Charles Fane, 1st Viscount Fane
Encyclopedia
Charles Fane, 1st Viscount Fane PC (Ire)
(January 1676 – 4 July 1744) was an English courtier, politician and a landowner in both England and Ireland.}
Fane or ffane was baptised at Basildon
in Berkshire
on 30 January 1676, he was the second son but heir of the Right Hon. Sir Henry Fane
, of Basildon
, KB, (1650-1705/06), by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Southcott of Exeter.
His elder brother's death made him eventual heir to the Bourchier
estates; the manors of Lough Gur
and Glenogra in county Limerick and of Clare, near Tandragee, in county Armagh; to the Fane estate at Basildon in Berkshire; and to the Southcott estate at Calwoodley in Devon.
The elder brother Henry Bourchier Fane was Standard Bearer of the Gentlemen Pensioners from 10 April 1689 until early 1696 when he was killed in a duel by one Elias Burgess. This no doubt the same Colonel Elizeus Burges, a self confessed drinker and womaniser, who was commissioned (17 March), and proclaimed (9 November), Governor of (the province of) Massachusetts (Bay) but never took up the office and resigned April 1716. He was, however, British Resident in Venice from 1719–1722, and 1727 to his death in 1736. On 9 November 1715 Elizeus Burgess was proclaimed Governor, he having been commissioned on 17 March 1715, but he nevercame over to perform his duties, and resigned the office in April 1716.
Having left Wadham College, Oxford
(he had matriculated 3 April 1693, fil. eq. de Balneo natu minor. Taken up for Battels, 21 January 1702/03.)) Fane duely replaced his unfortunate elder brother as Standard Bearer from 20 April 1696, a post he had vacated by 31 March 1712.
Meanwhile his younger brother George Fane had become Commander of the Royal ship the Lowestoffe, (a 5th rate, 104.5 x 28 feet (8.5 m) ship built at Chatham dockyard in 1697).
Appointed Captain in 1709, he died without issue at New York the same year.
Fane was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for Berkshire, 21 September 1715.
He was Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) for Killybegs
in county Donegal, a seat controlled by the Conygham family, from 1715 to 1719.
On 22 April 1718 he was created Baron of Loughguyre
, in the county of Limerick, and Viscount Fane, both in the Peerage of Ireland, and number 264 on the roll. He took his seat 21 April 1725, having been appointed to the Irish Privy Council
on 5 May 1718.
He stood unsuccessfully for Berkshire
in the election of 30 August 1727. At the poll Fane (1319 votes) was beaten into third place by Robert Packer (1620 votes), a distant ancestor of the late Kerry Packer
, and by Sir John Stonhouse (1558 votes).
Fane married at the Chelsea Hospital
, 12 December 1707 (license dated 19 November 1707), Mary (1686–1762) daughter of the envoy hon. Alexander Stanhope, FRS, (the youngest son of the first Earl of Chesterfield
), by Catherine (d.1718), daughter and co-heir of Arnold Burghill, of Thingehill Parva, Withington
, Herefordshire by his second wife Grizell, co-heir of John Prise of Ocle Pyrchard, Herefordshire.
A sister of soldier-statesman James, Earl Stanhope
(1673–1721), Mary Fane was also an old friend of the Mistress of the Robes
, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
having been one of the six original Maids of Honour to Queen Anne
, appointed 4 June 1702, an office she had vacated by November 1707.
An indenture of settlement dated 19 November 1707 between Charles Fane of Basildon and others, had her marriage portion at 3,000 L (pounds). Robert Walpole
, the husband of Mary's first cousin twice-removed (through the Stanhope family) Catherine Shorter (c.1682-1737) aka cousin Walpole, was a witness.
Fane died 7 July 1744 and was buried at Basildon 16 July 1744, aged 68. His widow died 21 and was buried at Basildon on the 30 August 1762, aged 76.
They had seven children.
at the Fane's New House by the Thames at Lower Basildon
, but in the parish of Streatley
in Berkshire.
These extracts show some of the process:
Her son, Charles
, was appointed British Resident (Horace Walpole's friend Sir Horace Mann was his assistant then successor as Resident) in Florence in March 1734 and was there in person between 3 October 1734 and the Spring of 1738. Lady Fane and her daughter Dorothy were there with him from June 1736. Dorothy stayed until at least June 1737, this extract from a letter to Lady Fane suggests that the mother too was there for a year:
It is probable that during this trip Lady Fane ordered her pair of prized scagliola
table tops from the Irishman Friar Ferdinando Henrico Hugford (1695–1771). These are quite similar to the one at The Vyne
, Hampshire. That top has the arms of Walpole (with his post-1726 Garter Knight embellishments) impaling Shorter - for Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole
and his first wife Catherine Shorter, who died 20 August 1737. The hint of shells on the tables suggest that they may have been for her grotto at the New House, Basildon.
In 1747 the blue-stocking and fellow Berkshire-dweller Elizabeth Montagu
(1720–1800) described the Fane grotto:
Image:Mary ffane letter birth of 2nd E Stanhope.jpg|Mary ffane to her husband, reporting the birth of the future Philip, 2nd Earl Stanhope
in August 1714.
Image:SarahMarlborough1737.jpg|Letter from Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough
to Lady ffane, 1737
Image:CoverofLettertoCharlesffane1714.jpg|thumb|From his wife, with Stanhope seal
File:Prosapia&InsigniaMaryFaneII.jpg|Prosapia and Insignia for Fane, Southcott, Stanhope and Burghill
Image:FaneStanhopeScagliolaTableTop.jpg|Florentine scagliola
table top with arms of Fane impalling Stanhope, c1737
File:Bacchus on Fane Table.jpg|Detail of Bacchus
on one of a pair of side-tables made for Lord Fane and/or his wife c1740 (part of the base for the scagliola)
Image:Waiter 1732.jpg|Britannia gauge
silver waiter dated 1732, with Fane crests and arms of Fane impaling Stanhope. Maker, Paul de Lamerie
.
File:Fane Table.jpg|One of the pair of the Fanes' Florentine scagliola topped and British Bacchus masked and cabriole legged c1740 tables. This detail of a larger B/W photo was commissioned c1870
Image:Fane Stanhope 1732.jpg|Coat of arms
on a silver waiter dated 1732, showing arms of Fane impaling Stanhope, for Charles Fane and his wife Mary, possibly a 25th wedding present.
Image:Bourchier Tower Sept 2005.jpg|Bourchier Tower at Lough Gur (September 2005)
Image:TheGrottoofLadyFaneBasildonnearStreatleyBerks.jpg|Lady Fane's, New House (The Grotto), August 2007, taken from the north, from a moving train, early morning
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
(January 1676 – 4 July 1744) was an English courtier, politician and a landowner in both England and Ireland.}
Fane or ffane was baptised at Basildon
St Bartholomew's Church, Lower Basildon
St Bartholomew's Church is the redundant Church of England parish church of Basildon in the English county of Berkshire. It is located in the hamlet of Lower Basildon and is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
on 30 January 1676, he was the second son but heir of the Right Hon. Sir Henry Fane
Sir Henry Fane
Sir Henry Fane KB, JP was the only son and heir of George Fane of Hatton Garden, by his wife Dorothy daughter and heir of James Horsey of Honnington, Warwickshire....
, of Basildon
Basildon, Berkshire
Basildon is a civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, named for their respective heights above the River Thames...
, KB, (1650-1705/06), by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Southcott of Exeter.
His elder brother's death made him eventual heir to the Bourchier
Henry Bourchier, 5th Earl of Bath
Henry Bourchier, 5th Earl of Bath was an English Peer of the Realm, Lord Privy Seal, and landowner in counties Limerick, Armagh, Devon and Somerset-Biography:Sir Henry Bourchier was probably born and was certainly brought up in Ireland...
estates; the manors of Lough Gur
Lough Gur
Lough Gur is a lake in County Limerick, Ireland between the towns of Herbertstown and Bruff. The lake forms a horseshoe shape at the base of Knockadoon Hill and some rugged elevated countryside. It is one of Ireland's most important archaeological sites...
and Glenogra in county Limerick and of Clare, near Tandragee, in county Armagh; to the Fane estate at Basildon in Berkshire; and to the Southcott estate at Calwoodley in Devon.
The elder brother Henry Bourchier Fane was Standard Bearer of the Gentlemen Pensioners from 10 April 1689 until early 1696 when he was killed in a duel by one Elias Burgess. This no doubt the same Colonel Elizeus Burges, a self confessed drinker and womaniser, who was commissioned (17 March), and proclaimed (9 November), Governor of (the province of) Massachusetts (Bay) but never took up the office and resigned April 1716. He was, however, British Resident in Venice from 1719–1722, and 1727 to his death in 1736. On 9 November 1715 Elizeus Burgess was proclaimed Governor, he having been commissioned on 17 March 1715, but he nevercame over to perform his duties, and resigned the office in April 1716.
Having left Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
(he had matriculated 3 April 1693, fil. eq. de Balneo natu minor. Taken up for Battels, 21 January 1702/03.)) Fane duely replaced his unfortunate elder brother as Standard Bearer from 20 April 1696, a post he had vacated by 31 March 1712.
Meanwhile his younger brother George Fane had become Commander of the Royal ship the Lowestoffe, (a 5th rate, 104.5 x 28 feet (8.5 m) ship built at Chatham dockyard in 1697).
Appointed Captain in 1709, he died without issue at New York the same year.
Fane was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for Berkshire, 21 September 1715.
He was Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) for Killybegs
Killybegs (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Killybegs was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Killybegs was not represented.-1689–1801:...
in county Donegal, a seat controlled by the Conygham family, from 1715 to 1719.
On 22 April 1718 he was created Baron of Loughguyre
Lough Gur
Lough Gur is a lake in County Limerick, Ireland between the towns of Herbertstown and Bruff. The lake forms a horseshoe shape at the base of Knockadoon Hill and some rugged elevated countryside. It is one of Ireland's most important archaeological sites...
, in the county of Limerick, and Viscount Fane, both in the Peerage of Ireland, and number 264 on the roll. He took his seat 21 April 1725, having been appointed to the Irish Privy Council
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
on 5 May 1718.
He stood unsuccessfully for Berkshire
Berkshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Berkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885...
in the election of 30 August 1727. At the poll Fane (1319 votes) was beaten into third place by Robert Packer (1620 votes), a distant ancestor of the late Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
, and by Sir John Stonhouse (1558 votes).
His wife
Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, located in the Chelsea region of central London, now the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is a true hospital in the original sense of the word,...
, 12 December 1707 (license dated 19 November 1707), Mary (1686–1762) daughter of the envoy hon. Alexander Stanhope, FRS, (the youngest son of the first Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield , son of Sir John Stanhope and his wife Cordell Allington, was an English aristocrat. Stanhope was knighted in 1605 by James I...
), by Catherine (d.1718), daughter and co-heir of Arnold Burghill, of Thingehill Parva, Withington
Withington, Herefordshire
Withington is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about north-east of Hereford at .-History:One of the historical features of Withington is the Roman mile post situated on the Worcester road...
, Herefordshire by his second wife Grizell, co-heir of John Prise of Ocle Pyrchard, Herefordshire.
A sister of soldier-statesman James, Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during War of the Spanish Succession...
(1673–1721), Mary Fane was also an old friend of the Mistress of the Robes
Mistress of the Robes
The Mistress of the Robes is the senior lady of the British Royal Household. Formerly responsible for the Queen's clothes and jewellery, the post now has the responsibility for arranging the rota of attendance of the Ladies in Waiting on the Queen, along with various duties at State ceremonies...
, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
having been one of the six original Maids of Honour to Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, appointed 4 June 1702, an office she had vacated by November 1707.
An indenture of settlement dated 19 November 1707 between Charles Fane of Basildon and others, had her marriage portion at 3,000 L (pounds). Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, the husband of Mary's first cousin twice-removed (through the Stanhope family) Catherine Shorter (c.1682-1737) aka cousin Walpole, was a witness.
Fane died 7 July 1744 and was buried at Basildon 16 July 1744, aged 68. His widow died 21 and was buried at Basildon on the 30 August 1762, aged 76.
They had seven children.
- Charles, 2nd Viscount Fane;
- Mary who married Jerome, 2nd Count de SalisJerome, 2nd Count de SalisJérôme de Salis, 2nd Count de Salis-Soglio was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and sometime British Resident in the Grisons...
; - Elizabeth of Windsor (1711–1760);
- Dorothy Fane who married John Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
; - Charlotte of Chelsea (1718–1765), (& c1751, of 10, Old Burlington Street);
- and two who died as children, Lucy (d.1713) and James (d.1714).
Grotto
In the 1720s and 30s she built the sometime renowned GrottoGrotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
at the Fane's New House by the Thames at Lower Basildon
Lower Basildon
Lower Basildon is a small village in the civil parish of Basildon, near to Pangbourne, in the English county of Berkshire. It is the location of the parish church of St Bartholomew. The National Trust property, Basildon Park, is just above it....
, but in the parish of Streatley
Streatley, Berkshire
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.-Location:Streatley is about from Reading and from Oxford. It is in the Goring Gap on the River Thames and is directly across the river from the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames...
in Berkshire.
These extracts show some of the process:
- Lady Fane in London, writing to her husband at Basildon, on April ye 1st / 1731:
- And to her husband, this time from Florence, November 1736:
Her son, Charles
Charles Fane, 2nd Viscount Fane
Charles Fane, 2nd Viscount Fane was a landowner in Ireland and England, a Whig Member of Parliament and the British Resident in Florence.-Early life:...
, was appointed British Resident (Horace Walpole's friend Sir Horace Mann was his assistant then successor as Resident) in Florence in March 1734 and was there in person between 3 October 1734 and the Spring of 1738. Lady Fane and her daughter Dorothy were there with him from June 1736. Dorothy stayed until at least June 1737, this extract from a letter to Lady Fane suggests that the mother too was there for a year:
- Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, from WimbledonWimbledon ParkWimbledon Park is an urban park in Wimbledon and the suburb south and east to which it lends its name. It is the second largest park in the London Borough of Merton and also gives its name to Wimbledon Park tube station. To the immediate west of the park resides the All England Lawn Tennis and...
, to Lady Fane, 23rd September 1737:
It is probable that during this trip Lady Fane ordered her pair of prized scagliola
Scagliola
Scagliola , is a technique for producing stucco columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inlays in marble and semi-precious stones...
table tops from the Irishman Friar Ferdinando Henrico Hugford (1695–1771). These are quite similar to the one at The Vyne
The Vyne
The Vyne is a 16th-century country house outside Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.The Vyne was built for Lord Sandys, King Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain. The house retains its Tudor chapel, with stained glass. The classical portico on the north front was added in 1654 by Inigo...
, Hampshire. That top has the arms of Walpole (with his post-1726 Garter Knight embellishments) impaling Shorter - for Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
and his first wife Catherine Shorter, who died 20 August 1737. The hint of shells on the tables suggest that they may have been for her grotto at the New House, Basildon.
In 1747 the blue-stocking and fellow Berkshire-dweller Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonist, literary critic, and writer who helped organize and lead the bluestocking society...
(1720–1800) described the Fane grotto:
Gallery
Image:Mary ffane letter birth of 2nd E Stanhope.jpg|Mary ffane to her husband, reporting the birth of the future Philip, 2nd Earl Stanhope
Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope
Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope FRS was a British peer.The son of the 1st Earl Stanhope and Lucy Pitt, he succeeded to his father's titles in 1721. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society....
in August 1714.
Image:SarahMarlborough1737.jpg|Letter from Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
to Lady ffane, 1737
Image:CoverofLettertoCharlesffane1714.jpg|thumb|From his wife, with Stanhope seal
File:Prosapia&InsigniaMaryFaneII.jpg|Prosapia and Insignia for Fane, Southcott, Stanhope and Burghill
Image:FaneStanhopeScagliolaTableTop.jpg|Florentine scagliola
Scagliola
Scagliola , is a technique for producing stucco columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inlays in marble and semi-precious stones...
table top with arms of Fane impalling Stanhope, c1737
File:Bacchus on Fane Table.jpg|Detail of Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
on one of a pair of side-tables made for Lord Fane and/or his wife c1740 (part of the base for the scagliola)
Image:Waiter 1732.jpg|Britannia gauge
Britannia silver
Britannia silver is an alloy of silver containing 95.84% silver, with the balance usually copper.This standard was introduced in England by Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace sterling silver as the obligatory standard for items of "wrought plate"...
silver waiter dated 1732, with Fane crests and arms of Fane impaling Stanhope. Maker, Paul de Lamerie
Paul de Lamerie
Paul de Lamerie was an English silversmith. The Victoria and Albert Museum describes him as the "greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century". Though his mark raises the market value of silver, his output was large and not all his pieces are outstanding...
.
File:Fane Table.jpg|One of the pair of the Fanes' Florentine scagliola topped and British Bacchus masked and cabriole legged c1740 tables. This detail of a larger B/W photo was commissioned c1870
Image:Fane Stanhope 1732.jpg|Coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
on a silver waiter dated 1732, showing arms of Fane impaling Stanhope, for Charles Fane and his wife Mary, possibly a 25th wedding present.
Image:Bourchier Tower Sept 2005.jpg|Bourchier Tower at Lough Gur (September 2005)
Image:TheGrottoofLadyFaneBasildonnearStreatleyBerks.jpg|Lady Fane's, New House (The Grotto), August 2007, taken from the north, from a moving train, early morning