Verney
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
family that traces back around eight centuries. It first settled at Fleetmarston
Fleet Marston
Fleet Marston is a civil parish and deserted medieval village in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is west of Aylesbury, just off the main A41 to Waddesdon....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, then at Pendley in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, and finally at Middle Claydon
Middle Claydon
Middle Claydon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about five miles south of Buckingham and three miles west of Winslow....
which the family purchased in the 1460s in Buckinghamshire and where descendants still live in Claydon House
Claydon House
Claydon House is a country house in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, close to the village of Middle Claydon. It was built between 1757 and 1771 and is now owned by the National Trust....
.
Early history
The Verney's family's pedigree goes back to Ralph de Verney (fl.Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1216–1223), but the fortunes of the family were made by Sir Ralph Verney (c. 1410-1478). After settling in Buckinghamshire in the 13th century, the family had purchased Middle Claydon
Middle Claydon
Middle Claydon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about five miles south of Buckingham and three miles west of Winslow....
by the 1460s and it was during this period that Sir Ralph Verney became Lord Mayor of London in 1465 and M.P. for the city in 1472. Sir Ralph Verney's eldest son, Sir John Verney, married Margaret, heiress of Sir Robert Whittingham of Pendley. In 1525, Sir Ralph Verney's fourth son, of the same name, married Elizabeth, one of the six co-heiresses of John, Lord Braye.
Involvement in the English Civil War
Sir Edmund Verney of Pendley (died 1600) left two sons, half-brothers, Sir Francis Verney (1584–1615), who became a soldier of fortuneMercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
and a buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
, converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and died at Messina in hospital in extreme poverty, and Sir Edmund Verney (1590–-1642) of Middle Claydon. Sir Edmund accompanied Prince Charles and Buckingham on the abortive mission to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1623, and was knight-marshal to King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. When the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
broke out the royal standard was entrusted to him at Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, and while defending it he was slain at Edgehill in 1642. His eldest son, Sir Ralph Verney (1613–1696), 1st baronet, sat for Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
in both the Short and the Long Parliaments. He took the side of the parliament at the outset of the Civil War, but went abroad in 1643 rather than sign the Covenant, and his estates were sequestrated in 1646. He returned to England in 1653, and, though he refused to act against Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, was subsequently reconciled to the Restoration government. His brother, Sir Edmund (1616-–1649), had taken the king's side, and commanded the troops of the Royalist infantry at the Siege of Drogheda
Siege of Drogheda
The siege of Drogheda at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town of Drogheda in eastern Ireland was held by a combined English Royalist and Irish Catholic garrison when it was besieged and stormed by English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell...
and was slain during the final assault.
18th century
Sir Ralph Verney's estates and honours descended to his son, Sir John (c. 1640-1717), who was created Viscount Fermanagh in the IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
peerage in 1703 and was father of Sir Ralph Verney, created Earl Verney in 1743. Earl Verney's sister, Lady Margaret Verney, by her marriage with Sir Sir Thomas Cave, 3rd Baronet
Sir Thomas Cave, 3rd Baronet
Sir Thomas Cave, 3rd Baronet DL was a British Tory politician and baronet.He was the oldest son of Sir Roger Cave, 2nd Baronet and his first wife Martha Browne, daughter of John Browne. In 1703, he succeeded his father as baronet. Cave was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford...
, linked the Verney family a second time with the barony of Braye
Braye
Braye can refer to:* Braye , a river in France* Braye Harbour, the main port of Alderney, in the Channel Islands.Braye is also the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Braye, Aisne, in the Aisne département...
, and the present (as of 1911) Lord Braye's surname is Verney-Cave. Earl Verney's eldest son, John Verney, Viscount Fermanagh, predeceased him in 1737, leaving a posthumous daughter, Lady Mary Verney (1737-–1810), who was created Baroness Fermanagh in 1792. His second son, Ralph, 2nd Earl Verney
Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney
Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney PC, FRS , styled Viscount Fermanagh between 1743 and 1752, was a British politician.-Background:...
(c. 1712-–1791), was a friend of Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, who entered parliament as Verney's nominee for Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
. Earl Verney was an ardent supporter of the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
interest, but received no reward from the party leaders. He rebuilt Claydon House
Claydon House
Claydon House is a country house in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, close to the village of Middle Claydon. It was built between 1757 and 1771 and is now owned by the National Trust....
with great splendour from the plans of John Adam
John Adam (architect)
John Adam was a Scottish architect. Born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now part of Kirkcaldy, Fife, he was the eldest son of architect and entrepreneur William Adam. His younger brothers Robert and James Adam also became architects.The Adam family moved to Edinburgh in 1728, as William Adam's career...
, but, with his financial ventures, this brought him to bankruptcy. He died with no children of his own.
19th century
Little Hadham
Little Hadham is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 1,081...
, Hertfordshire. The Right Hon. Sir Harry Verney, 2nd baronet
Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet
Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet PC, DL, JP was an English soldier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1832 and 1885.-Background and education:...
(1801–-1894), was the son of General Sir Harry Calvert
Harry Calvert
Lieutenant General Sir Harry Calvert, 1st Baronet GCB GCH was a British general.-Military career:He was born in 1763 at Hampton, near London. He was educated at Harrow, and at the age of fifteen, was commissioned into the 23rd Foot...
, G.C.B., created a baronet in 1818. He assumed the name of Verney in compliance with the will of Mary Verney, 1st Baroness Fermanagh, mentioned above. This lady died unmarried, leaving the paternal estates and the Verney portraits to her half-sister, Catherine Calvert (Mrs Wright), known thenceforward as Mrs Verney, on whose death in 1827 they came into the possession of her cousin, Sir Harry Calvert (Verney). Sir Harry Verney entered the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
in 1832, and remained a member of the House with two short intervals for fifty-two years. He married in 1835 Eliza, daughter of Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope
George Johnstone Hope
Rear-Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope, KCB was a British naval officer, who served with distinction in the Royal Navy throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, including service at the Battle of Trafalgar...
, K.C.B., M.P., and secondly Frances Parthenope Nightingale
Frances Parthenope Verney
Frances Parthenope Verney was an English writer and journalist.-Life:She was the daughter of William Edward Nightingale, and the elder sister of Florence Nightingale. She became the second wife of Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet Frances Parthenope Verney (19 April 1819 – 12 May 1890) was an...
, sister of Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
. Frances, Lady Verney, collected from the mass of papers preserved at Claydon House the Memoirs of the Verney Family during the Seventeenth Century, which contain a charming picture of the life and manners of the country gentlemen of that day. A second edition, abridged and corrected by Margaret Verney
Margaret Verney
Margaret Maria Verney , was an English-born educationist....
, appeared in 2 vols. in 1904. See also the Verney Papers edited for the Camden Society
Camden Society
The Camden Society, named after the English antiquary and historian William Camden, was founded in 1838 in London to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books....
in 1853-–1854. An all-girls grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
was named after her in the 1960s, the Lady Verney High School in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
The Verneys who hold the barony of Willoughby de Broke
Baron Willoughby de Broke
Baron Willoughby de Broke is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1491 for Sir Robert Willoughby, of Brooke/Broke manor, Heywood, near Westbury, Wiltshire, de jure 9th Baron Latimer...
descend from Richard Verney (1683–1711), who was granted the title 11th Baron Willoughby de Broke by the House of Lords in 1696. These Verneys had inherited the Verney estates at Compton Verney
Compton Verney
Compton Verney is a manor and parish in the county of Warwickshire, England.Compton Verney House is an 18th century country mansion which has been converted into an art gallery....
in Warwickshire through the marriage of Sir Richard Verney (died 1630) to Margaret Greville (died 1631), sister and heiress of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke. The male line was interrupted in 1853 when Robert John Barnard (1809–1862), nephew of the 16th baron
Henry Peyto-Verney, 16th Baron Willoughby de Broke
Henry Peyto-Verney, 16th Baron Willoughby de Broke and de jure 24th Baron Latimer was a peer in the peerage of England.Henry Peyto-Verney was born on April 5, 1773, the younger son of John Peyto-Verney ,14th Baron Willoughby de Broke and Lady Louisa North, daughter of Francis North, 1st Earl of...
, inherited the title. Robert took the title 17th Baron Willoughby de Broke, adopted the surname Verney and was the grandfather of Richard Greville Verney
Richard Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke
Richard Greville Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke was a British peer and conservative politician....
who sat in the House of Commons from 1895 to 1900 for SE Warwickshire and succeeded to the title in 1902. The family had left Compton Verney House by 1887 and it was finally sold in 1921.