View source for William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1770–1825)

{{Short description|British soldier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             = The Earl of Craven
| honorific_suffix =
| image            = William Craven (1770–1825), 1st Earl of Craven.jpg
| alt              =
| caption          = ''Portrait of Lt Gen Craven, by [[Thomas Lawrence]], {{Circa|1815}}''
| office           = [[Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire]]
| term_start       = 1819
| term_end         = 1825
| predecessor      = [[Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor|The Earl of Radnor]]
| successor        = [[Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon|The Earl of Abingdon]]
| birth_name       = William Craven
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1770|09|28|df=yes}}
| birth_place      =
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1825|07|30|1770|09|28|df=yes}}
| death_place      =
| residence        = [[Combe Abbey]]
| alma_mater       =
| parents          = [[William Craven, 6th Baron Craven]]<br>[[Elizabeth Craven|Lady Elizabeth Berkeley]]
| spouse           = {{Marriage|[[Louisa Brunton]]<br>|1807}}
| children         = 4
| relations        =
| rank             = [[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major-general]]
}}
[[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] '''William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven''' (28 September 1770 – 30 July 1825) was a British soldier.
==Early life==
[[File:William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, by Anne Mee née Foldsone.jpg|thumb|William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, by [[Anne Mee]] née Foldsone.]]
Craven was the eldest son of [[William Craven, 6th Baron Craven]], and his wife [[Elizabeth Craven|Lady Elizabeth Berkeley]]. Among his siblings was [[Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton|Maria Craven]] (wife of [[William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton]]) and Arabella Craven (wife of General the Hon. [[Frederick St John (British Army officer)|Frederick St John]]). In 1780, after thirteen years of marriage, and reported affairs on both sides, his parents parted permanently.<ref>{{cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |author2=Alain Giraud |author3=F. and B. Magdelaine  |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique Tome V Hohenzollern-Waldeck |year= 1988 |location= France |language= French |isbn= 2-901138-05-5 |page= 148}}</ref> After the death of his father in 1791, his mother married [[Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]. Charles' wife, [[Princess Frederica Caroline of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], also died earlier in 1791.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Kate|title=England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton|edition=Large Print|publisher=BBC Audiobooks Ltd by arr. with Random House|year=2009|page=164|isbn=9781408430781}}</ref>
His paternal grandfather was the Rev. John Craven, brother of [[William Craven, 5th Baron Craven]], who his father succeeded as [[Baron Craven]] in 1769.<ref name="Debrett's1865">{{cite book |title=Debrett's Illustrated Peerage, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Under the Immediate Revision and Correction of the Peers |year=1865 |publisher=Bosworth |page=408 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jrmY_qqD84C&pg=PA408 |accessdate=20 September 2019 }}</ref> His maternal grandparents were [[Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley]] and the former [[Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess Berkeley|Elizabeth Drax]] (a daughter of [[Henry Drax]]).<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
==Career==
He succeeded his father as seventh [[Baron Craven]] in 1791. In 1801 he was created '''Viscount Uffington''', in the County of [[Berkshire]], and '''Earl of Craven''', in the County of York. The earldom was a revival of the title held by his 17th-century kinsman and namesake [[William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608-1697)|William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Imperial Calendar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lhj8Xww1kK0C&pg=RA1-PA54|accessdate=1 July 2013|year=1823|publisher=Winchester and Varnham|page=54}}</ref>
He was commissioned into the [[43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot]] in 1793, and subsequently served with the [[80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers)|80th]] and commissioned as major in the [[84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot|84th Regiments]]. In 1798, Craven was appointed [[aide-de-camp]] to King [[George III]], serving until 1805. This was followed by active service in [[the Netherlands]] and the [[Mediterranean]], ultimately achieving the rank of [[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major-general]].<ref name="artuk">{{cite web |title=Lieutenant-General William Craven (1770–1825), 1st Earl of Craven |url=https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/lieutenant-general-william-craven-17701825-1st-earl-of-craven-182755 |website=artuk.org |publisher=[[Art UK]] |accessdate=27 February 2020 }}</ref>
From 1819 until his death in 1825, Lord Craven served as [[Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire]] and was opposed to Catholic emancipation.<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
==Marriage & issue==
In 1807, Craven married [[Louisa Brunton]], a famous actress.<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Britton|author2=James Norris Brewer|author3=Edward Wedlake Brayley|author4=Joseph Nightingale|author5= Frederic Shoberl|author6= John Hodgson|author7= Francis Charles Laird|author8= John Bigland|author9= John Evans|author10= Thomas Rees|title=The beauties of England and Wales: or, Delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each county|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_CdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA557|accessdate=30 June 2013|year=1815|publisher=Verner & Hood|page=557 note}}</ref> Louisa was a daughter of John Brunton, a grocer who later became an actor and manager of the Norwich Theatre. She was one of seven sisters, several were actresses, one, [[Ann Brunton Merry]] married the poet and [[Amateur|dilettante]] [[Robert Merry]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Merry|newspaper=Stamford Mercury|date=1 March 1799|page=2}}</ref><ref name="Mays2004">{{cite book|author=Dorothy A. Mays|title=Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, And Freedom in a New World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYWs-GQDiOkC&pg=PA262|accessdate=30 June 2013|date=1 January 2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-429-5|page=262}}</ref>
Together, they were the parents of:<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
* [[William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven]] (1809–1866), who married Lady Emily Mary Grimston, the second daughter of [[James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam]].<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
* Hon. George Augustus Craven (1810–1836), an Army Officer who married Georgina Smythe (1814-1868), a daughter of Walter Smythe.  Georgina's aunt (Walter's sister), [[Maria Fitzherbert|Maria]], was a longtime companion of [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] before he became king. After Craven's death, Georgina married Edmond, Duc de la Force.<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
* Hon. [[Frederick Craven|Frederick Keppel Craven]] (1812–1864), a prominent [[cricket]]er.<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
* Lady Louisa Elizabeth Craven (d. 1858), who married [[Sir Frederick Johnstone, 7th Baronet]]. After his death, she married [[Alexander Haldane Oswald|Alexander Oswald]], a [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Ayrshire]].<ref name="EarlCraven"/>
Lord Craven mostly resided at [[Coombe Abbey]], near [[Coventry]] in Warwickshire and occasionally at [[Hamstead Marshall]] in Berkshire.  He is not entirely forgotten – [[Harriette Wilson]] begins her famous memoir, "I shall not say why and how I became, at the age of fifteen, the mistress of the Earl of Craven."<ref name=wilson>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Harriette|title=The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Written by Herself|year=1909|publisher=Eveleigh Nash|location=London|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43617/43617-h/43617-h.htm|accessdate=22 April 2018}}</ref>
He died in July 1825, aged 54, and was succeeded in his titles by his son [[William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven|William]].<ref name="EarlCraven">{{cite web |title=Craven, Earl of (UK, 1801) |url=http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/craven1801.htm#CRAVEN_1801_2 |website=cracroftspeerage.co.uk |publisher=Heraldic Media Limited |accessdate=20 September 2019}}</ref>
{{Infobox COA wide
| image =Craven arms.svg
| crest =  On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Griffin statant wings elevated Ermine beaked and foremembered Or
| coronet = A [[Coronet|Coronet of an Earl]]
| escutcheon =Argent a Fess between six Cross Crosslets fitchée Gules
| supporters = On either side a Griffin wings elevated Ermine beaked and foremembered Or
| motto = ''Virtus in Actione Consistit'' (Virtue consists in action)
}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-william-craven | the Earl of Craven }}
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{{S-hon}}
{{Succession box | title=[[Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire]] | before=[[Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor|The Earl of Radnor]] | years= 1819&ndash;1825 | after=[[Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon|The Earl of Abingdon]]}}
{{S-reg|uk}}
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{{S-ttl | title=[[Earl of Craven]]| years= 1801&ndash;1825 }}
{{s-aft| after=[[William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven|William Craven]] }}
{{S-reg|en}}
{{Succession box | title=[[Baron Craven]] | before= [[William Craven, 6th Baron Craven|William Craven]] | after=[[William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven|William Craven]] | years= 1791&ndash;1825 }}
{{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, William Craven, 1st Earl of}}
[[Category:1770 births]]
[[Category:1825 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army major generals]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Berkshire]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Coventry]]
[[Category:Craven family|William]]
[[Category:Barons Craven|7]]
[[Category:Earls of Craven (1801 creation)]]
[[Category:18th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]