Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington

Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, KG, DL, FRIBA (21 August 1885 – 4 January 1972), styled Lord Gerald Wellesley between 1900 and 1943, was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, soldier, and architect.

His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG DL FRIBA
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 16 September 1943 – 4 January 1972 Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 6th Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	The 8th Duke of Wellington
Personal details
Born	(1885-08-21)21 August 1885
Died	4 January 1972(1972-01-04) (aged 86)
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Violet Ashton
Children	Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington Lady Elizabeth Clyde
Parents	Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington Kathleen Bulkeley Williams

Background and education

Wellesley was the third son of Lord Arthur Wellesley (later 4th Duke of Wellington) and Lady Arthur Wellesley (later Duchess of Wellington, née Kathleen Bulkeley Williams). He was baptised at St Jude's Church of Ireland parish church, Kilmainham, Dublin, on 27 September 1885.[1] He was educated at Eton.

Career

Wellesley served as a diplomat in the Diplomatic Corps in 1908. He held the office of Third Secretary of the Diplomatic Service between 1910–17, and the office of Second Secretary of the Diplomatic Service between 1917–19. He was invested as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1921, and as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1935, and was Surveyor of the King's Works of Art, 1936–43. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1939 in the service of the Grenadier Guards. He fought in the Second World War between 1939–45. As a somewhat elderly officer with a spinsterish manner, he earned the nickname'The Iron Duchess',[2] but his diplomatic skills proved invaluable in dealing with the Allies.[3]

In 1943, he succeeded his nephew Henry as Duke of Wellington, Earl of Mornington, and Prince of Waterloo. His nephew's other title, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, passed to Henry's sister (his niece) Lady Anne Rhys, before she ceded it to him in 1949. He served as Lord Lieutenant of the County of London between 1944–49 and as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire between 1949–60. In 1951 he was made a Knight of the Garter.

Architecture projects

Among his architecture projects was the remodeling of the London home of Anglo-American member of Parliament Henry "Chips" Channon. Working with Trenwith Wills, Wellesley also remodeled Castle Hill, Filleigh, in Devon; Hinton Ampner in Hampshire; and Biddick Hall in County Durham[4] and St Mary and St George Church in High Wycombe.[5]. Wellesley also designed the Faringdon Folly tower for Lord Berners[6] and built Portland House in Weymouth in 1935.[7]

Books

He was the author of the following books :

• The Iconography of the First Duke of Wellington (1935)
• The Diary of a Desert Journey (1938)
• The Journal of Mrs. Arbuthnot (1950)
• A Selection from the Private Correspondence of the First Duke of Wellington (1952)

Family

Wellesley was bisexual or homosexual,[8][9][10] but married Dorothy Violet Ashton (30 July 1889 – 11 July 1956) on 30 April 1914. The marriage was unhappy and they separated in 1922[11] but never divorced.

She was the daughter of Robert Ashton of Croughton, Cheshire (a second cousin of the 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde) heirs of a cotton manufacturing family and (Lucy) Cecilia Dunn-Gardner, later Countess of Scarbrough. Her stepfather from 1899 was Aldred Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough. They had two children:

• Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington (2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014)
• Lady Elizabeth Wellesley (26 December 1918 – 25 November 2013)

Dorothy, a poet, became the lover of Vita Sackville-West,[12][13] (who wrote her entry for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).[14] Wellesley had been engaged to Sackville-West's lover Violet Trefusis.[11] Dorothy later became the lover and long-time companion of Hilda Matheson, a prominent BBC producer.[11]

After his wife's death in 1956, Wellesley reportedly wished to marry his widowed sister-in-law, Lady Serena James, but she did not wish to leave her marital home.[15] Wellesley was the maternal grandfather of the actor and musician Jeremy Clyde. His probate was sworn in the year of his death at £529,260 (equivalent to about £7,000,000 in 2019).[16]

References

1. "Irish Genealogy". Churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
2. Alan, Pryce-Jones (1987). The Bonus Of Laughter. John Murray.
3. Butler, Ewan. Amateur Agent. p. 16.
4. Cruickshank, Dan (Summer 2012). "Wills and Wellesley". National Trust Magazine. National Trust: 38.
5. Stuff, Good. "Church of St Mary and St George, Sands, Buckinghamshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
6. Miller, Norman (1 July 2016). "The surreal and colourful life of Baron Berners". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
7. "National Trust renovates Portland House, Weymouth". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
8. Aldritt, Keith (1997). WB Yeats: The Man and the Milieu. Clarkson Potter. p. 337.
9. Brittain-Catlin, Timothy. Bleak Houses: Disappointment and Failure in Architecture. p. 92.
10. Michael Bloch. "Closet Queens: Some 20th Century British Politicians". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
11. R.F. Foster, "W.B. Yeats" (Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 528
12. Lady Jane Wellesley, "Wellington: A Journey Through My Family" (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009)
13. Grove, Valerie (21 November 2008). "The legacy of an Iron Duke: WELLINGTON by Jane Wellesley | Daily Mail Online". Mailonsunday.ie. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. "Lady Serena James: Obituary". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
16. https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Wellington
• Duke of Wellington's Regiment – West Riding

Honorary titles
Preceded by The Marquess of Crewe	Lord Lieutenant of the County of London 1944–1949	Succeeded by The Earl Wavell
Preceded by The Viscount Portal	Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire 1949–1960	Succeeded by The Lord Ashburton
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Henry Wellesley	Duke of Wellington 1943–1972	Succeeded by Valerian Wellesley
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Henry Wellesley	Earl of Mornington 1943–1972	Succeeded by Valerian Wellesley
Dutch nobility
Preceded by Henry Wellesley	Prince of Waterloo 1943–1972	Succeeded by Valerian Wellesley
Spanish nobility
Preceded by Anne Rhys	Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo 1949–1968	Succeeded by Valerian Wellesley
Portuguese nobility
Preceded by Henry Wellesley	Duke of the Victory 1943–1968	Succeeded by Valerian Wellesley