railways (3)
    • teacher (2)
  • orphanage (1)
  • Parliament (5)
  • photographs (4)
  • piracy (3)
  • police (2)
  • politics (16)
  • portrait (15)
  • postcards (2)
  • prison (4)
  • prisoner of war (9)
  • probate (8)
  • PROV (2)
  • religion (25)
    • Huguenot (8)
    • Methodist (4)
    • Mormon pioneer (1)
    • Puritan (1)
  • Royal family (5)
  • Salvation Army (1)
  • sheriff (1)
  • shipwreck (3)
  • South Sea Company (2)
  • sport (14)
    • cricket (2)
    • golf (4)
    • riding (1)
    • rowing (2)
    • sailing (1)
  • statistics (2)
  • street directories (1)
  • temperance (1)
  • Trove (37)
  • Uncategorized (9)
  • ward of the state (2)
  • Wedding (15)
  • wikitree (6)
  • will (5)
  • workhouse (1)
  • World War 1 (60)
  • World War 2 (18)
  • younger son (3)

Pages

  • About
  • Ahentafel index
  • Books
    • Champions from Normandy
    • C F C Crespigny nee Dana
  • Index
    • A to Z challenges
    • DNA research
    • UK trip 2019
    • World War 1
    • Boltz and Manock family index
    • Budge and Gunn family index
    • Cavenagh family index
    • Chauncy family index
    • Cross and Plowright family index
    • Cudmore family index
    • Dana family index
    • Dawson family index
    • de Crespigny family index
    • de Crespigny family index 2 – my English forebears
    • de Crespigny family index 3 – the baronets and their descendants
    • Edwards, Ralph and Gilbart family index
    • Hughes family index
    • Mainwaring family index
      • Back to 1066 via the Mainwaring family
    • Sullivan family index
    • Young family index

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Anne's Family History on WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Anne's Family History
    • Join 281 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Anne's Family History
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...