Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley

Summary

George Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley GCVO, MC, DL (CHUM-lee; 24 April 1919 – 13 March 1990), styled Earl of Rocksavage from 1923 until 1968, was a British peer who served as Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1968 and 1990.

The Marquess of Cholmondeley
Lord Great Chamberlain
In office
1968–1990
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byGeorge Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess
Succeeded byDavid Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess
Personal details
Born
George Hugh Cholmondeley

(1919-04-24)24 April 1919
St George Hanover Square, London[1]
Died13 March 1990(1990-03-13) (aged 70)[2]
Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire
NationalityEnglish
SpouseLavinia Margaret Leslie
Children4, including David
Parent(s)George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley
Sybil Sassoon
Residence(s)Houghton Hall
Cholmondeley Castle
Alma materMagdalene College, Cambridge
Lord Cholmondeley's coat of arms
Houghton Hall in Norfolk, ancestral home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley since the establishment of the title in 1815, has now opened some of its rooms to the public.

Life and work edit

Cholmondeley was born in 1919 in St George Hanover Square, London, a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was the son of George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley and Sybil Sassoon, of the Jewish Sassoon and Rothschild families. His mother was Jewish (from a family from Iraq, India, Germany, and France). Like his great-great-grandfather, his great-granduncle, his great-grandfather, his grandfather, his father and his son, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton. He studied at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.

Cholmondeley served in the British army, initially in the Grenadier Guards and later in the 1st Royal Dragoons. During the Second World War, he saw action in the Middle East, in Italy, in France and in Germany. In 1943, he was decorated with the Military Cross (MC).[3] When Cholmondeley retired from the military in 1949, he had attained the rank of Major.[4]

Cholmondeley succeeded to his father's land, estates and title in 1968. He died at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire in 1990.[5]

Marriage and children edit

Cholmondeley married Lavinia Margaret Leslie (9 September 1921 – 7 November 2015), daughter of Colonel John Leslie, on 14 June 1947.[6] The children of that marriage were:

Lavinia, Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley lived at Cholmondeley Castle.[10]

Lands and estates edit

The family seats are Houghton Hall, Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a 7,500-acre (30 km2) estate near Malpas, Cheshire.[11]

Position at court edit

One moiety part of the ancient office of Lord Great Chamberlain is a Cholmondeley inheritance.[12] This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.[13] The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office.

Further reading edit

  • 1947 – A day's march nearer home. Experiences with the Royals, 1939–1945. London : privately printed. OCLC 57035942

Notes edit

  1. ^ England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837–2008
  2. ^ England and Wales, Death Registration Index 1837–2007
  3. ^ "No. 35917". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 February 1943. p. 965.
  4. ^ "No. 38747". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1949. p. 5173.
  5. ^ Midgley, Carol. "The Cholmondeley people," The Times (UK). 5 July 2003.
  6. ^ The Daily Telegraph, Obituary, published 20 November 2015
  7. ^ "Lady Rose Cholmondeley awarded 'Gloria Artis' Gold Medal for Merit to Culture". Cheshire Life. 11 January 2012.
  8. ^ Burke's Peerage, 2003, p.765
  9. ^ Burke's Peerage, 2003, p.1077
  10. ^ Lacy, Stephen. "Unforgettable fire," The Telegraph (UK). 31 December 2001; excerpt, "The dramatic gardens at Cholmondeley Castle have been her special project for half a century, but Lady Cholmondeley's passion for hands-on horticulture is showing no sign of waning;" Lagonda Club, 5–9 June 2011 Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine; excerpt, "An Invitation from Lavinia, Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley to a private early afternoon tea ...."
  11. ^ Caroline, Donald. "The new garden at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk," The Times (UK). 11 May 2008.
  12. ^ Notes and Queries (1883 Jan–Jun), p. 42.
  13. ^ Portcullis Archived 20 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine: Deed of Covenant and Agreement between Lord Willoughby de Eresby, The Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley and the Marquis of Cholmondeley re the exercise of the Office of Hereditary Great Chamberlain (16 May 1829). Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine

References edit

  • Debrett, John, Charles Kidd, David Williamson. (1990). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-38847-1[page needed]
  • Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage: 107th Edition. Burke's Peerage. 2003.

External links edit

  • Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Cholmondeley
  • Houghton Hall
  • Cholmondeley Castle
Court offices
Preceded by Lord Great Chamberlain
Acting

1966–1968
Succeeded by
Himself
Preceded by
Himself
as Deputy
Lord Great Chamberlain
1968–1990
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Marquess of Cholmondeley
1968–1990
Succeeded by