William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp

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William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith between 1905 and 1915, and leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords between 1924 and 1931. When political enemies threatened to make his homosexuality public, he resigned from office to go into exile. Lord Beauchamp is generally considered to be the model for the character Lord Marchmain in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited.

Background and education

Beauchamp was the eldest son of Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, by his first wife, Lady Mary Catherine, daughter of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope.Template:Citation needed He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, University of Oxford, where he showed an interest in evangelism, joining the Christian Social Union.<ref name="AusBio">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Times">Template:Cite news</ref> Beauchamp's mentors included the Eton master Henry Luxmoore, who encouraged his pupils to "strive after what was best in all things", and Anglican minister the Rev. James Adderley, who believed in practical Christianity and philanthropy in London's East End.<ref>Jordaan, Peter, A Secret Between Gentlemen: Suspects, Strays and Guests, Alchemie Books, 2023, pp. 234-235.</ref>

Early career

Beauchamp caricatured by Spy for Vanity Fair, 1899

Beauchamp succeeded his father in the earldom in 1891 at the age of 18, and was mayor of Worcester between 1895 and 1896.Template:Citation needed A progressive in his ideas, he was surprised to be offered the post of Governor of New South Wales in May 1899. Though he was good at the job and enjoyed the company of local artists and writers, he was unpopular in the colony for a series of gaffes and misunderstandings, most notably over his reference to the "birthstain" of Australia's convict origins.<ref name="AusBio" /> His open association with the high church and Anglo-Catholicism caused increased perturbation in the Evangelical Council.<ref name="AusBio" />

In Sydney, William Carr Smith, rector of St James' Church was his chaplain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Beauchamp returned to Britain in 1900, saying that his duties had failed to stimulate him.

Political career

In 1902, Beauchamp joined the Liberal Party and the same year he married Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor, the daughter of Victor Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor.<ref name="AusBio" /> When the Liberals came to power under Henry Campbell-Bannerman in December 1905, Beauchamp was appointed Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and was sworn of the Privy Council in January 1906.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> In July 1907, he became Lord Steward of the Household,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> a post he retained when H. H. Asquith became Prime Minister in 1908. He entered the cabinet as Lord President of the Council in June 1910,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> a post that he held until November of the same year, when he was appointed First Commissioner of Works.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Identified with the radical wing of the Liberal Party, Beauchamp also chaired (in December 1913) the Central Land and Housing Council, which was designed to advance Lloyd George's Land Campaign.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was again Lord President of the council from 1914 to 1915.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> However, he was not a member of the coalition government formed by Asquith in May 1915. Lord Beauchamp never returned to ministerial office but was the Liberal leader in the House of Lords from 1924 to 1931, supporting the ailing party with his substantial fortune.Template:Citation needed

While serving in Parliament, Beauchamp also voiced his support for a range of progressive measures such as workmen's compensation,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> an expansion in rural housing provision, an agricultural minimum wage,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> improved safety standards<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and reduced working hours for miners.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other public appointments

Beauchamp as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, 1920

Beauchamp was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Worcestershire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) on 5 November 1902.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

He was made Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 1911, carried the Sword of State at the coronation of King George V, was made Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1913 and a Knight of the Garter in 1914. He was also Chancellor of the University of London and a Six Master (Governor of RGS Worcester).

In June 1901, Beauchamp received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from the University of Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sexuality and blackmail

In 1931, Lord Beauchamp was "outed" as a homosexual.<ref name="autogenerated1">A. L. Rowse, Homosexuals in History (1977), pp. 222–223 Template:ISBN</ref> Although Beauchamp's homosexuality (a trait shared with his late paternal uncle Henry Lygon, 5th Earl Beauchamp) was an open secret in parts of high society and one that his political opponents had refrained from using against him despite its illegality, Lady Beauchamp was oblivious to it and professed a confusion as to what homosexuality was when it was revealed.<ref name="Times" /> At one stage she thought her husband was being accused of being a bugler.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He had numerous affairs at Madresfield and Walmer Castle, with his partners ranging from servants to socialites, including local men.<ref name="Times" />

In 1930, while on a trip to Australia, it became common knowledge in London society that one of the men escorting him, Robert Bernays, a member of the Liberal Party, was a lover.<ref name="Times" />

It was reported to King George V and Queen Mary by Beauchamp's Tory brother-in-law, the Duke of Westminster, who privately disliked Beauchamp and hoped to ruin both him and the Liberal Party through Beauchamp's downfall.<ref name="Times" /> Homosexual practice was a criminal offence at the time, and the King was horrified, rumoured to have said, "I thought men like that shot themselves".<ref name="Times" />

The King had a personal interest in the case, as his sons Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent, had visited Madresfield in the past. George was then in a relationship with Beauchamp's daughter Lady Mary, which was cut off by her father's outing.<ref name="Times" />

After sufficient evidence had been gathered by the Duke, Beauchamp was made an offer to separate from his wife Lettice, retire on a pretence and then leave the country. Beauchamp accepted and left the country immediately in June 1931, living a nomadic life in the global homosexual hotspots of the time.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Shortly afterwards, the Countess Beauchamp obtained a divorce.<ref name="Times" /> There was no public scandal, but Lord Beauchamp resigned all his offices.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref> However, he held on to the sinecure of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports until 1934.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref> Following his departure for the continent, his brother-in-law sent him a note which read. "Dear Bugger-in-law, you got what you deserved. Yours, Westminster."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Lord Beauchamp's last partner was David Smyth (né Glory Smyth-Pigott: son of John Smyth-Pigott, second leader of the messianic sect the Agapemonites), to whom he left a Sydney mansion and share portfolio.<ref>Jordaan, Peter, A Secret Between Gentlemen: Suspects, Strays and Guests, Alchemie Books, 2023, p. 263-264.</ref>

Literary inspiration

Lord Beauchamp is generally supposed to have been the model for Lord Marchmain in Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They were both aristocrats in exile, though for different reasons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his 1977 book, Homosexuals in History, historian A. L. Rowse suggests that Beauchamp's failed appointment as Governor of New South Wales was the inspiration for Hilaire Belloc's satirical children's poem, "Lord Lundy", which has in its final lines a command to Lord Lundy from his aged grandfather: "But as it is!...My language fails! Go out and govern New South Wales!". Nevertheless, says Rowse, "Lord Lundy's chronic weakness was tears. This was not Lord Beauchamp's weakness: he enjoyed life, was always gay."<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Family

Lady Lettice Grosvenor in 1902
Earl and Countess Beauchamp with their family at Madresfield on the occasion of Viscount Elmley's coming of age, Template:Circa

Lord Beauchamp married at Eccleston, Cheshire, on 26 July 1902 Lady Lettice Grosvenor, daughter of Victor Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, and Lady Sibell Lumley, and granddaughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They had three sons and four daughters:

Lord Beauchamp died of cancer in New York in 1938, aged 66. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, William. The children never made peace with their mother for her role in the downfall of their father; Lady Beauchamp, "having always being disliked and now hated by her children" was evicted from Madresfield Court by her daughters and spent the remainder of her life at her brother's estate in Cheshire. Lady Beauchamp died in 1936, aged 59, estranged from all her children except her youngest child.<ref>"The scandal that shook Brideshead. "..back in England, Lady Beauchamp was even more isolated. Estranged from all her children, save for Dickie, she led a pitiful existence: alone, confused, ill and in thrall to her bullying brother. Lady Beauchamp's children never made peace with her. She died in 1936, five years after her husband's flight. She was only 59."</ref>

References

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