Charles Abney Hastings
Encyclopedia
Willesley
Willesley is a place near Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was in Derbyshire but is now part of Leicestershire. In the 19th century it had a population of about 60 and Willesley Hall was the home of the Abney and later the Abney-Hastings family. Willesley is so small that it would be a hamlet except that it...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
was both High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
and an MP for Leicester
Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)
Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.-History:...
from 1826 to 1831.
Biography
Abney-Hastings was the elder son of General Sir Charles Hastings, 1st BaronetSir Charles Hastings, 1st Baronet
General Sir Charles Hastings, 1st Baronet GCH was a British Army officer.Hastings was the illegitimate son of Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon and an unknown mother. He purchased an Ensigncy in the 12th Foot, in 1776 a Lieutenantcy, and in 1780 a Captaincy...
, by the daughter and heir of Thomas Abney Esq. He was born in 1792, probably in Willesley
Willesley
Willesley is a place near Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was in Derbyshire but is now part of Leicestershire. In the 19th century it had a population of about 60 and Willesley Hall was the home of the Abney and later the Abney-Hastings family. Willesley is so small that it would be a hamlet except that it...
and succeeded his father in 1823, assuming the additional name of Abney after his maternal grandfather. It was a condition of an Abney ancestor that whoever received the manors took up the surname Abney. Sir Charles was High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1825 and was MP for Leicester from 1826 to 1831.
Charles' brother, Frank Abney Hastings
Frank Abney Hastings
Frank Abney Hastings was a British naval officer and Philhellene.- Early career :He was the son of Lieut.-general Sir Charles Hastings of Willesley Hall, a natural son of Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon...
, who might have inherited the title or fathered an heir, died a hero in 1828 at Zante.
Hastings died on 30 July 1858, aged 66. By a deed of settlement executed about 1846 the Blackfordby
Blackfordby
Blackfordby is a small village about to the northwest of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in England. It is supposedly named after the Black Ford where water from the village spring crosses the main street over a coal outcrop...
and Packington
Packington
Packington is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire. It is situated close to the A42 road and the town of Ashby de la Zouch. The population of Packington according to the 2001 UK census is 738...
estates of Sir Charles passed to Henry Rawdon-Hastings, 4th Marquess of Hastings
Henry Rawdon-Hastings, 4th Marquess of Hastings
Henry Weysford Charles Plantagenet, 4th Marquess of Hastings , styled Lord Henry Rawdon-Hastings from birth until 1851, was a British peer....
. Willesley Hall and its estate were left to Lady Edith Maud Rawdon-Hastings, later Countess of Loudoun, the Marquess's eldest sister and wife of Charles Frederick Clifton Esq.
Charles Frederick Clifton and his wife assumed by Act of Parliament in 1859 the surname and arms of Abney-Hastings. This was required by the conditions of Charles Abney Hastings' will. His will required that this name change should be done by "sanction of Queen, Lords and Commons namely by an Act of Parliament".