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The Lethbridge Baronetcy, of Westaway House in Devon and Winkley Court in the County of Somerset, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 15 June 1804 for John Lethbridge, who was later

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Minehead in Somerset, from 1806 to 1807. The second Baronet sat as MP for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

between 1806 and 1812 and 1826 and 1830. Westaway House in the parish of Pilton, near Barnstaple in North Devon was inherited by Christopher Lethbridge (d.1713) following his marriage to Margaret Bowchier, the daughter of Philip Bowchier (d.1687), the son of Roger Bowchier, vicar of Pilton during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and described as "of doubtful morals". Philip Bowchier had leased Westaway in 1666 from Sir John Chichester, 1st Baronet, of Raleigh (1623–1667),Reed, p.188 also in the parish of Pilton. It was as revealed by the 1664

hearth tax A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is ...

records then a modest house of only three hearths.Reed, p.141 Philip Bowchier had three sons also, to whom he bequeathed £10 each in his will dated 1686, but not one of these apparently inherited Westaway. In 1687 Christopher Lethbridge acquired a new lease for 1,000 years from the Chichesters, and shortly thereafter a new larger house was built on the site, which survives today. A mural monument to Christopher Lethbridge (d.1713) (one of whose sons was Christopher Lethbridge (d.1748)), exists high up on the south aisle wall of Pilton Church, and was described by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

as "Big and sumptuous...with rather crude ''

putto A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

'' heads and elaborate achievement". After about 1780 it ceased to be occupied as a seat by the Lethbridge family, who let it to a series of tenants. It was sold in 1819 by Sir Thomas Buckler Lethbridge, 2nd Baronet (1778–1849) to James Whyte of Pilton House, Pilton. The third baronet, Sir John Hesketh Lethbridge, was married three times and had 18 children. He was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Sir Wroth Acland Lethbridge, who pursued an army career, as did the 5th and 6th baronets. The current holder of the title is Sir Thomas Periam Lethbridge (7th baronet). In 1767 the Lethbridge family moved from Westaway to Sandhill Park, Bishops Lydeard in Somerset, which they occupied until 1913.

Lethbridge baronets, of Westaway House and Winkley Court (1804)

* Sir John Lethbridge, 1st Baronet (died 1815); in 2010 discovered to have had an affair with Mary Jane de Vial, later Godwin, resulting in the birth of

Claire Clairmont Clara Mary Jane Clairmont (27 April 1798 – 19 March 1879), or Claire Clairmont as she was commonly known, was the stepsister of the writer Mary Shelley and the mother of Lord Byron's daughter Allegra. She is thought to be the subject of a poe ...

, and thus making him the grandfather of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

's daughter Allegra * Sir Thomas Buckler Lethbridge, 2nd Baronet (1778–1849) married Anne GoddardAnne Goddard at thePeerage.com *Sir John Hesketh Lethbridge, 3rd Baronet (1798–1873) *Sir Wroth Acland Lethbridge, 4th Baronet (1831–1902) *Sir Wroth Periam Christopher Lethbridge, 5th Baronet (1863–1950) *Sir Hector Wroth Lethbridge, 6th Baronet (1898–1978) *Sir Thomas Periam Hector Noel Lethbridge, 7th Baronet (born 1950) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the baronetcy is John Francis Buckler Noel Lethbridge (born 1977), eldest son of the 7th Baronet. The

to the

is George Anthony Thomas Lethbridge (born 2009), his son.

References

;Sources *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

*{{commons category-inline Lethbridge 1804 establishments in the United Kingdom