William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven

William George Robert Craven, 4th Earl of Craven OBE (16 December 1868 – 10 July 1921), styled Viscount Uffington from 1868 to 1883, was a British peer and Liberal politician.

The Right Honourable The Earl of Craven OBE
Photograph of the Earl of Craven, 1902.
Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire
In office 1913–1921
Preceded by	Marquess of Northampton
Succeeded by	The Lord Leigh
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
In office 1911–1915
Preceded by	The Lord Allendale
Succeeded by	The Lord Suffield
Personal details
Born	William George Robert Craven 16 December 1868
Died	10 July 1921 Isle of Wight
Cause of death	Drowning
Spouse(s)	Cornelia Martin ​ ​ (m. 1893; his death 1921)​
Relations	George Barrington, 7th Viscount Barrington (grandfather)
Children	William Craven, 5th Earl of Craven
Parents	George Craven Evelyn Laura Barrington
Alma mater	Eton College

Early life

Craven was the eldest son of the George Craven, 3rd Earl of Craven (1841–1883), who served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire between 1881 and 1883, and his wife Hon. Evelyn Laura Barrington (1848–1924).[1]

His father was the second son of nine children born to William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven and Lady Emily Mary Grimston, herself the daughter of James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam. His grandfather also served as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1853 to 1856. His paternal aunt, Lady Elizabeth Craven, married Arthur Egerton, 3rd Earl of Wilton, and another, Lady Blanche Craven, married George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, and another, Lady Beatrix Jane Craven, married George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan. His mother was the second daughter of George Barrington, 7th Viscount Barrington, who was a Member of Parliament for Eye and served as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under Queen Victoria in the 1880s. His maternal aunt, Constance Mary Barrington, was married to Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baron Haldon.[2]

Career

The Craven estate, Coombe Abbey

In 1883, at the age of fourteen, he succeeded his father as fourth Earl of Craven, the 4th Viscount Uffington, and the 10th Baron Craven of Hampsted Marshall. He was educated between 1882 and 1884 at Eton College in Eton near Windsor, England.[2] He later took his seat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords, and from 1890 and 1892, he served as aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of Ireland.[2]

In 1911, he was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, a post he held until 1915. He was awarded the Order of the Crown of Belgium, the Chevalier, Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, and in 1919, he was appointed Officer, Order of the British Empire.[2]

From 1913 until his death in 1921, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire.[3]

Personal life

His wife, Cornelia, Countess of Craven.

On 18 April 1893, Lord Craven, then twenty-four years old, married sixteen year-old Cornelia Martin (1877–1961) at Grace Church, New York City.[4] Cornelia, who was the only daughter of Bradley Martin, a wealthy American banker,[5] and his wife, Cornelia Sherman Martin,[6] met Craven while her family was renting a Scottish highland estate, Balmacaan.[7] The marriage brought him property in Mayfair and paid for the renovation of Coombe Abbey, his family estate in Warwickshire which got a new roof, structural repairs, and its first electric lights. Together, they were the parents of:

• William Craven, 5th Earl of Craven (1897–1932),[8] who married Mary Williamina George, daughter of William George OBE, Town Clerk of Invergordon, on 14 October 1916.[9]

In 1921, whilst racing at Cowes Week, and although a strong swimmer, Lord Craven fell overboard from his yacht Sylvia off the Isle of Wight and drowned at age 52.[10] His body was washed ashore on 12 July 1921.[11] He was succeeded in his titles by his son, William, Viscount Uffington upon his death in 1921.[12]

After his death, his widow sold Coombe Abbey to a builder named John Grey in 1923, and died in 1961.[13]

References

1. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume III, page 506.
2. Mosley, Charles; et al. (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, Vol. 3 (107th ed.). Burke's Peerage and Gentry. ISBN 0971196621. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
3. Linge, Mary Kay (25 August 2018). "Rich American brides 'sold off' to foreign lords were miserable". New York Post. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
4. "WEDDED IN GRANDEST STYLE; NUPTIALS OF MISS MARTIN AND THE EARL OF CRAVEN. Grace Church, Where the Marriage was Celebrated, Filled with Fashionable Peo- ple -- The Occasion Marred by the Break- ing in of the Outside Crowd -- Decora- tions in Lavish Profusion at Church and House -- A Hundred-Pound Wedding Cake -- Value of the Presents". The New York Times. 19 April 1893. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
5. "BRADLEY MARTIN DIES IN LONDON; Former New York Society Leader a Victim of Pneumonia in His 72d Year. GAVE GREAT BALL IN 1897 Entertained During Shooting Season at Balmacaan, In Scotland -- Father-in-Law of Earl of Craven". The New York Times. 6 February 1913. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
6. "MRS. BRADLEY MARTIN DIES IN ENGLAND; Was Hostess at Famous Waldorf Ball in 1897--Her Daughter the Countess of Craven". The New York Times. 25 October 1920. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
7. "Cornelia (née Martin), Countess of Craven (1877-1961), Wife of 4th Earl of Craven; daughter of Bradley Martin". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
8. "EARL OF CRAVEN DIES IN PYRENEES Grandson of the Late Bradley Martin of New York Was 35 Years Old. LOST A LEG IN WORLD WAR -- His Only Son, Viscount Uffington, a Youth of 16, Succeeds to the Title" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 September 1932. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
9. "Craven, Earl of (UK, 1801)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
10. "EARL OF CRAVEN DROWNED IN SOLENT; Believed to Have Fallen Off His Yacht in the Fight While His Crew Were Asleep. MARRIED CORNELIA MARTIN A Member of the Royal Household, He Was Well Knownto Americans" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 July 1921. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
11. Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 217
12. Stokes, Penelope. "Craven Country". hamsteadmarshall.net. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
13. "COUNTESS OF CRAVEN". The New York Times. 24 May 1961. Retrieved 25 August 2017.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Craven
• Photograph of his wive, Cornelia (née Martin), Countess of Craven, by H. Walter Barnett, bromide print, 1910–1914, at the National Portrait Gallery.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven

Coronet A Coronet of an Earl Crest On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Griffin statant wings elevated Ermine beaked and foremembered Or 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)