The Fourth Duke of Newcastle (1785-1851) had already fathered thirteen children by his wife Georgiana between 1807 and 1822 when she died giving birth to twins, one stillborn and one dying within a fortnight. He did not re-marry and appears to have been an affectionate but possibly unavailable father, as the letter transcribed below suggests. He was also a political reactionary in a period when reactionary forces were powerful; he was very active against causes which eventually succeeded: the removal of most civil disabilities applied to Roman Catholics (1829) and electoral reform (1832). His reactionary stance and an associated rudeness eventually (1839) caused his removal from his post as Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. In this letter his support for Sir Robert Peel's government is clearly conditional.
The
recipient is his son William who graduated from Oxford in 1836.
Shortly
after, and following an affair which became public knowledge, he was despatched
on a Grand Tour of Europe along with his younger twin brothers Charles and Thomas who appear in this letter and who were painted in 1818 aged
five by William Collins RA.
Curiously,
William’s father had been trapped at Tours in France on his own Grand Tour (but
accompanied by father and stepmother) between 1803 and 1806. I suspect that his
reactionary views may have been encouraged by this unwonted stay in
revolutionary France.
Lord
William Pelham-Clinton died in 1850 and never married, which helps explain
the fact that this letter has been circulating, possibly for a very long time, in the marketplace of paper
collectibles.
Transcription
Addressed
to: The Lord William P. Clinton
Christ Church Oxford
Datelined:
London Mar 6 1835
Free
Frank privilege claimed, dated frank of 6 MR 1835 on outer wrapper; letter
written on black-edged mourning notepaper.
My
dear William
Your
letter now enclosed [but not now present] has been 3 days on my table
already & I have not had the kindness to write a few lines to you in
enclosing it. My dear William forgive me – you know my inexactitude which is
quite culpable & when the time has arrived I have been too late for the
post.
I
mean to return to Clumber [Clumber Park, his residence in Nottinghamshire]
on Monday after which time write to me there.
If
I can I will send you the amount of your bills before I leave London but I much
fear that my payments will necessarily be so close that I must postpone it
until after the beginning of April. Nothing but wind & disagreeable weather
– politics improve & far as I can see Sr R. Peel is doing well – if he can
restrain himself from reforming all will be right & we shall pull
through & we shall deserve success without such conduct we shall
neither have nor deserve success.
I
had a letter from Edwd. [probably naval Lieutenant Lord Edward
Pelham-Clinton 1816-1842] today dated Valparaiso Novr 28 – he was quite
well.
I
must write no more or I shall be late for everything else. Susan is better
certainly & Henrietta [? uncertain transcription] is pretty well again.
Charles & Thomas returned to Windsor at 6 this morning [Windsor means
Eton; Lord Charles and Lord Thomas Charles Pelham-Clinton were twins born in
1813 ]
Ever
your most truly affecte. Father
Newcastle
References
Wikipedia:
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/learning/biographies/lordwilliampelham-clinton(1815-1850).aspx
Lord Charles and Lord Thomas Pelham-Clinton aged five
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