The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 16 May 1831
“16th.
“. . . Brougham
said to Sefton yesterday:—‘I
hear a batch of new peers is on the stocks; but I
have never been consulted; which I think is pretty well, considering my
situation. However, as they can’t be made without the Great Seal
being put to their patents, I’ll be damned if I use it for such
purpose till I am properly consulted and give my consent!’ . . .
As I learnt from Lord Sefton that
Brougham’s observations about me had been made
at the Queen’s ball last Monday, I
was prepared for some change of manner in him when we met at dinner at
Mrs. Ferguson’s on Thursday; but it was quite
otherwise. . . . We met again on Saturday at Hughes’s, and tho’ he was evidently out of sorts,
it was not with me, for he confided to me before dinner that he never saw such
a set of bores collected together—that the thing was damnable—and
whenever he made any exertion at dinner, it was in addressing me at quite the
other end of the table. As to bores, I don’t know that they were
particularly so. Lady Augusta Milbank,
and Ciss Underwood, with such a profusion of
gold bijouterie in all parts that nothing was wanting but something
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| 1830-31.] | THE PRIME MINISTER. | 231 |
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hanging from her nose. Sir Harry and Lady
Grey, little Sussex,
Vaux, Lords Dundas and Uxbridge,*
Denman, Col. J.
Hughes, Councillor
Whateley, Admiral
Codrington (a real bore), Mr.
Creevey, and some others I think. I sat next to
Denman,† and never was more surprised than to
find him a feeble punster and as commonplace a chap in conversation as I ever
saw in my life. As Suss‡ took to smoking, and
Vaux from ennui did the same, I
availed myself of my remote situation near a door, and whipt off before they
went to coffee.”
Queen Adelaide (1792-1849)
The daughter of George Frederick Charles, duke of Saxe-Meiningen and consort of William
IV, whom she married in 1818.
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
Sir Edward Codrington (1770-1851)
Naval officer; he commanded a ship at Trafalgar and as commander-in-chief of the
Mediterranean in 1827 destroyed a Turkish fleet at Navarino. In 1831 Thomas Creevey
described him as “a real bore.”
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.
Thomas Denman, first baron Denman (1779-1854)
English barrister and writer for the
Monthly Review; he was MP,
solicitor-general to Queen Caroline (1820), attorney-general (1820), lord chief justice
(1832-1850). Sydney Smith commented, “Denman everybody likes.”
Thomas Dundas, second earl of Zetland (1795-1873)
The son of Lawrence Dundas, second baron (d. 1839); educated at Harrow and Trinity
College, Cambridge, he was Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire and MP for
Richmond (1818-30, 1835-39) and York City (1830-32, 1833-34).
Charlotte Grey [née Des Voeux] (1789 c.-1882)
The daughter of Sir Charles Philip Vinchon Des Voeux, first baronet; in 1812 she married
General Sir Henry George Grey, son of General Charles Grey, first Earl Grey.
Sir Henry George Grey (1766-1845)
The second son of the first Earl Grey; he was a military officer who served in the West
Indies and was commander at the Cape of Good Hope, 1806-11.
William Lewis Hughes, baron Dinorben (1767-1852)
The son of Reverend Edward Hughes of Kinmel Park; educated at Felsted, he was a Whig MP
for Wallingford (1802-31) and personal friend of the Duke of Sussex.
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).
Cecilia Letitia Underwood, duchess of Inverness [née Gore] (1785 c.-1873)
The daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore, second Earl of Arran; in 1815 she married Sir
George Buggin; in 1831 she married Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex in contravention of
the Royal Marriages Act. She was created Duchess of Inverness in 1840.
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.
William Whateley (1794 c.-1862)
Of the Inner Temple, Queen's Counsel; he married in 1834 Elizabeth-Martha, daughter of
Edward Nares and Lady Charlotte Spencer.
