William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Devon
PC

William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon, albumen print, 1870s by John Watkins, National Portrait Gallery, London
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
10 July 1866  26 June 1867
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister The Earl of Derby
Preceded by George Goschen
Succeeded by John Wilson-Patten
President of the Poor Law Board
In office
21 May 1867  1 December 1868
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister The Earl of Derby
Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by Gathorne Hardy
Succeeded by George Goschen
Personal details
Born (1807-04-14)14 April 1807
London, England
Died 18 November 1888(1888-11-18) (aged 81)
Powderham Castle, Devon, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford
Occupation Politician
William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon, sculpted by Edward Bowring Stephens (1815-1882), Northernhay Gardens, Exeter

William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon PC (14 April 1807 – 18 November 1888), styled Lord Courtenay between 1835 and 1859, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1866 to 1867 and as President of the Poor Law Board from 1867 to 1868.

Background and education

Devon was the eldest son of William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon and his first wife Harriet Leslie Pepys, daughter of Sir Lucas Pepys, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1832.

Political career

In 1841 Devon was elected to Parliament for South Devon as a Tory. However, when the Tories split over the Corn Laws in 1846, he joined the Peelites. In 1849 Devon was appointed poor-law inspector and retired from the House of Commons. He then served as secretary to the Poor Law Board from 1850 to 1859. The latter year he succeeded his father and took his seat in the House of Lords.

He had returned to the Conservative Party (the official name of the Tory Party since the 1850s) before his succession, and when the party came to power in 1866 under the Earl of Derby, Devon was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (although without a seat in the cabinet) and admitted to the Privy Council. He remained in this post until May the following year, when he became President of the Poor Law Board. However, in contrast to his predecessor in the post, Gathorne Hardy, he was not included in the cabinet this time either. Devon continued as President of the Poor Law Board until the Conservatives lost power in December 1868. After this he stopped taking an active part in politics.

Apart from his participation in national politics, Devon was heavily involved in local affairs and charitable causes in his home county of Devon. Regarded as the most influential man in the county, he notably served as a director and later as chairman of the Bristol and Exeter Railway. Known as "the good earl", a statue of him was erected in Exeter, paid for by public subscription. Lord Courtenay was a member of the Canterbury Association from 27 March 1848 until 21 April 1852, when he resigned.[1]

Marriage & progeny

Effigy of Elizabeth, Countess of Devon (d.27 Jan 1867), on chest tomb, by Edward Bowring Stephens (1815-1882) in St Clement's Church, Powderham, against the east wall of the south transept. A plaster-cast exists the chapel attached to Powderham Castle

In 1830 Lord Devon married Lady Elizabeth Fortescue (d.27 Jan 1867), daughter of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue. Her tomb-chest with full-length recumbent alabaster effigy by Edward Bowring Stephens is situated in St Clement's Church, Powderham, against the east wall of the south transept, with a plaster-cast in the chapel attached to Powderham Castle, in an ogee arched alcove in the north wall of the chancel. They had three sons and one daughter. He was succeeded in the earldom by his youngest but only surviving son Edward:

Death & burial

Lord Devon died at his seat of Powderham Castle in November 1888, aged 81.

Portraits

Painting

An oil painting of the 11th Earl hangs at Powderham Castle, high on the south wall of the Dining Hall.

Statue

Bronze statue of 11th Earl of Devon by Edward Bowring Stephens, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter
Statue of William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon, by Edward Bowring Stephens (1815-1882), in Bedford Circus, Exeter, where it stood from its unveiling in 1880 (having replaced Stephens' The Deerstalker) to after 1942 when it escaped WW II bombing and was placed in storage. It stands in 2013 in Northernhay Gardens, Exeter

A bronze statue was made of the Earl by the Exeter sculptor Edward Bowring Stephens [3] and in October 1880 [4] was erected at the front of the central garden in Bedford Circus, Exeter, on the spot where Stephens' "The Deer Stalker" had formerly stood. (The latter statue now stands near the Earl's statue, both having been re-located in Northernhay Gardens). The unveiling ceremony was attended by Sir Stafford Northcote (1818-1887), later Lord Lieutenant of Devon 1886-7, (whose own statue in Northernhay Gardens now stands nearby) with the Mayor and Corporation, other dignitaries and the Earl himself. The statue was paid for by public subscription to the Devon Statue Fund, which had attracted 1,300 signatories for this work. A banquet was held following the unveiling ceremony. The plinth is of Cornish granite from the Cheesewring Quarries, on the rear of which a bronze plaque is affixed inscribed with verse from Wordworth's Happy Warrior:

"Who not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward persevering to the last,
From well to better daily self-surpast."

Although the Circus was destroyed by German bomb damage in World War II, in May 1942, the statue survived intact. It was thereafter hidden from view in storage at Tan Lane until the 1950s when it was re-erected in Bedford Street. A bronze plaque on the front of the plinth is inscribed:

"This statue stood in Bedford Circus prior to World War II. The statue was erected on this site (i.e. Bedford Street) by Exeter City Council and Devon County Council as part of a joint landscaping scheme".

Following the re-development of Princesshay in 2005 which involved the partial demolition of Bedford Street, the statue was again removed to storage in the Belle Isles council yard. It underwent restoration by Ian Clarke Restoration, including cleansing of graffiti, and was re-erected in Northernhay Gardens. The unveiling ceremony occurred on 9 February 2010, attended this time by only a small handful of interested parties, including the then Earl of Devon and the Lord Mayor, John Winterbottom.[5] Its last move is recorded by an inscription on a granite slab on the ground at the front of the plinth: "Lord Devon was moved in 2010 to Northernhay Gardens from Bedford St".

Memorial Chimneypiece at Powderham

The heraldic chimneypiece at Powderham Castle

The 11th Earl installed a heraldic chimneypiece in the Dining Hall at Powderham Castle in memory of his grandfather Reginald Courtenay (1741-1803), Bishop of Exeter from 1797 to 1803, and of his parents. The Dining Hall was built by his father the 10th Earl between 1847 and his death in 1859 and the 11th Earl completed the internal decorations in 1860 including the linen-fold panelling containing several dozen ancestral heraldic shields.[6] It is copied from the mediaeval chimneypiece in the Bishop's Palace, Exeter, installed c. 1485 by Peter Courtenay (d.1492) Bishop of Exeter, a younger son of Sir Philip Courtenay (1404-1463) of Powderham.[7] The armorials on the lowest row are from left to right:

External links

References

  1. Blain, Rev. Michael (2007). The Canterbury Association (1848-1852): A Study of Its Members’ Connections (PDF). Christchurch: Project Canterbury. pp. 25–27. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  2. http://thepeerage.com/p912.htm#i9113
  3. Stephens' other works include: Baron Rolle at Bicton House, Duke of Bedford in Tavistock, bust of 2nd Earl Fortescue, West Buckland School, "The Deer Stalker", Northernhay Gardens, Exeter
  4. Reported in The Times 9 October 1880
  5. , quoting The Times 9 October 1880 and Express & Echo
  6. Powderham Castle guidebook, 2011, p.10
  7. Pevsner, N. Buildings of England: Devon
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir John Yarde-Buller, Bt
Montague Parker
Member of Parliament for South Devon
18411847
With: Sir John Yarde-Buller, Bt
Succeeded by
Sir John Yarde-Buller, Bt
Sir Ralph Lopes, Bt
Political offices
Preceded by
George Goschen
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
18661867
Succeeded by
John Wilson-Patten
Preceded by
Gathorne Hardy
President of the Poor Law Board
18671868
Succeeded by
George Goschen
Peerage of England
Preceded by
William Courtenay
Earl of Devon
Fifth creation
18591888
Succeeded by
Edward Baldwin Courtenay
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