Edward Weld (Senior)
Edward Weld (1705-1761) was a wealthy landowner and member of a recusant family. He was the third and first surviving son of Humphrey Weld of Lulworth and his wife Margaret Simeons, daughter of Sir James Simeons of Chilworth nr. Oxford. Weld succeeded to his father in 1722. He took charge of the estate and ensured the interiors were decorated and furnished to the highest standards with the help of the Dorset firm of Bastard Brothers.[1][2][3]. He was esteemed in the county for his amiable character.[4] His reputation stood him in good stead on two separate and significant occasions, firstly after his first marriage and later when he stood accused of treasonous involvement in the Jacobite rising of 1745.
In 1729 Weld married Catherine Elizabeth Aston (1708-1739), daughter of Walter Aston, 4th Lord Aston of Forfar and Lady Mary Howard, daughter of Lord Thomas Howard and Mary Savile, sister of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. There was no issue. Weld was the subject of a sensational scandalous lawsuit taken out by his first wife, Catherine, in the ecclesiastical Arches Court at Canterbury on the grounds of non-consummation of their marriage, in effect accusing him of impotence. Having consulted a range of surgeons, and undergone a simple surgical procedure, Weld countersued on the grounds of libel and was successful. The couple resolved to live apart, until her death in 1739.[5]
In 1740 he married secondly Dame Mary Theresa Vaughan with whom he had a daughter and four sons, the eldest of whom was Edward Weld, future husband of Maria Fitzherbert, and the youngest, Thomas Weld (of Lulworth), the noted philanthropist.[6] Their eldest grandson was Cardinal Thomas Weld. In 1745 Weld was accused of being part of a "Popish Plot" in a letter allegedly found on the road to Poole. He was hauled before the magistrates who deemed the letter to be a hoax. The case against him was dismissed, but he was obliged to surrender his coach horses, on account of their strength and size, as potentially useful equipment to rebels. After Weld's interview with the Duke of Newcastle in London, the matter was apparently dropped.[7]
References
- ^ Berkeley, Joan (1971). Lulworth and the Welds. Gillingham: Blackmore.
- ^ "'Lulworth Castle from 1700'". Architectural History, Vol. 34: 146–53. 1991.
{{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ^ Legg, Polly. 'The Bastards of Blandford: an inventory of their losses in the fire of 1731’, Furniture History, Vol. 30 (1994), 15–42 (p. 21 & n. 24)
- ^ Anthony, C.M. (October 1915). "Lulworth Castle: its History and Memories". The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 1, no. 3: 249.
- ^ Crawfurd, John (1732). The cases of impotency and virginity fully discuss'd : being, the genuine proceedings, in the Arches-Court of Canterbury, between the Honourable Catherine Elizabeth Weld, alias Aston, and her husband Edward Weld, Esq; of Lulworth-Castle in Dorsetshire. Wellcome Collection.
- ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, Volume 2. H. Colburn, 1847. pp. 1545-6 view on line [1]
- ^ Haydon, Colin (1993). Anti-Catholicism in Eighteenth-century England, C. 1714-80: A Political and Social Study. Studies in imperialism. Manchester University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-7190-2859-5.
External links
- [2] Attributed to Adriaen Carpentiers: "Portrait of Edward Weld (1705-1761) of Lulworth Castle, in a Garden, a Statue of Minerva Beyond"
- Edward Weld's final resting place at Lulworth Castle
- Description and illustration of the "Lulworth Castle Dragon Chairs"
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