Etheldred Payne, Lady Cust (1720-1775) and her son Brownlow Cust later Sir Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow FSA, FRS, MP (1744 – 1807)
attributed to Thomas Hudson (Devonshire 1701 – Twickenham 1779)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1748 - 1750
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
780 x 670 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 436053
Caption
This charming portrait of a mother and son, depicts the wife of Sir John Cust (1718-70), 3rd Bt. of Pinchbeck and 6th Bt. of Humby, and their son, Brownlow, who was created Baron Brownlow in 1776. Ethelred was the daughter of Thomas Payne of Hough-on-the-Hill, and Elizabeth Folkes. Brownlow is shown as a small boy, wearing a dress, before he was breeched. Later he was to marry Frances Bankes (1756-1847), and fathered John Cust, 2nd Baron Brownlow (1779-1853), who was created 1st Earl Brownlow and Viscount Alford in 1815.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Etheldred Payne, Lady Cust (1720-1775) and her Son Brownlow Cust later Sir Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow FSA, FRS, MP (1744 – 1807) attributed to Thomas Hudson (Devonshire 1701 – Twickenham 1779), 1748/50. Two three-quarter length portraits of a young woman seated turned to the left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a white satin dress, the son is standing on the left in long hair and wearing in a white satin dress. Brownlow Cust is seen here before he was breeched. Etheldred Payne, Lady Cust was the daughter of Thomas Payne of Hough-on-the-Hill and Elizabeth Folkes (b.1694); married in 1743 Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt of Pinchbeck and 6th Bt of Humby (1718-1770). She was an heiress and brought with her £60,000 though there was some opposition to the mariage as the Payne family thought that neither the Cust pedigree nor the Cust fortune was a match for theirs. Her husband Sir John Cust became Speaker of the House of Commons 1761-1770. Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow of Belton was born on 3 December 1744 at Norfolk Street, Westminster. He was the son of Rt. Hon. Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt (1718-1770) Speaker of the House of Commons and Etheldred Payne (1720-1775). He married, firstly Jocosa Katherina Drury 1748/9-1772), daughter of Lt-General Sir Thomas Drury, 1st and last Bt (1712-1759) and Martha Tyrrell (d.1768), on 16 October 1770 at St George's Church, St. George Street, Hanover Square, London, England and secondly, Frances Bankes (1756-1847), daughter of Sir Henry Bankes and Frances Pembrooke, on 31 August 1775 at St. James' Church, Westminster. He was educated at Eton and graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1766 with an MA. He was MP (Tory) for Ilchester 1768-1774 and Grantham 1774-1776. He was created 1st Baron Brownlow of Belton on 20 May 1776, for his late father's services. He became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA) on 13 June 1776 and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) on 8 May 1783. His sister, Elisabeth married Philip Yorke I of Erddig in 1770, who had been a friend of his at Cambridge. He died on 25 December 1807 at age 63 at Belton and is buried at Belton.
Credit line
Belton House, The Brownlow Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund by the National Trust in 1984)
Makers and roles
attributed to Thomas Hudson (Devonshire 1701 – Twickenham 1779), publisher