The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 21 September 1825
“Cantley, 21 Sept. 1825.
“. . . Mrs.
Taylor has had an interview with the Countess [of Darlington] upon my case. She said she now spoke
with Lord Darlington’s
authority—that what she said must be considered as coming from himself.
It was, therefore, matter of deep regret to him that Mrs.
Taylor had not mentioned Mr.
Creevey’s case till his Parliamentary arrangements were
all made, which unfortunately they now were, and that all that remained for him
now to say was that the first vacancy which happened in any seat of his,
Mr. Creevey should have it, and that he never should
be without one. Now; altho’ reversionary prospects for a gentleman in his
58th year are no very brilliant matters, yet I think it is all mighty well . .
. and as she has once taken me and my concerns into her holy keeping, when we
come to cement the connection with a few gambols at ![]()
| 1825-26.] | LAMBTON REVISITED. | 91 |
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Raby, she may perhaps open the Earl’s eyes
to an interest in some borough which he never thought of before. . . . We were
23 at dinner to-day, to say nothing of a buck from Ld.
Tankerville, another from Lambton, a third from Ld. Darlington, half
a one from Lord Fitzwilliam, another half
from Ld. Tavistock; not to mention a
turtle—also a present, and pines without end.”
Charles Augustus Bennet, fifth earl of Tankerville (1776-1859)
Son of Charles Bennet, the fourth earl (d. 1822); educated at Eton, he was Whig MP for
Steyning (1803-06), Knaresborough (1806-18), and Berwick-on-Tweed) (1820-22); in 1806 he
married Armandine Sophie Leonie Corisande de Gramont.
Thomas Creevey (1768-1838)
Whig politician aligned with Charles James Fox and Henry Brougham; he was MP for Thetford
(1802-06, 1807-18) Appleby (1820-26) and Downton (1831-32). He was convicted of libel in
1813.
William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, second earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833)
The nephew of the Marquis of Rockingham and lifelong friend of Charles James Fox and Lord
Carlisle; he was president of the Council (1806-07) and lieutenant of the West Riding from
1798 to 1819 when he was dismissed for his censure of the Peterloo massacre.
Barbara Palmer, duchess of Cleveland [née Villiers] (1640-1709)
The daughter of William Villiers, second viscount Grandison (1614-1643) and mistress of
Charles II, who granted her the title in 1670. Her sexual adventures were detailed in
Delarivier Manley's
The New Atalantis (1709).
Francis Russell, seventh duke of Bedford (1788-1861)
Son of the sixth Duke (d. 1839); he took an MA from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1808
and served as Whig MP for Peterborough between 1809 and 1812 and for Bedfordshire between
1812 and 1832. He succeeded to the title in 1833.
Frances Ann Taylor [née Vane] (d. 1835)
Whig hostess, the daughter of Sir Henry Vane, first baronet (1729–1794); in 1789 she
married the politician Michael Angelo Taylor.
William Harry Vane, first duke of Cleveland (1766-1842)
The son of Henry Vane, second earl of Darlington (d. 1792); educated at Christ Church,
Oxford, he was a lifelong friend of Henry Brougham and a notable sportsman.
