General, the Hon. Sir Edward Cust, 1st Bt (1794-1878)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
Unknown
Materials
ormolu,wax
Measurements
160 mm (Dia)
Order this imageCollection
Erddig, Wrexham
NT 1150725
Summary
Sculpture, wax, General, the Hon. Sir Edward Cust, 1st Bt (1794-1878). A wax right profile of a man on a red ground within an oval ormolu frame. Inscription on verso 'Sir Edward Cust. Given to Simon Yorke By Robert Cust, 24th June 1924 1882'. General Hon. Sir Edward Cust, 1st Bt; sixth son of 1st Lord Brownlow; created baronet 1876; lived at Leasowe Castle, Cheshire; father of Victoria Cust, who married Simon Yorke III in 1846. General, courtier, military historian, and Christian writer. He fought in the Peninsular War, but never saw active service again; when he died, he was almost the last surviving officer from it. In 1816 Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg appointed him his equerry, and subsequently Master of his Household, a post that he held until Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, retaining his confidence thereafter. Tory M.P. for Grantham 1818-26, and for Lostwithiel from then until its suppression under the Reform Bill in 1832. He took an active part in securing the principle of open competition for public architectural commissions, and became a commissioner for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, and for the design of the Wellington Monument. In 1846 he was appointed Assistant Master of Ceremonies to Queen Victoria, and in 1847 Master, securing the friendship of the sovereign, and retaining the post until his retirement in 1876, when he was rewarded with a baronetcy. His military histories won him a gold medal from the Emperor Franz Joseph, whilst his ,Noctes Dominicae, or Sunday Night Readings' (1848), and ,Family Readings - the New Testament harmonised and explained' (1850) brought him an honorary D.C.L. from Oxford in 1853. His wife, Mary Anne Boode, only child of Lewis William Boode, of Amsterdam and Peover Hall, Cheshire, and heiress of her mother, Margaret Dannett of Leasowe Castle, Birkenhead, was Bedchamber-Woman to Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, and wrote a popular book on ,Cats'. They had one son, Leopold, named after his godfather, and four daughters, of whom Victoria was the second.
Provenance
Given by Philip Yorke III (1905-1978) along with the estate, house and contents to the National Trust in 1973
Marks and inscriptions
'Sir Edward Cust. Given to Simon Yorke By Robert Cust, 24th June 1924 1882'. (verso)