William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven

Lord Craven by Sir George Hayter.

William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven DL (18 August 1809 – 25 August 1866), styled Viscount Uffington until 1825, was a British peer.

Background and education

Craven was the son of William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, and succeeded in the earldom in 1825. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.

Career

Craven was commissioned a captain in the Berkshire Regiment of Militia on 14 February 1829.^[1] He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire on 11 January 1831 and of Berkshire on 20 October 1831. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire in 1853, and held the office until 1856, when he resigned due to ill-health. He gave the architect W. Eden Nesfield his first important commission, which was to build a new wing to Combe Abbey.^[2]

Family

Emily Mary, Countess of Craven, née Grimston, (Henry Pierce Bone)

Lord Craven married Lady Emily Mary Grimston, daughter of James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam, on 5 September 1835.^[1] They had nine children:^[3][4]

• Lady Elizabeth Charlotte Louisa Craven (13 June 1836 –8 March 1919), married first, on 11 August 1858, Arthur Egerton, 3rd Earl of Wilton and second, on 14 September 1886, Arthur Vickris Pryor, without issue from either marriage
• Capt. William Augustus Frederick Craven, Viscount Uffington (24 August 1838 –18 April 1865)
• Lady Evelyn Mary Craven (9 December 1839 –7 November 1924), married first, on 7 August 1862, George John Brudenell-Bruce, second, on 4 December 1869, Henry Amelius Beauclerk Coventry (divorced 1877), and third, on 30 August 1877, Capt. George William Hutton Riddell, with issue from the first and second marriages, including George Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury
• George Grimston Craven, 3rd Earl of Craven (16 March 1841 – 7 December 1883), married and had issue
• Lady Blanche Craven (24 December 1842 –16 March 1930), married, on 25 January 1865, George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry and had issue
• Lady Beatrix Jane Craven (8 August 1844 –9 February 1907), married, on 16 May 1865, George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan and had issue
• Lady Emily Georgiana Craven (18 May 1846 –6 January 1932),^[5] married, on 6 August 1868, Lt.-Col. Victor William Bates Van de Weyer, son of Sylvain Van de Weyer, and had issue
• Lieutenant-Colonel Hon.Osbert William Craven (6 February 1848 –5 March 1923)
• Hon. Robert Walter Craven (4 January 1850 –5 March 1866). Naval Officer, died aboard HMS Spiteful and was buried in The British Cemetery, Montevideo.^[6]

Emily Mary, Countess of Craven, survived her husband by more than 30 years, and died in London 21 May 1901.^[7]

Lord Craven was the owner of the racehorse Charity which won the 1841 Grand National.^[8]

Arms of William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven

Coronet A Coronet of an Earl Crest On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Griffin statant wings elevated Ermine beaked and foremembered Or Escutcheon Argent a Fess between six Cross Crosslets fitchée Gules Supporters On either side a Griffin wings elevated Ermine beaked and foremembered Or Motto Virtus In Actione Consistit (Virtue consists in action)

References

1. Doyle, James William Edmund (1886). The Official Baronage of England, v. 1. London: Longmans, Green. p. 488.
2.  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nesfield, William Eden". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
3. Edmund Lodge; Anne Innes; Eliza Innes; Maria Innes (1890). The peerage and baronetage of the British empire as at present existing. Hurst and Blackett. p. 158.
4. Darryl Lundy. "thepeerage.com". Retrieved 23 July 2010.
5. "Lady Emily Georgiana Van de Weyer (née Craven)". National Portrait Gallery.
6. findagrave.com Hon. Robert Walter Craven
7. "Obituary" The Times (London). Wednesday, 22 May 1901. (36461), p. 11.
8. Ruff's guide to the turf. 1861. p. 366.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Craven