The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 4 March 1823
“4th March.
“. . . I dined on Saturday at Lord King’s: the party—Duke and Duchess of
Somerset; Heber the Tory
and classical member for Oxford; George
Phillips the patriotic and fasionable savant from Manchester;
Sir — Johnson,* a powdered
beau of the first order and ci-devant
Indian judge; Lord Clare, Lavallette Bruce, George Fortescue and Bennet. Was there ever such a hash? However, the day, contrary
to my expectation, was very well. I got on extreemly well with Mrs.
Somerset.† You know she is the false devil who robbed her
brother Archie of his birthright.”
Henry Grey Bennet (1777-1836)
The son of Charles Bennet, fourth earl of Tankerville; educated at Eton and Peterhouse,
Cambridge, he was a Whig MP for MP for Shrewsbury (1806-07, 1811-26) and a legal
reformer.
Michael Bruce (1787-1861)
Educated at Eton and St. John's College, Cambridge; he was the companion of Lady Hester
Stanhope in her eastern travels, 1810-13, assisted in the escape of Count Lavalette from
France, and was MP for Ilchester (1830-31).
John Fitzgibbon, second earl of Clare (1792-1851)
A Harrow friend of Byron's, son of the Lord Chamberlain of Ireland; he once fought a duel
with Henry Grattan's son in response to an aspersion on his father. Lord Clare was Governor
of Bombay between 1830 and 1834.
George Matthew Fortescue (1791-1877)
The second son of the first earl Fortescue; educated at Eton, he was a military officer
and MP for Hindon (1826-31).
Lord Archibald Hamilton (1770-1827)
The second son of Archibald, ninth duke of Hamilton (d. 1819); a Whig MP for Lanarkshire
from 1802, he was a supporter of Charles James Fox and radical causes.
Richard Heber (1774-1833)
English book collector, he was the elder half-brother of the poet Reginald Heber and the
friend of Walter Scott: member of the Roxburghe Club and MP for Oxford 1821-1826.
Sir John Johnson, second baronet (1742-1830)
The son of Sir William Johnson; he was Superintendent-General and Inspector-General of
Indian affairs in British North America.
Peter King, seventh baron King (1775-1833)
Whig politician, son of the sixth baron; he was educated at Harrow and Trinity College,
Cambridge before succeeding to the title in 1793. His son William married Ada Byron.
Sir George Philips, first baronet (1766-1847)
Textile magnate and Whig MP; in addition to his mills in Staffordshire and Lancashire he
was a trading partner with Richard “Conversation” Sharp. He was created baronet in
1828.
Edward Adolphus Seymour, eleventh duke of Somerset (1775-1855)
The son of the tenth duke (d. 1793), educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford he was an
accomplished scholar elected to the Royal Society in 1797, the Society of Antiquaries in
1816, and the Linnean Society in 1820. From 1801 to 1838 was president of the Royal
Literary Fund.
