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The first recorded use of the title "Lord (Baron) Delamere" (Some records indicate Delamer) referring or related to an English family is in 1661 AD, when King Charles the Second (1660-1685) created this title for Sir George Booth (1622-1684) for his loyalty to the English Crown, because Sir George was a staunch Royalist during the Cromwell era ( Ref. British History) Sir George Booth lived in the area north of Chester, England at Dunham Massey Hall, Dunham Massey, Cheshire. Sir George had a son and heir named Henry. (Also visit this informative site about Dunham Massey Hall.)

Henry Booth, 2nd Lord Delamere and Earl of Warrington (1652-1694) had a son named George (1688-1758) who also upon the death of his father Henry, became Earl of Warrington and 3rd Lord Delamere, but the Earldom became extinct in 1758 upon the death of George who had no male heir. (Earldoms can only pass to a direct male descendent).

George's brother Nathaniel had taken up the title 4th Lord Delamere but this title also became extinct in 1770 upon the death of Nathaniel, as the son of Nathaniel, also named Henry (1710-1784) refused to take up the title Lord Delamere for personal reasons. This latter Henry Booth was entitled to the designation of Lord Delamere, but not having any child born in wedlock he refused to claim the Title, and the Barony of Delamere terminated in the person of Nathaniel the 4th Baron in 1770; and ownership reverted back to the English Crown. (See also this page that relates to the line of the Booth family and the subsequent Barons Title they held up until 1870 and other titles still held today by the current descendents of the Booth family.) The title Lord Delamere relinquished by the Booth family in 1770, was revived in 1821 by the Vale Royal, Cheshire, branch of the Cholmondeley family.

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Thomas Hugh Cholmondeley (1767-1855) therefore acceded to the title of Lord Delamere by purchasing the Barony Title from the English Crown for £5000 in 1821 (which, by the way, is the equivalent of over £2 million today in 2012) he actually overpaid for the title as it was originally offered at only £1200 but other prominent individuals in the region of Cheshire and Lancashire, were also bidding for this title because of its useful connotation related to the largest and very well known forest area of Cheshire, if not the whole of Northern England, and also the great prestige and power this Title carried.

But Thomas Hugh, being who he was, enterprisingly thought the title was worth the price he had paid, and he was again proved to be right in his perception. Thomas Hugh thus became the 1st Baronacy, Lord Delamere in 1821 and had his name entered into the list of British Peers (House of Lords). Thomas Hugh (1767-1855) also apparently spent massive amounts of the family funds inherited from the Holford family through his Great-Grandmother Mary Holford, funds which he used to extravagantly refurbish and further renovate the Great House and Great Hall at Vale Royal in Cheshire. See also this site about Vale Royal.

Editor's Note: The following is a short extract from a research report on Thomas Hugh Cholmondeley (1767-1855), currently being prepared by our Cambridge University associates:

"Although the records do not reveal the precise motive for the purchase of this title, Baron Delamere, from the British Crown, but it would seem reasonable to assume that because he had inherited and now owned the Great House at Vale Royal in Cheshire, and all the surrounding land, including the prestigious Delamere Forest, and now also being one of the most prominent and wealthiest land owners in Cheshire, perhaps also because his distant cousins the Cholmondeley family of Cholmondeley Castle had a title, and they had recently built the very impressive (although somewhat incongruous) mock-gothic Castle in 1801-1804, likewise - why should not he; being Cheshire's leading citizen, the one and only Thomas Hugh Cholmondeley of Vale Royal, also be titled? Let us remember that he was also the Sheriff of Cheshire and Member of Parliament for Cheshire. It is even still possible to buy barony titles today from the British Crown and also have the title registered in ones personal name and to be listed in the Peerage. (Visit this site)

"Despite comments made in the public press a few years ago by one of his current descendants; that Thomas Hugh, 1st Lord Delamere,(1767-1855) was an "idiot" for buying this title, from our research to date we have learned that he was indeed somewhat reckless and a very ambitious individual, plus a very harsh and disciplined taskmaster but was no idiot, but that Thomas Hugh Cholmondeley was rather a very creative, constructive individual and a visionary, who rendered a great deal of benefit with his programmes for the advancement and care of the local people of Cheshire, England. Also without his dedication to the restoration and improvements of the Great House and building the Great Hall at Vale Royal, costing Thomas Hugh most of the vast family fortunes, all of this building work resulting in the accomplishment, that today's current visitors to this beautifully restored Hall (now headquarters of our favorite golf course, the Vale Royal Golf Club) they would not be able to enjoy this impressive treasure and heritage of Cheshire. To visit the Vale Royal Golf Club, you will require a permit, if you require one please contact us.

(More details on the exploits and life style of Thomas Hugh, 1st Lord Delamere will be revealed in due course when our researchers have completed their project of examining all the available family journals and records at the Rylands Library in Manchester, England.

Thomas Hugh married Henrietta Elizabeth Williams-Wynn, from Denbigh, Wales, in 1810, and they had 6 children, 5 sons and one daughter. Henrietta Elizabeth the wife of Thomas Hugh, died in 1852 aged 66 years old and Thomas Hugh died in 1855 aged 88.

The eldest son of this marriage was named Hugh Cholmondeley (1811-1887) (Welsh Church records state 1812 as being the year of birth) and he became the 2nd Lord Delamere in 1855 upon the death of his powerful, heavy handed and influential father Thomas Hugh. Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere also had inherited not only the family title and the vast estate, but also 'major headaches' and serious legal issues because of the overspending of the family fortune by his father Thomas Hugh, who had been extravagantly spending the great wealth that had been passed down through the family from the Holfords.

How did Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere, handle these financial problems and difficulties, plus the complicated legal affairs of the estate that he now had to deal with and try to resolve? Also extracts from the family records related to his personal and private family issues, indicate that he had to care for and also handle additional serious personal problems, especially related to his first wife Lady Sarah Hay-Drummond, and her subsequent death at the young age of 30 years old in 1859.

Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere also had to cope with his complex second marriage to Augusta Emily Seymour the following year in 1860, and their two children Hugh (Junior) born in 1870 and Sybil, born in 1871, plus he was also trying to care for his much younger, only sister Henrietta Charlotte Cholmondeley.

Why was his second marriage complex, you might ask? Please wait until we release the intimate family details of this relationship and the surrounding problems that existed. This detailed account, related to this period of the history of Vale Royal and the Cholmondeley family makes the most fascinating reading for students of English history and especially Cheshire history (more extracts from our research reports coming soon)

Brief extract from the research report regarding Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Lord Delamere; his second marriage to Augusta Emily Seymour and their 2 children.

Extract from pages 23 & 24:

"By the time Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere inherited the Vale Royal estate; the title and the Great House, in 1855, the funds in the estate had almost been depleted, making it very difficult to maintain the life style of a Lord in the British Peerage. It also seems that Hugh was having problems with his second marriage to Augusta. His second wife was a similar age to his first wife, Lady Sarah Hay, being about 24 years his junior. The major difference is that Lady Sarah was a very weak and delicate girl and was sick for much of the time up until her death at the young age of 30, on 17 February 1859, whereas Augusta being more robust and an independent individual, lived away from Vale Royal in Cheshire for long periods of time, spending many months each year in London and also in Bournemouth, on the South Coast of England, with her socialite friends right up until her death in 1911.

In addition, Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Lord Delamere, in 1860 had also decided to undertake a major task close to his heart, and he ambitiously commissioned the building of a local church in the village of Over in Cheshire, close to Vale Royal House, which was to be dedicated to the memory of his first wife Lady Sarah who had died in 1859. This must have been a major undertaking at the time, not only in costs, in view of his current financial restraints, but also consuming much of his time and energy, considering all the other problems he had to cope with related to the large estate and the Great House and Great Hall at Vale Royal in Cheshire, which was still in need of more restoration and ongoing maintenance.

However the determination of Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Lord Delamere, typical of his character, and also the burning desire he had and the commitment he felt to leave a permanent memorial for his much loved first wife, Lady Sarah, resulted in this beautiful architectural heritage St John the Evangelist's Church that visitors to Cheshire can still enjoy even to this day (2012). For a more personal and detailed account of this very positive and up-building Christian and spiritual community, related by the local parishioners and also the dedicated servant of the "Lord Jesus Christ" and the current vicar, George Crowder, visit this site.

The two children of Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Lord Delamere and Augusta (2nd wife) were also away from their home at Vale Royal for most of the time, the daughter Sybil born in 1871 and who died in 1911 (apparent suicide), spent most of her time in London and Bournemouth with her mother Augusta, and Hugh (Jnr) (who eventually became 3rd Lord Delamere) born in 1870, was away at boarding school at Eton from a very young age and he was also giving his father, Hugh (Snr) a very difficult time. Not only was it costing his father Hugh (Snr) an enormous amount of money each year in school fees to keep up the appropriate life-style of having a son at Eton, when he could ill afford it, but Hugh (Jnr) was also a "tear-away" according to family journals, always getting into trouble at Eton College, not just mischievous acts, but quite dangerous and somewhat rebellious acts, such as alcohol, drugs and violence. (See the upcoming report on the life style and character of Hugh (Jnr), who eventually became the 3rd Lord Delamere at the young age of 17, upon the death of his father Hugh in 1887. Plus how young Hugh, being the sole male heir who had also inherited the vast family estate and what few assets remained, the report will also show how most of these remaining family assets were liquidated and how the proceeds were used and transferred out of England to help finance his farm, estate and life style in Kenya, Africa).

Family records show that Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Lord Delamere, must have been a very lonely man during the last 15 years of his life, and he depended heavily upon his faithful and loyal housekeeper M.G. (full name to be revealed upon the consent of her family descendants) and of course he depended also on his dedicated downstairs staff. (complete list soon to be revealed upon consent of their family decendants)

Note about the sale of portions of the Cholmondeley Estate Listed in Sotheby's Public Catalog of 1910: "Sale by Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Lord Delamere, included 1048 acres of land of the family estate, including, Knights Grange Farm, Westholme Farm, Salterswall Farm, Marton Hall, Marton Bank Farm, Spring Bank Farm, Chester Lane Farm, Poolhead Farm, Little Lane Farm, Lane End Farm, School Farm, Peartree House and many properties in Delamere Street, Grange Lane, and Swanlow Lane, Winsford, Cheshire."

Hugh, 3rd Lord Delamere (1870-1931) also placed numerous and quite valuable works of art belonging to the family estate, these to be sold at public auction as listed in the "private catalogue" of Sotheby's.

Note about Sybil Burnaby (nee Cholmondeley) daughter of Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere (1811 -1887) and her mother, being Augusta Emily Cholmondeley (nee Seymore), also being the only (older) sister of Hugh 3rd Lord Delamere who had moved permanently to live and settle in Kenya in 1901.

Records in the archives of Scotland Yard, London, England, do not definately establish beyond all reasonable doubt that the death of Sybil Burnaby (nee Cholmondeley) in 1911 was in fact suicide, but from written recorded interviews with the servants, at least two members of the household staff related their attempts to try and prevent Sybil from throwing herself out of the 3rd floor window of her house in Wilton Place in London.

A report in a National Newspaper of 1911 reveals that Sybil "fell" out of a window of the 3rd floor of her house at Wilton Place, in London on 13 May 1911, and died two weeks later of her injuries on the 26 May 1911. But considering the circumstantial evidence, she had been married in 1896 to a Lieutenant Algerman Edwyn Burnaby, a wild philanderer, but Sybil divorced him in 1901 after spending 3 years trapped in a miserable marriage, and after her husband ran off with a married woman. Despite the well circulated rumor attached to her "falling" out of a window, the surrounding facts show that she did in fact commit suicide, either because of her father's death, Hugh, 2nd Lord Delamere in 1887; her failed marriage in 1901; her mother's death a few month's earlier on 25 February 1911, to whom she had been very attached and very close (probably the main reason), and also her only brother Hugh the 3rd Lord Delamere (1870-1931), sole heir to the family estate, now living in Kenya and who had squandered much of the remaining family wealth, was now selling off a large portion of the family properties consisting of a number of farms and houses, plus the impressive family art collection in Cheshire, and he allowed the once beautiful and prestigious family home at Vale Royal to become a dilapidated, neglected shambles.

Editor's Note: We have received a recent photograph of an original portrait that was abandoned and found in the armory basement of the Great House at Vale Royal in Cheshire. This is a portrait that obviously was not sold back in the 1920's because of the damage to the canvass, but this portrait has since been mislaid. If you or one of your associate readers recognize the subject of this portrait please contact us, to see a copy of the photo (jpeg file).

In addition, of serious concern to Sybil, (expressed in letters to her mother Augusta) the small annual stipend that Sybil received from the Cholmondeley family estate (set up by her father Hugh) was also now being seriously jeopardized, as the funds in the family estate were quickly becoming exhausted, and this could soon result in her becoming extremely short of funds to cover her basic family expenses and commitments, or maybe she would eventually become destitute (considered a total disgrace to a woman of her caliber) and also in addition not being able to maintain her well positioned property at the prestigious location at Wilton Place in Westminster-Belgravia, London, as her ex-husband had also refused to pay her any support for herself and her young son.

Sybil certainly could not move back to the family home at Vale Royal in Cheshire to live there with her young son, Hugh Edwyn Burnaby, because the legal owner of the estate; her brother Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Lord Delamere, was still "offically" living in the house until 1907 as his English residence, although he was in fact actually living in Kenya most of the time.

Eventually in 1907, Vale Royal was rented out by Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Lord Delamere to a Robert Dempster, a wealthy industrialist, owner of the Gas Plant Works and a businessman from Manchester. Robert Dempster died while on vacation at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town in 1925 and his daughter Edith Pretty (nee Dempster) took over the lease until 1926 when Vale Royal was eventually taken over and controlled by the British Goverment because of incumbent debts. (More details of this sad saga will be revealed in a future report, to be published by the Delamere Group and the Manchester Guardian)

It is very likely that the combination of these many family problems, incidents and events made the future prospects of Sybil look very bleak indeed and eventually drove her to take her own life at 39 years of age. See this extract from a newspaper of 13 May 1911 which confirms that witnesses saw servants trying to prevent her from jumping out of the window. Read also this newspaper extract announcing her death on 26 May 1911.

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Our researchers in Cambridge are especially interested in obtaining additional information on the 6 children of the 1st Lord Delamere. The following are the recorded children. namely, Hugh Cholmondeley, born 1811 (or 1812 according to Welsh Church records), Thomas Grenville Cholmondeley, born 1818, Henry Pitt Cholmondeley, born 1820 or 1823, Charles Watkin Neville Cholmondeley, born 1826 and died in 1844 at the age of 17, (cause of death?), and the only daughter Henrietta Charlotte Cholmondeley, born in 1823 or 1835, and died in 1874 or 1908. We invite any of our readers or site visitors to submit any information they have obtained or can be referenced. Meantime you can also visit our web pages on Travel in Africa and also Business in Kenya.

Outline of Research project:

" Thomas Hugh Cholmondeley, 1st Baron Delamere" (1767-1855)

" Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere" (1811-1887)

" Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere" (1870-1931)

" Thomas Pitt Hamilton Cholmondeley, 4th Baron Delamere" (1900-1979)

" Hugh George Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere" (1934-present)

 

 

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