User:Kaliforniyka/Alfred Somerset
Sir Alfred Plantagenet Frederick Charles Somerset KCB DL JP (5 September 1829 – 26 March 1915) was a British Army officer, coach driver, and aristocrat from the House of Beaufort. He was an influential resident in Enfield, London.[1][2]
Family
[edit]Somerset was born at Hempsted Court in Gloucestershire,[3] the only surviving son of Col. Lord John Somerset, commander of the heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo, and Lady Catherine Annesley, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris. His father was the eighth son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort by Elizabeth Boscawen. His uncle was Field Marshal Lord Raglan. His sister Frances was married to the banker James Whatman Bosanquet.[4]
Military career
[edit]Somerset was gazetted in January 1847, at age 17, to the 52nd Oxfordshire Light Infantry. Four months later, he was transferred to the 13th Light Infantry Regiment of Foot, with which he served in Ireland, Scotland, and on foreign service.[2]
In 1859, amid growing fear that Napoleon III's Second French Empire would invade Britain, the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom led to the introduction of Volunteer Forces. In 1860, Somerset raised the 35th Middlesex, a company of civilians in Enfield.
The following year, he took command the 40th, formed from legal professionals from eight companies at Gray's Inn, which absorbed the 35th. The new battalion was renamed the Central London Rifle Rangers; later known as The Rangers, it would operate for a century, sending battalions to both world wars.[5]
In 1864, he was promoted to major.[6] In 1866, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the West Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps and five years later was Honorary Colonel of the King's Own Tower Hamlets Light Infantry (later the 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment]]).
At the same time, he was Senior Major of the (now the 7th Battalion Rifle Brigade). He continued to hold both these posts until ]
1872, when he was appointed Colonel Commandant ot the latter, and Hon. Col. in 1892. In January 1907, he will have completed a grand total of sixtj- years' service.
For many years, he was commander of the King's Own Royal Tower Hamlets Militia.
Sir Arthur was honorary colonel of the 6th Battalion Rifle Brigade and commander of the .[1]
Enfield
[edit]
From a young age, Somerset made his home in Enfield, London, and he was greatly dedicated to improving the welfare of its citizens.
In 1852, he inherited Enfield Court from Sir James Wedderburn-Webster (who was also his uncle, married to his mother's sister Lady Frances Webster). The two-storey brick building built in 1690 is now Grade II-listed. Somerset made significant improvements.[7]
Sir Arthur was a coaching enthusiast, a popular pastime in Victorian England, and was a member of the Coaching Club in Hyde Park.[8] He was the owner of l'Hirondelle, a French-made with seating for more than 20 passengers. Somerset set up a regular service for the Hirondelle between Enfield, Luton, and Hitchin in the late 1870s. The coach left The George coaching inn in Enfield at 10:45 am and arrived at Hitchin inn The Sun inn at 1:30 pm.[9]
Starting in 1860, he was a founder, and long-time commander, of the first Volunteer Force in Enfield.[1]
His riding school was frequently opened to the public for free and often used as a dancing and musical venue. Once a week the Enfield Town Silver Prize Band here entertain crowded audiences who thoroughly appreciate the nuisic they are enabled by Sir Alfred's generosity to enjoy in comfort
Honours
[edit]Somerset was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) by Queen Victoria in 1892.[10] He was knighted in the same order at the 1902 Coronation Honours.[1]
Personal life
[edit]In 1857, Somerset married Adelaide Harriet, daughter of Vice Admiral George Brooke-Pechell. Adelaide inherited Goring Castle from her father, who had bought it from Mary Shelley, and it remained in the Somerset family until the 21st century.[11]
They had one daughter, Gwendolin Adelaide Katherine Georgiana Matilda, who married her second cousin Arthur William FitzRoy Somerset, son of Alfred's uncle Lord William Somerset.[1][4]
He died in 1915 in at Enfield Court.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Death of Sir Alfred Somerset". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 27 March 1915. p. 10.
- ^ a b London Leaders: Historic Families, Ancestral Estates. London: Allan North. 1907. p. 322–326. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "Births". Worcester Herald. 12 September 1829. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ a b Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1914. p. 209. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Westlake, Ray (1 January 2010). Tracing the Rifle Volunteers: A Guide for Military and Family Historians. Casemate Publishers. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "No. 22842". The London Gazette. 8 April 1864. p. 1960.
- ^ "Enfield Court, Baker Street". The Enfield Society. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Dudgeon, Ralph Thomas (2004). The Keyed Bugle. Scarecrow Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-8108-5123-8. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ "Enfield Town 1870 -- 1914 (The Town)". The Enfield Society. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "No. 26286". The London Gazette. 10 May 1892. p. 2703.
- ^ Scott, Caroline (3 March 2013). "Sussex castle is yours for £500,000, but what's the catch?". The Times. Retrieved 19 September 2024.