View source for Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale

{{short description|English peer and sportsman (1857–1944)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name         = The Earl of Lonsdale
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the Garter|KG]] [[GCVO]] [[Deputy Lieutenant|DL]]
| image        = Hugh Cecil Lowther by Sir John Lavery circa 1920.jpg
| caption      = 1930 portrait by Sir [[John Lavery]]
| office       = [[Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland]]
| term_start   = 1917
| term_end     = 1944
| predecessor  = [[Josslyn Pennington, 5th Baron Muncaster|The Lord Muncaster]]
| successor    = Frescheville Hubert Ballantine-Dykes
| birth_name   = Hugh Cecil Lowther
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1857|01|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[London]], [[Middlesex]], England<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/hugh-cecil-th-earl-of-lonsdale-lowther-24-fr6grw | title=Hugh Cecil 5th Earl of Lonsdale Lowther - Ancestry® }}</ref>
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1944|04|13|1857|01|25|df=yes}}
| death_place  = Stud House, [[Barleythorpe]]
| father      = [[Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale]]
| mother = Emily Susan Caulfeild
| spouse       = {{marriage|Lady Grace Cecilie Gordon|1878|1941|end=died}}
| children     =
| relations    = [[St George Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale]] (brother)<br />[[Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale]] (brother)
}}
'''Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KG|GCVO|DL}} (25 January 1857<ref name="Pocket On This Day">{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-14-102715-0|year=2006}}</ref>–13 April 1944) was an [[English peer]] and sportsman. He was president of Bertram Mills Olympia Circus and a vice-president of the [[RSPCA]].
==Early life==
Born in 1857, he was the second son of Emily Susan ({{nee|Caulfeild}}), daughter of St George Francis Caulfeild of [[Donamon Castle]] of [[Roscommon]], Ireland and [[Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale]].<ref name="lonsdale-estates">{{cite web |title=Henry, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale |url=http://www.lonsdale-estates.co.uk/henry-3rd-earl-of-lonsdale/ |website=lonsdale-estates.co.uk |publisher=Lonsdale Estates |accessdate=6 February 2019}}</ref>
In 1882, he succeeded his brother, [[St George Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale]],<ref>{{cite news |title=LONSDALE OF THE LOWTHERS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/04/15/archives/lonsdale-of-the-lowthers.html |access-date=27 September 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 April 1944}}</ref> and was succeeded in turn by his brother, [[Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale]] upon his death in 1944.<ref name="Lonsdale1944"/>
==Career==
Lonsdale inherited enormous wealth derived from his father's [[Cumberland]] coalmines, and owned {{Convert|75000|acre|ha}} of land. He had residences at [[Lowther Castle]], at [[Whitehaven Castle]], [[Barleythorpe]] and [[Carlton House Terrace]], London.
He was appointed [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] in command of the [[Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry]] on 3 March 1897<ref name = List>''Army List'', various dates.</ref> and from February 1900 to 1901, he was Assistant [[Adjutant-General]] for the [[Imperial Yeomanry]] during the first part of the [[Second Boer War]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27169 |page=1351| date=27 February 1900}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27173| page=1715|date=13 March 1900}}</ref> He became [[Colonel (United Kingdom)#Honorary Colonel|Honorary Colonel]] of the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry on 16 November 1908, shortly after it had transferred to the [[Territorial Force]].<ref name = List/> During [[World War I]] his chief role was as a recruitment officer of both men and horses. He formed his own [[pals battalion]], the Lonsdales (11th Battalion, [[Border Regiment]]). He helped found [[Blue Cross (animal charity)|Our Dumb Friends League]] (now the Blue Cross) and was its chairman during the war.
[[File:The_Imperial_German_Army_1890_-_1913_HU68454.jpg|thumb|Lonsdale wearing the undress uniform of the [[Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry]] during the [[Imperial German Army]] manoeuvres of 1902]]
Lonsdale was known as the Yellow Earl for his penchant for the colour.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} He was a founder and first president of [[the Automobile Association]] (AA) which adopted his livery.
In 1907, Lonsdale was part of the [[Harry Bensley#The wager|famous wager]] with [[John Pierpont Morgan]] over whether a man could circumnavigate the globe and remain unidentified.
In August 1895 the German Emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] visited Lowther Castle for some [[grouse]] shooting. The kings of Italy and Portugal later came to stay, and the Kaiser a second time in 1902. The Kaiser conferred upon the Earl a knighthood of the first class of the [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|Order of the Prussian Crown]].<ref>The New York Times 17 November 1902</ref>
Although he was a Peer, he was rarely seen in the [[House of Lords]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Because of his extravagance he was forced to sell some of his inherited properties. In 1921 [[Whitehaven Castle]] was sold, and in 1926 [[Barleythorpe]]. The same year the west Cumberland coalmines closed. In 1935 he moved from [[Lowther Castle]] because he could no longer afford to live there and moved to much smaller accommodation.<ref name="1935Castle">{{cite news |last1=TIMES |first1=Special Cable to THE NEW YORK |title=RACING PEER GIVES UP.; Earl of Lonsdale to Shut Stable and Costly Ancestral Home. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/18/archives/racing-peer-gives-up-earl-of-lonsdale-to-shut-stable-and-costly.html |access-date=27 September 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 December 1935}}</ref>
His free-spending had largely wrecked the estate, and his heir, his brother [[Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale|Lancelot, the 6th Earl]] was forced to auction off the contents of Lowther Castle in 1947. This proved to be the largest [[English country house]] sale of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lowther.co.uk/castle/history2.php |title=Lowther Castle |access-date=19 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005155055/http://www.lowther.co.uk/castle/history2.php |archive-date=5 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 1878, before obtaining his inheritance, Lonsdale married Lady Grace Cecilie Gordon, third daughter of Maria Antoinetta Pegus (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1821–1893) and [[Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly]]. Her family opposed the marriage as Lonsdale was not then wealthy and seemed irresponsible. This proved to be correct as the following year he invested in cattle in America; the venture collapsed and the Lowther family was forced to save him.
The couple then lived at [[Barleythorpe|Barleythorpe Hall]] near [[Oakham]]. Grace became pregnant but had a [[miscarriage]] after a fall while hunting. After this she was unable to bear children and remained a partial invalid for the rest of her life. She died in 1941.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
After an affair with the actress [[Violet Cameron]] caused a scandal,<ref>{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/62581|title=Cameron, Violet (1862–1919) |last1= Foulkes |first1=Richard|date=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/62581}}</ref> Lonsdale set out in 1888 to explore the [[Canadian Arctic|Arctic regions of Canada]] as far north as [[Melville Island (Northwest Territories and Nunavut)|Melville Island]], nearly dying before reaching [[Kodiak, Alaska]] in 1889<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/05/16/100960968.pdf New York Times, 16 May 1889]</ref> and returning to England. His collection of [[Inuit]] artefacts that he assembled during his explorations in Alaska and north-west Canada at this time is now in the [[British Museum]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?people=116848&peoA=116848-3-9 British Museum Collection]</ref>
Lonsdale died in 1944 at Stud House, Barleythorpe, aged 87.<ref name="Lonsdale1944">{{cite news |last1=Times |first1=Cable to the New York |title=LONSDALE IS DEAD; NOTED SPORTSMAN; 'England's Most Picturesque Peer Was 87 -- Once Boxed With John L. Sullivan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/04/14/archives/lonsdale-is-dead-noted-portsmani-englands-most-picturesque-peer-was.html |access-date=27 September 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 April 1944}}</ref>
===Sports===
Lonsdale was a founding member and first president of the [[National Sporting Club]], and donated the original [[Lonsdale Belt]]s in 1909 for the [[boxing]] championship trophy. His name was later given to the [[Lonsdale (brand)|Lonsdale clothing brand]] of boxing garments and the [[Cigar#Styles|Lonsdale cigar size]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cigarchoiceguide.com/lonsdale.htm|title = Lonsdale Cigars - Cao Black Moasic & Camacho Corojo Cetros &#124; Cigar Choice Guide}}</ref>
He was also a director of [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal Football Club]] and served as chairman for a brief period in 1936, and later became the club's honorary president.
[[File:Lonsdale colours0001.jpg|thumb|left|Lonsdale's racing colours by E & W Anstie Ltd cigarette card (1922)]]
After the First World War, Hugh gave up hunting and became more involved with race horses. He became a senior steward of the [[Jockey Club]]. He had two major wins with his colt [[Royal Lancer]] in 1922, the [[St Leger]] and the [[Irish St Leger]]. He was also the first president of the [[International Horse Show]] at Olympia.
From 1929 Lonsdale was the joint editor of the ''Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes'', a book series published by [[Seeley, Service|Seeley, Service and Co.]]<ref>"Books and Authors", ''[[The Observer]]'', 3 February 1929, p. 8.</ref><ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/lonsdale-library-seeley-service.html The Lonsdale Library (Seeley, Service & Co.) - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.</ref>
==Views on animals==
Lonsdale enjoyed [[foxhunting]], serving as Master of [[the Quorn]] from 1893 to 1898 and of the [[Cottesmore Hunt]] for long periods. In the 1920s, Lonsdale frequently attended [[circus]] animal training sessions. He defended [[Bertram Mills]]' use of circus animals against allegations of cruelty.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dawson  |first=Lionel |date=1946 |title=Lonsdale: The Authorized Life of Hugh Lowther, Fifth Earl of Lonsdale, K. G., G. C. V. O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1MwAAAAIAAJ |publisher=Odhams Press |page=246}}</ref> He was president of Mills Olympia Circus.<ref>{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Ernest Sackville |date=1964 |title=All Heaven in a Rage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JDa8AAAAIAAJ |publisher=Michael Joseph |page=275}}</ref>
He was a vice-president of the [[RSPCA]] which caused controversy amongst some RSPCA members due to his support of performance animals. [[Stephen Coleridge]] for example called for his resignation. However, the council of the RSPCA noted that membership "does not compel the adoption of any particular policy in regard to matters not yet included within the scope of animal protection acts" and did not request for Lonsdale to resign.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1931|title=Lord Lonsdale and the R.S.P.C.A.|url=http://spprd.insec.netcopy.thompsonjames.co.uk/article/31st-january-1931/21/lord-lonsdale-and-the-rspca|website=The Spectator|language=en-GB|archive-date=|archive-url=}}</ref>
Lonsdale was president of [[Our Dumb Friends' League]] for 20 years.<ref name="The Evening Telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000563%2F19300711&page=8|title=Our Dumb Friend's League|newspaper=The Evening Telegraph |date=July 11, 1930|page=8|url-access=subscription}}</ref> His re-election in 1924 was controversial due to his support of the [[rodeo]] and he was booed at the annual meeting in Westminster.<ref name="Gloucester Journal">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000532%2F19240712&page=6|title=Our Dumb Friends League|newspaper=Gloucester Journal |date=July 12, 1924|page=6|url-access=subscription}}</ref>  [[Annie Bradshaw]] and Lady Lumb opposed his re-election.<ref name="Gloucester Journal"/> Lonsdale resigned in 1930.<ref name="The Evening Telegraph"/>
==In popular culture==
Lonsdale was the subject of a biography by [[Douglas Sutherland]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Douglas |title=The Yellow Earl: The life of Hugh Lowther |date=1965 |publisher=Cassell |isbn=0304930792}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale}}
*{{NPG name|name=Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale}}
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{{succession box | before=[[St George Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale|St George Lowther]] | title=[[Earl of Lonsdale]] | after=[[Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale|Lancelot Lowther]] | years= 1882–1944}}
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{{succession box | before=[[Josslyn Pennington, 5th Baron Muncaster|The Lord Muncaster]] | title=[[Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland]] | years=1917&ndash;1944 | after=Frescheville Hubert Ballantine-Dykes}}
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{{Arsenal F.C. chairpersons}}
{{British boxing}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of}}
[[Category:1857 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]
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[[Category:People from Cumberland]]
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[[Category:Earls of Lonsdale|5]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
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[[Category:People from Westmorland]]
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