Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth

Thomas Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth (8 February 1775 – 7 March 1855), known as Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet, from 1791 to 1821, was a British peer and Tory politician.

The Right Honourable

The Baron Ravensworth
Member of Parliament for County Durham
In office
1806–1807
Preceded byRowland Burdon
Sir Ralph Milbanke, Bt
Succeeded bySir Ralph Milbanke, Bt
Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, Bt
Personal details
Born(1775-02-08)8 February 1775
Died7 March 1855(1855-03-07) (aged 80)
Political partyTory
Spouse(s)
Maria Susannah Simpson
​
(
m. 1796; died 1845)
RelationsHenry Liddell (nephew)
Children12
ParentsSir Henry Liddell, 5th Baronet
Elizabeth Steele
ResidenceRavensworth Castle
Eslington Park

Early life

Liddell was the son of Sir Henry Liddell, 5th Baronet,[1] and his wife Elizabeth Steele, a daughter of Thomas Steele of Hampsnett.[2] His younger brother Henry Liddell, Rector of Easington (1787–1872), was father of a younger Henry Liddell, co-author (with Robert Scott) of the monumental work A Greek-English Lexicon, and father of the Alice who inspired Alice in Wonderland.

Career

He succeeded his father in the baronetcy and to the family estates at Ravensworth Castle and Eslington Park and to extensive coal mining interests in 1791. He was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1804 and served as Tory Member of Parliament for County Durham between 1806 and 1807.[3] On 17 July 1821 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Ravensworth, of Ravensworth Castle in the County Palatine of Durham and of Eslington Park in the County of Northumberland.[4]

At Ravensworth he demolished the old 1724 house in 1808 and replaced it with a substantial mansion in the Gothic style designed by architect John Nash. He also employed George Stephenson from 1804 at his Killingworth colliery and encouraged and financed him in the development of steam power which was vital for the improvement of the efficiency of the wagonways which transported coal from the pit to the River Tyne.

Personal life

On 26 March 1796, Thomas married Maria Susannah Simpson (1773–1845). She was a daughter of John Simpson, of Bradley Hall, Co. Durham, and Lady Anne Lyon. Her maternal grandparents were Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Jean Nicholsen. Together, they had twelve children:[2]

He died in March 1855, aged 80,[2] and was succeeded in his titles by his son Henry, who was created Earl of Ravensworth in 1874.[5][13]

Liddell was portrayed as the character of Lord Ravensworth by actor Terence Alexander in the 1985 Doctor Who serial The Mark of the Rani.[14]

gollark: I rarely have enough pockets.
gollark: This is an uncool thing which I think is mostly just put in by lazy authors/gamedevs for balance.
gollark: Not because those are impossible to automate but because if someone does automate them I will likely have bigger issues than "oh no, I no longer have a job".
gollark: Anyway, I figure I should be *relatively* safe from automation if I work in somewhat creative technical fields and/or designing automation systems myself.
gollark: I have not yet seen a coherent plan for how to... work stuff... without that.

References
  1. Davies, Mark (2015). King of All Balloons: The Adventurous Life of James Sadler, The First English Aeronaut. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 488. ISBN 9781445653099. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  2. "Ravensworth, Baron (UK, 1821)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  3. "LIDDELL, Sir Thomas Henry, 6th Bt. (1775-1855), of Ravensworth Castle, co. Dur. and Eslington Hall, Northumb". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  4. The Peerage, Baronetage, And Knightage, Of Great Britain And Ireland For ... Including All the Titled Classes. Whittaker And Company. 1862. p. 676. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  5. "Ravensworth, Earl of (UK, 1874 - 1904)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  6. "Normanby, Marquess of (UK, 1838)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  7. "Barrington, Viscount (I, 1720 - 1990)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  8. "Clarendon, Earl of (GB, 1776)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  9. "Lytton, Earl of (UK, 1880)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  10. "Mornington, Earl of (I, 1760)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  11. "Hardwicke, Earl of (GB, 1754)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  12. "De La Warr, Earl (GB, 1761)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  13. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1904). Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, Including All the Titled Classes. p. 756. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  14. "The Mark of the Rani". BBC. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Rowland Burdon
Sir Ralph Milbanke, Bt		 Member of Parliament for County Durham
1806–1807
With: Sir Ralph Milbanke, Bt		 Succeeded by
Sir Ralph Milbanke, Bt
Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, Bt
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title Baron Ravensworth
1821–1855		 Succeeded by
Henry Liddell
Baronetage of England
Preceded by
Henry Liddell		 Baronet
(of Ravensworth Castle)
1791–1855		 Succeeded by
Henry Liddell

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