John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow

John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
Born	19 August 1779
Died	15 September 1853 (aged 74)
Alma mater	Eton College; Trinity College ;
Occupation	Slave holder
Spouse(s)	Amelia Sophia Hume, Caroline Fludyer, Emma Cust
Children	John Egerton, Charles Cust, Lady Sophia Frances Cust, Lady Caroline Mary Cust, Lady Katherine Anne Cust
Parent(s)	Frances Bankes ;
Family	Edward Cust
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Society; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries; Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order ;

John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH (19 August 1779 – 15 September 1853) was a British Peer and Tory politician.

John Cust's funerary monument in Belton Church, Lincolnshire

Life

Belton House

Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. He was educated at Eton (1788-93) and Trinity College, Cambridge (1797) before undertaking a European tour of Russia and Germany in 1801. In 1802 he was elected the MP for Clitheroe, holding the seat until 1807, when he succeeded to his father's title and estates, including Belton House near Grantham, Lincolnshire.

In May 1805, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[1] From 1809–52, he was Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire and in 1815 was created Earl Brownlow and Viscount Alford, of Alford, in the County of Lincoln.[2] He was appointed to the Royal Guelphic Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCH) in 1834.[3]

According to the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership at the University College London, Brownlow was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £1.43 billion in 2020[4]) with interest from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Brownlow was associated with "T71/885 British Guiana claim no. 716A&B (Greenwich Park)", he owned 185 slaves in British Guiana and received a £10,058 payment at the time (worth £962 thousand in 2020[4]).[5]

Family

On 24 July 1810, Lord Brownlow married Sophia Hume, the second daughter and coheiress of Sir Abraham Hume, Bt., with whom had three children:

Lady Sophia Frances, (1811–1882) (allegedly a friend of Augustus Smith and a regular visitor to Tresco), married Lt-Col Christopher Tower. Mother of Amelia, Countess de Salis
John Hume, Viscount Alford (1812–1851)
Hon Charles Henry (1813–1875)

Brownlow's wife died in 1814 and on 22 September 1818, he married Caroline Fludyer daughter of George Fludyer of Ayston, Rutland (and a granddaughter of Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bt). Brownlow and Caroline had four daughters:

Lady Caroline Mary Cust, (1819–1898)
Lady Amelia Cust, (1821–?)
Lady Katherine Anne Cust, (1822–1885)
Lady Elizabeth Cust, (1824–1824)

Caroline died in 1824 and Brownlow then married thirdly Lady Emma Sophia Edgcumbe, a daughter of the 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. Lord Brownlow did have not any children with his third wife.

As his eldest son had pre-deceased him in 1851, on his own death in 1853 his titles and estates passed to his grandson, John William Spencer Egerton-Cust [6]

References

"Fellows 1660-2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
"No. 17066". The London Gazette. 30 September 1815. p. 1997.
"John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow". The Peerage. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
"John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow". University College London. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
Brownlow archives. Belton House records. Handwritten letter from Amelia Cust to her sister Sophia dated 25 October 1844. Last Will and Testament of Lady Amelia Cust.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Robert Curzon Lord Edward Cavendish-Bentinck	Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1802–1807 With: Robert Curzon	Succeeded by Robert Curzon James Gordon
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven	Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire 1809–1852	Succeeded by Marquess of Granby
Vacant Title last held by The Earl Castleton	Vice-Admiral of Lincolnshire 1809–1853	Succeeded by The Earl of Yarborough
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title	Earl Brownlow 1815–1853	Succeeded by John Egerton-Cust
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Brownlow Cust	Baron Brownlow 1807–1853	Succeeded by John Egerton-Cust

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[1] "Fellows 1660-2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 12 October 2016.

[2] "No. 17066". The London Gazette. 30 September 1815. p. 1997.

[3] "John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow". The Peerage. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

[inflation-UK-4] UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.

[5] "John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow". University College London. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.

[6] Brownlow archives. Belton House records. Handwritten letter from Amelia Cust to her sister Sophia dated 25 October 1844. Last Will and Testament of Lady Amelia Cust.