The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 26 April 1826
“April 26th, Newmarket [at Lord Sefton’s].
“. . . My racing campaign is over for the present,
and I have had four very agreeable days—very good sport each day, and
one’s time one way and another
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| 100 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. IV. |
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quite occupied. . . . We have had Jersey, Shelley, F. Russell,
Ld. Wilton, Bob Grosvenor, Lord
Titchfield and Lord George
Bentinck, Lady Caroline and Pawlett, Mills, Irby, Wortley
and his son, different days.
Wortley is dying for me to pair off with him, but I
must do my duty you know. . . . I start per coach at ½ past ten, and as the
distance is only 60 miles, I hope to be in time for
Michael [Taylor]’s dinner.”
Lord George Frederic Cavendish-Scott- Bentinck (1802-1848)
The second surviving son of the fourth duke of Portland and nephew of George Canning, he
devoted himself to horse racing and a busy political career as Tory MP for King's Lynn
(1826-48).
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.
Robert Grosvenor, first baron Ebury (1801-1893)
A younger son of the first marquess of Westminster; educated at Harrow, he was a reformer
and Whig MP for Shaftesbury (1822-26) Chester City (1826-31, 1831-47) and Middlesex
(1847-57). He was elevated to the peerage in 1857.
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.
Sir John Shelley, sixth baronet (1772-1852)
The son of Sir John Shelley of Michelgrove; educated at Eton, he served in the Coldstream
Guards and was patronized by the Duke of York; he was a Whig MP for Helston (1806) and a
Tory MP for Lewes (1816-31).
Michael Angelo Taylor (1757 c.-1834)
Educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he was MP (1784-34) for a variety of
constituencies; originally a Tory he gravitated to the Whigs over the course of his long
career.
William John Frederick Vane, third duke of Cleveland (1792-1864)
The son of Sir William Henry Vane, first Duke of Cleveland; he assumed the name of
Powlett. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and was a Whig MP for Winchelsea
(1812-15), Durham County (1815-31), St. Ives (1846-52), and Ludlow (1852-57).
John Stuart- Wortley, second baron Wharncliffe (1801-1855)
Son of the first baron (d. 1845); he was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford,
and was MP for Bossiney (1823-30, 1831-32), Perth burghs (1830-31), and Yorkshire
(1841-45).
