George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton

George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton, 4th Baron Westcote, KCMG, PC, DL, FRS (31 March 1817 – 19 April 1876) was an English aristocrat and Conservative politician from the Lyttelton family. He was chairman of the Canterbury Association, which encouraged British settlers to move to New Zealand.

The Lord Lyttelton
Lord Lyttelton by Carlo Pellegrini, 1871
Personal details
Born31 March 1817
Died19 April 1876(1876-04-19) (aged 59)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Spouses
Mary Glynne
(m. 1839; died 1857)
Sybella Harriet Clive
(m. 1869)
Children15 (12 with Glynne, incl. Charles; 3 with Clive)
Parent(s)William Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton
Lady Sarah Spencer

Early life

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Lyttelton was the eldest son of William Henry Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton, and Lady Sarah Spencer, daughter of George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] He succeeded his father as fourth Baron Lyttelton in 1837 and took his seat in the House of Lords on his 21st birthday a year later. The Lyttelton seat is Hagley Hall in Worcestershire.[2]

Political career

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In January 1846 Lyttelton became Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in the Conservative government of Sir Robert Peel, a post he held until the government fell in June of the same year. Lyttelton was also Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire from 1839 to 1876 and the first President of the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1854. Moreover, he promoted the settlement (1850 onwards) of Canterbury, New Zealand with Anglican colonists. The port town Lyttelton, New Zealand bears his name. He served as president of the British Chess Association at the time of the Staunton–Morphy controversy in 1858.[3] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1869 Birthday Honours.[4]

Family

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Hon. Lavinia Lyttelton (1920)
by Frank Bernard Dicksee

Lord Lyttelton married, firstly in 1839, Mary Glynne, daughter of Sir Stephen Glynne, 8th Baronet, and sister-in-law of William Ewart Gladstone. They had eight sons and four daughters:

After Mary's death in 1857 Lyttelton married, secondly, Sybella Harriet Clive, daughter of George Clive MP, in 1869. They had three daughters:

  • The Honourable Sarah Kathleen Lyttelton (12 May 1870 – 1 October 1942); she married John Bailey on 26 April 1900. They had children.
  • The Honourable Sybil Lyttelton (17 February 1873 – 2 October 1934); she married Sir Lionel Cust on 16 July 1895. They had one son.
  • The Honourable Hester Margaret Lyttelton (26 December 1874 – 26 March 1958); she married Very Reverend Cyril Argentine Alington on 5 April 1904. They had six children.

Death

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St John the Baptist Church, Hagley, grave of the 4th Baron Lyttelton and of his second wife Sybella Harriet (née Clive).
 
St John the Baptist Church, Hagley, memorial to Sybella Harriet Lyttelton (née Clive, 1836–1900)
 
St John the Baptist Church, Hagley, inscription inside the lychgate

In 1876 Lyttelton killed himself at the age of 59 by throwing himself down the stairs in a London house.[5] He was succeeded by his eldest son Charles, who later also inherited the viscounty of Cobham. Lady Lyttelton died in December 1900.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Lyttelton, George William (LTLN833GW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ "History". www.hagleyhall.com. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  3. ^ "The life and chess of Paul Morphy: extra information". Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
  4. ^ "No. 23512". The London Gazette. 1 July 1869. p. 3750.
  5. ^ Sheila Fletcher, Victorian Girls: Lord Lyttelton's Daughters

References

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Political offices
Preceded by Under-Secretary of State
for War and the Colonies

1846
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire
1839–1876
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Baron Lyttelton
1837–1876
Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Baron Westcote
1837–1876
Succeeded by