Colonel Wadham Wyndham
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Colonel Wadham Wyndham (1737–1812) was an English
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and accomplished ''
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''.


Background

He was the son of Henry Wyndham and Arundel Penruddocke, and was born in
Dinton, Wiltshire Dinton is a village, Civil parishes in England, civil parish and former Lord of the manor, manor in Wiltshire, England, in the River Nadder, Nadder valley on the B3089 road about west of Salisbury. The parish population was 696 at the 2011 cens ...
, on 29 May 1737 at precisely 55 minutes past five in the morning. He was brought up in St Edmund's College, Salisbury, the house acquired by his great-grandfather Sir Wadham Wyndham, and seat of one of the county's most influential families. His early appetite for constant and varied amusement is depicted in the double portrait by
Joseph Highmore Joseph Highmore (13 June 16923 March 1780) was an English painter of Portrait painting, portraits, conversation pieces and History painting, history subjects, illustrator and author. After retiring from his career as a painter at the age of 70, h ...
of 1743, which shows his brother
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studying while the young Wadham tries to entice him into the garden with a tennis racket.


Military career

He was commissioned ensign and lieutenant in the
2nd Regiment of Foot Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...
on 13 January 1753. He was promoted to lieutenant and captain on 3 May 1758, and on 2 July 1771, to captain and lieutenant-colonel. He retired from the Army on 13 December 1778. At the time it was required that commissions were purchased and in his will his father records having paid £3,200 in total for the purpose, a not inconsiderable sum.


Social accomplishments

Wyndham's military career did not prevent him from continuing to enjoy most of his regular amusements. One evening in 1765, after one of the monthly dance assemblies at Tucket's establishment in Salisbury, he began playing cards with Edmund Hearst, father of his brother's future wife Caroline, at one in the morning and the game did not end until ten the next morning, by which time Wadham had won 15 shillings. On 9 July 1766 he and his sister, Laetitia, organised a musical entertainment on the river at Salibsury with eight boats in all, some holding 25 people, one boat comprising the party of musicians. In the summer of 1768 he contrived to absent himself from his battalion duties at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
in order to enjoy
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with his cousins the William Pitts of Kingston, a few days later entertaining his aunt Barbara Wyndham by taking her to Vauxhall and Ranelagh. However, later in the same year
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
's summer review of all regiments in England prevented him from attending the Salisbury races where his cousin William Wyndham of Dinton was a steward. He reached home, however, in time to stay with the Portmans at
Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an in ...
for the Blandford Races and to accompany his father on 12 August to their Exton estate for the shooting season.


Wealth

His ability to enjoy so much that life had to offer was made possible by a charming personality and considerable inherited wealth. As well as a sizeable inheritance from his father and from his cousin Wadham Wyndham of Eversley, in 1777 he also came into a considerable parcel of property of
George Bubb Dodington George Bubb Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe (1691 – 28 July 1762) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1761. Family and early life Christened George Bubb, he was the eldest son of Jeremiah Bubb of Foy, H ...
, Baron Melcombe, via his cousin Thomas Wyndham MP of Kentsford and Hammersmith. Bubb Dodington's papers went to Colonel Wadham's brother,
Henry Penruddocke Wyndham Henry Penruddocke Wyndham (1736–1819) MP JP FSA FRS, was a British Whig Member of Parliament, topographer and author. Background Wyndham was born on 4 June 1736, the eldest surviving son of Henry Wyndham of St Edmund's College, Sa ...
, resulting in the publishing of the famous diary. Despite a lifetime of continuous expenditure, at his death in 1812 his estate was valued at over £500,000.


Family life

He had purchased a house in
Charlotte Street Charlotte Street is a street in Fitzrovia, historically part of the parish and borough of St Pancras, in central London. It has been described, together with its northern and southern extensions (Fitzroy Street and Rathbone Place), as the ' ...
,
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, London, in 1771, and with his wife Sarah, née Leander, (they were married at St George's, Hanover Square on 14 December 1812) he had three sons and six daughters. He died on 16 December 1812 at Charlotte Street. His eldest son, Wadham Wyndham (1793-1849), was a captain in the Royal Bucks Militia and his second son, Colonel Charles Wyndham, was a subaltern at Waterloo with the
Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...
, a regiment he later commanded.


Bibliography

*Wyndham, the Hon H A, "A Family History, The Wyndhams of Somerset, Sussex and Wiltshire", 1950. *Donald Burrows and Rosemary Dunhill, "Music and Theatre in Handel's World", 2002. *Henry Wyndham's Family Bible, Hampshire Records, Winchester, 8M49 F11.


References


External links


Holmes à Court family website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyndham, Wadham 1737 births 1812 deaths Coldstream Guards officers Military personnel from Wiltshire People from Camden Town Wadham 18th-century British Army personnel