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Charles Dillon, 14th Viscount Dillon

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Charles Henry Dillon-Lee
Viscount Dillon
shield of arms of Dillon showing a red lion passing between three halfmoons on a white ground
Reign1832–1865
PredecessorHenry, 13th Viscount Dillon
SuccessorTheobald Dominick Dillon-Lee
Born20 April 1810
Ely Place, Dublin
Died18 November 1865
Ditchley
BuriedAll Saints Church, Spelsbury
Spouse(s)Lydia Sophia Story
Issue
Detail		Ethelred Florence & Geraldine Lee Frances
FatherHenry, 13th Viscount Dillon
MotherHenrietta Browne

Charles Henry Dillon-Lee, 14th Viscount Dillon; (1810–1865), was an Irish and English landowner. He lived in Ditchley, Oxfordshire, England, and was represented in Ireland by his agent Charles Strickland.

Birth and origins

Charles was born on 20 April 1810 in Ely Place (a street near St Stephen's Green) in Dublin.[1] He was the eldest son of Henry Augustus Dillon-Lee and his wife Henrietta Browne. His father was the 13th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen.[2] The Dillons were a widespread Old English family that had settled in Connacht and Leinster and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who had come to Ireland with Prince John in 1185.[3] Charles's mother was the eldest daughter of Colonel Dominick Geoffrey Browne, MP for Mayo and sister of Lord Oranmore and Browne. His parents had married in 1807.[4]

Charles listed among his siblings
He appears among his siblings as the second child:
  1. Henrietta Maria (1808–1896), campaigned for better education for girls and married Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley.[5]
  2. Charles (1810–1865);
  3. Theobald Dominick (1811–1879), became the 15th Viscount Dillon, died childless and was succeeded by his brother;[6]
  4. Arthur Edmund Denis (1812–1892), married Ellen Adderly and succeeded his brother as the 16th Viscount Dillon;[7]
  5. Constantine (1813–1853), emigrated to New Zealand;[8]
  6. Robert George Lee (1817–1822), died young;[9]
  7. Margaret Frances Florence (1818–1885), became a maid of honour to her majesty and married the geologist William John Hamilton.[10]
  8. Gerald Normanby (1823–1880), married Louisa FitzGibbon, daughter of Richard Hobart FitzGibbons, 3rd Earl of Clare, and changed his surname to hers.[11]
  9. Louisa Anne Rose (1825–1902), married the Hon. Spencer-Cecil Ponsonby of Bessborough;[12] and
  10. Helena Matilda (born 1827).[13]

Viscount

On 26 July 1832 Charles succeeded his father as the 14th Viscount Dillon.[14] He inherited land in Ireland and in England. The Irish lands were the ancestral lands owned by the family since Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon in the 17th century. They lay in north-eastern Connacht (counties Mayo and Roscommon) and in western Leinster (Westmeath). The land in England was in Oxfordshire and had been acquired more recently by the marriage of the 11th Viscount to Charlotte Lee, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lichfield in 1744 and the inheritance that followed in 1776 at the death of the 4th Earl of Lichfield.[15]

Family tree
Charles Henry Dillon-Lee with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.
Henrietta-
Maria
Phipps
1757–1782		Charles
12th
Viscount
1745–1813		Marie
Rogier
d. 1833
Henry
Augustus
13th
Viscount
1777–1832		Henrietta
Browne
1789–1862
Charles
Henry
14th
Viscount
1810–1865		Lydia
Sophia
Story		Theobald
Dominick
15th
Viscount
1811–1879		Arthur
Edmund
Denis
16th
Viscount
1812–1892
Ethelred
Florence		Geraldine
Lee		Harold
Arthur
17th
Viscount
1844–1932		Conrad
Adderly
Dillon
1845–1901
Arthur
Henry
18th
Viscount
1875–1935		Eric
FitzGerald
19th
Viscount
1881–1946		Nora
Beckett
d. 1962
Legend
XXXCharles
Dillon-Lee		XXXViscounts
Dillon
Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Marriage and children

On 1 February 1833 Lord Dillon, as he was now, married Lydia Sophia Story, daughter of Philip Laycock Story and his wife Lydia Baring.[16] She was a granddaughter of Sir Francis Baring, founder of the London merchant house of Barings. They married in Tusmore House, Oxfordshire, England, at that time the home of his father-in-law.[17] They had two daughters:

  1. Ethelred Florence (died 1910), never married;[18] and
  2. Geraldine Lee Frances (died 1920), married Captain Charles Augustus Drake Halford in 1859.[19]

Slave compensation claim

Lord Dillon never owned slaves. However, he became involved in a claim under the Slave Compensation Act 1837 because he was one of a group of four people who were trying to recover a debt of £6000 from Dominick Trant, owner of the Lower Windward Estate on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies. When on 7 November 1836 Dominick Trant submitted the claim "Montserrat No. 15" for £1,977 (worth £236,991 in 2024[20]) as a compensation for the loss he incurred by the emancipation of the 128 slaves of the estate,[21] this group submitted a successful counterclaim. This group consisted of Lord Dillon, Philip Laycock Story, Henry Trant and James Flemming.[22] The Dillons, Trants and Storys were related by marriage. Philip Laycock Story was not only Lord Dillon's father-in-law (by his daughter Lydia) but also Dominick Trant's father in law (by his daughter Caroline).[23] Frances Trant was a aunt of Dominick Trant and a great-aunt of Lord Dillon by her marriage to General Henry Dillon.[24]

Landlord and Irish famine

From 1845 to 1849 Ireland suffered the Great Famine. Lord Dillon's Irish estates lay in some of the worst affected areas. Despite living in England and being an absentee landlord in Ireland, he and his estate manager Charles Strickland, who lived at Loughglinn, seem to have been humane and seem to have helped the tenants rather than evicting them. A large stained-glass window in the baptistery of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon commemorates Lord Dillon for his fairness as a landlord during the great famine. This window was donated by his wife.[25] Another stained-glass window in a chapel on the south side of the cathedral commemorates his agent Charles Strickland.[26]

When Lord Dillon's Mayo tenants were discriminated against at the market of Bellaghy in County Sligo, his agent Charles Strickland built the town of Newtown Dillon in County Mayo next to the county border. The first houses being completed in 1846. The town soon took the name of Charlestown in honour of Charles Strickland.[27]

Death and succession

On 18 November 1865 Lord Dillon died aged 55 at Ditchley, the family's seat near Charlbury in Oxfordshire.[28] The title passed to his younger brother Theobald Dominick, who became the 15th Viscount Dillon.[29]

A monument to the memory of the 14th Viscount with full length effigy in white marble was erected in the All Saints church (Church of England), Spelsbury, Oxfordshire. This work is signed by the sculptor Charles Francis Fuller, who worked in Florence.[30][31][32]

Notes and references

  1. ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 362, line 4: "CHARLES HENRY (DILLON-LEE), VISCOUNT DILLON OF COSTELLO-GALLEN [I.], 2nd but 1st surviv. s. and h., b. 20 April 1810 in Ely Place, Dublin ..."
  2. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 95: "CHARLES HENRY, 14th Viscount Dillon served in Scots Fus. Guards, b. 20 April 1810;"
  3. ^ Webb 1878, p. 149, line 7: "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John ..."
  4. ^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, right column, line 23: "[Henry Augustus] m. 1807 Henrietta, eldest da. of Dominick-Geoffry Browne, M.P. for Mayo and sister of lord Oranmore and Browne ..."
  5. ^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, right column, line 36: "HENRIETTA MARIA, b. 1808, m. 7 Oct. 1826 Edward-John-Stanley, esq., eldest son of John Stanley of Alderley, bart."
  6. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, near bottom: "THEOBALD DOMINICK GEOFFREY, 15th Viscount Dillon, D.L., sometime 60th Rifles, b. 5 April 1811; m. 28 Sept. 1856, Sara Augusta (who d. 17 July 1890) dau. of Alexander Hanna, and, who d.s.p. 31 Nov. 1879, when he was s. by his brother ..."
  7. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, penultimate line: "ARTHUR EDMUND DENIS, 16th Viscount Dillon, J.P. and D.L., B.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S, F.Z.S., b. 10 April 1812, m. 22 April 1843 Ellen dau. of James Adderly ..."
  8. ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 72: "Constantine Augustus DILLON served in R.N., 7th Dragoon Guards, and 17th Lancers, b. 14 Sept. 1813, m. 10 Feb. 1842 Fanny Dorothea, 3rd dau. of P.L. Story, and d. 16 Aug. 1853 ..."
  9. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 21: "Robert George Lee, b. 7 Oct. 1817, d. Sept. 1822."
  10. ^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, right column, line 39: "MARGARET FRANCES FLORENCE, b. 3 Feb. 1818, a maid of honour to her majesty."
  11. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 22: "Gerald Normanby-FITZGIBBON of Mount Shannon, co. Limerick, J.P and D.L., Capt. Oxford mil., b. 21 Nov. 1823; m. 22 May 1827 Lady Louisa Fitz-Gibbon, dau. and co-heir of 3rd Earl of Clare, and d. 3 Jan. 1880 ..."
  12. ^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, right column, line 41: "LOUISA-ANNE-ROSE, b. 21 July 1825."
  13. ^ Debrett 1838, p. 609, right column, line 42: "HELENA-MATILDA, b. 31 Jan. 1827."
  14. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 94: "He [Henry Augustus] d. 24 July 1832 and was s. by his eldest son."
  15. ^ Cokayne 1893, p. 76, line 8: "He [Robert Lee] d. s.p. at Ditchley, 4 Nov 1776, aged 71, when all his peerage dignities and possibly the baronetcy also became extinct."
  16. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 96: "[Charles Dillon] m. 1 Feb. 1833 Lydia Sophia dau. of Philip Laycock Story ..."
  17. ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 362, line 8: "He m. 1 Feb. 1833 (spec. lic.), at Tusmore House, Lydia Sophia, da. of the Rev. Philip Laycock STORY of Tusmore House Oxon. by Lydia da. of Sir Francis BARING, Bart."
  18. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 98: "Ethelred Florence d. unm. 17 March 1910."
  19. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 99: "Geraldine Lee Frances m. 13 July 1859, Capt. Charles Augustus Drake Halford, of East Bergholt, Suffolk. He d. 25 April 1907. She d. 14 January 1920, leaving issue."
  20. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Montserrat 15 (Lower Estate or Lower Windward)". University College London. Retrieved on 9 August 2020.
  22. ^ House of Commons 1838, p. 319: "Henry Chas., Viscount Dillon; Philip Laycock Story; Henry Trent & James Flemming / 1,977 9 3 / 128"
  23. ^ S. M. 1914, p. 31: pedigree
  24. ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 28: "Henry, Major-Gen in the French and English services, Col. of the Dillon Regt. (in the English army 1794–8) when on the surrender of the 2nd Bn. at San Domingo it passed to the English Army, b. 28 June 1759; m. 1stly 29 Apr. 1790 Frances, dau. of Dominick Henry Trant of Easingwold ..."
  25. ^ Galloway 1992, p. 22, left column: "... on the south side of the west door is the former baptistery, donated by Lydia, Viscountess Dillon (d. 1876) in memory of her husband, the 14th Viscount Dillon, who died on 18 November 1865."
  26. ^ Galloway 1992, p. 22, right column: "... window was erected by the Bishop of Achonry and others 'to commemorate their respect and esteem for Charles Strickland and his wife Maria of Loughglynn ..."
  27. ^ Cathal, Henry. "The Early History of Charlestown in Co. Mayo".
  28. ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 362, line 10: "He d. s.p.m., at Ditchley, Oxon. 18 and was bur. 24 Nov. 1865 at Spelsbury, aged 55."
  29. ^ Burke 1949, p. 604, left column, line 102: "The Viscount d. 18 Nov. 1865 and was s. by his next brother ..."
  30. ^ Ross, David. "Spelsbury, All Saints Church". In a recess in the north transept is a beautiful memorial to Charles, 14th Viscount Dillon (d. 1865). This is a lovely piece of Gothic Revival sculpture carved by GF Fuller.
  31. ^ "Church of All Saints, Spelsbury. A Grade II* Listed Building in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire". In the north transept is a large monument to the 14th Viscount Dillon (d.1865) with an effigy under an elaborate canopy with pierced cuspings.
  32. ^ Ellis, Geoffrey. "Spelsbury: All Saints". Monument (alcove in north transept) to Charles, 14th Viscount Dillon (1810-65). This fine example of the Victorian Gothic Revival was designed by G.F. Fuller. Its centrepiece, lying on a table above the inscription, is the white marble effigy wearing a Peer's robes and holding a cross under a pinnacled stone canopy. Within the arch is a carved relief of Christ flanked by angels. The heavy foliated tympanum above bears shields of the Dillon and Litchfield arms.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
William Evetts
 High Sheriff of Oxfordshire
1857 		Succeeded by
Henry Lomax Gaskell
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Viscount Dillon
1832–1865 		Succeeded by
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