Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse (25 July 1784 – 8 June 1853) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
soldier and
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...
. He was also
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Beverley
Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
(from 1807 to 1812) and
Honiton
Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census).
History
The ...
(from 1812 to 1818).
Family life
Richard William Howard Vyse, born on 25 July 1784 at
Stoke Poges
Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and is southeast of Farnham Common. In 2021, it had a population of 5,067.
Geography
Hamlets withi ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, was the only son of General
Richard Vyse and his wife, Anne, the only surviving daughter and heiress of Field-marshal Sir
George Howard.
Richard William Howard Vyse assumed the additional name of ''Howard'' by
royal sign-manual
The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant (law), warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an a ...
in September 1812 and became Richard William Howard Howard Vyse on inheriting the estates of
Boughton and
Pitsford in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
through his maternal grandmother, Lucy, daughter of
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672–1739).
[Dictionary of National Biography states that her father the 2nd Earl of Strafford was ''Thomas'' Wentworth. He was the first Earl of the second creation; the mistake probably comes from a misinterpretation to the reference to her that states she is the 2d(aughter) Earl of Strafford.]
He married, 13 November 1810 Frances, second daughter of Henry Hesketh of
Newton,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
. By her he had eight sons and two daughters; among his children were Lt Frederick Howard Vyse RN and
Windsor MP
Richard Howard-Vyse. Vyse died at
Stoke Poges
Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and is southeast of Farnham Common. In 2021, it had a population of 5,067.
Geography
Hamlets withi ...
, Buckinghamshire, on 8 June 1853. His will was proved on 13 August 1853 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
Military career
Vyse joined 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 ...
in 1800, being commissioned as a
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
in the
1st Dragoons on 5 May. On 17 June the following year he transferred to the
15th Light Dragoons and was promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. Continuing in the 15th, Vyse was promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on 24 June 1802, and in this position served as an aide-de-camp to his father in 1809 when the latter commanded the
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
Military District
Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters ...
. Vyse was then made a
brevet major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
on 4 June 1813. He transferred regiments again in 1815, becoming a captain in the
87th Regiment of Foot on 31 August that year. He then joined the
2nd Life Guards in the same rank on 5 July 1816, before being promoted to substantive major on 4 January 1819, in the
1st West India Regiment
The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...
.
Vyse
purchased a majority back into the 2nd Life Guards a month later on 4 February, and on 13 May 1820 was made a brevet
lieutenant-colonel, serving as an
equerry
An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...
to
Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland.
He purchased a substantive lieutenant-colonelcy, unattached to any regiment, on 10 September 1825. From this stage Vyse served on
half pay, being promoted to
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
on 10 January 1837 and
major-general on 9 November 1846.
Parliamentary career
Vyse was elected to Parliament for
Beverley
Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
in Yorkshire, a borough whose elections were frequently contested, in 1807. Two months after the election Philip Staple, the losing candidate, petitioned Parliament, accusing Vyse (along with the other winning candidate, John Wharton) of bribery and corruption during the election campaign. The Select Committee to which the petition was referred declined to void the result of the election in Staple's favour. Some sixteen years after Vyse's death, evidence surfaced that most of his voters had been paid: £3.8s for a plumper and £1.14s for a split vote.
[Great Britain House of Commons, Commissioners Report: Elections Beverley, vol. 18, p.393] Payments made after an election (as these were) were not deemed bribery under the 1729 Bribery Act (and relevant case law) and were not considered by Parliamentary Select Committees to be grounds for voiding an election.
In October 1812, Vyse exchanged his seat at Beverley for
Honiton
Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census).
History
The ...
in Devonshire.
[The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820, ed. R. G. Thorne, 1986] On this occasion Vyse was elected unopposed as the potential third candidate, Samuel Colleton Graves, of Hembury Fort, near Honiton, invited to stand, chose instead to stand elsewhere.
Vyse held this seat until the dissolution of Parliament in 1818.
He also served as
High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1830.
Egyptologist
Pyramids of Giza
Vyse first visited Egypt in 1835 and in 1836 joined the excavations of Giovanni Battista Caviglia at Giza. Vyse found Caviglia "unproductive" and in 1837 teamed with engineer
John Shae Perring
John Shae Perring (24 January 1813, Boston, Lincolnshire – 16 January 1869, Manchester) was a British engineer, anthropologist and Egyptologist, most notable for his work excavating and documenting Egyptian pyramids.
Career
In 1837 Perring an ...
in an effort to explore and document the pyramids. Their work culminated in the publishing of the ''Pyramids of Gizeh'' and the ''Operations carried on at the pyramids of Gizeh'' which the latter also includes an appendix of Vyse's account of travelling to Lower Egypt.
Vyse's "gunpowder archaeology" made one highly notable discovery in the
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...
.
Giovanni Battista Caviglia had blasted on the south side of the stress-relieving chamber (Davison's Chamber) on top of the King's Chamber, a chamber discovered by
Nathaniel Davison in 1765, hoping to find a link to the southern air channel. But while Caviglia gave up, Vyse suspected that there was another chamber on top of Davison's Chamber, since he could insert a reed "for about two feet" upwards through a crack into a cavity.
[Vyse, H. (1840) ''Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837: With an Account of a Voyage into Upper Egypt, and an Appendix. Vol I.''](_blank)
London: James Fraser, Regent Street. He therefore blasted straight up on the northern side, over three and a half months, finding four additional chambers. Vyse named these chambers after important friends and colleagues:
# Wellington's Chamber (
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...
)
# Nelson's Chamber (Vice-Admiral
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
)
# Lady Arbuthnot's Chamber (''Anne Fitzgerald'', wife of Sir
Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 2nd Baronet)
# Campbell's Chamber (
Patrick Campbell, the British agent and Consul General in Egypt).
[Lehner, op. cit., p. 53]
Vyse's version of events with regards to the discovery of Wellington's Chamber was contested by Caviglia in a series of letters in which the Italian claimed he had informed Vyse of his suspicion that there was likely another chamber directly above Davison's Chamber. According to Caviglia, Vyse then betrayed his confidence on this matter and subsequently had Caviglia removed from the Giza site in order to claim the discovery for himself. In response to Caviglia's accusation, Vyse issued a strong rebuttal, dismissing Caviglia's charge.
Vyse also discovered numerous graffiti in the chambers dating from the time the pyramids were built. Along with lines, markers, and directional notations were the names of various work gangs who cut and transported the stone blocks. All of these work gang names contained a variant of the pharaoh's name i.e. Khufu, Khnum-Khuf and Medjedu, the first two of which were contained within the distinctive royal
cartouche
upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
. While most of these gang names were concentrated in Lady Arbuthnot's and Campbell's Chamber, all four chambers opened by Vyse contained graffiti (or more correctly "quarry-marks" as Vyse called them).
while the previously discovered Davison's Chamber contained none.
The now famous instance of Pharaoh
Khufu
Khufu or Cheops (died 2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his ...
's name is found on the south ceiling towards the west end of Campbell's Chamber. The Khufu cartouche is part of a short inscription that reads ''Ḫwfw śmrw ˤpr'' ("the gang, Companions of Khufu"), i.e. one of the gangs of workmen that constructed the chamber. Though the cartouche of Khufu is obscured by blocks or was cut off, this same gang name is also found several feet away on the last ceiling block. Vyse also depicts a partial Khufu cartouche on the North side of the chamber. Vyse had the graffiti copied by his assistant, J. R. Hill, and sent them to
Samuel Birch Samuel Birch may refer to:
* Samuel Birch (Egyptologist) (1813–1885), British Egyptologist and antiquary
* Lamorna Birch (Samuel John Birch, 1869–1955), English artist
* Samuel Birch (athlete) (born 1963), Liberian Olympic sprinter
* Samuel Birc ...
, the Keeper of Antiquities at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
who, at the time, was one of the very few scholars able to translate
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...
. Birch was able to identify this cartouche as belonging to Suphis/Cheops as it had previously been identified by the Italian scholar,
Ippolito Rosellini, thereby confirming Khufu's involvement with the Great Pyramid – an association which had, until then, been reported only by
Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
who records Khufu as the builder of the structure.
[
Several compound cartouches of the similarly famous "Khnum-Khufu" royal name, also part of work gang graffiti, are found in Lady Arbuthnot's Chamber,][ with more examples of the gang name found in Nelson's Chamber and Wellington's Chamber.][Vyse, ''Operations'' Vol I, p.280 & 284]
Today these chambers also contain a fair amount of 19th and 20th century graffiti, most of which is concentrated in the topmost Campbell's Chamber (e.g. Sister M. T. Martin).
Publications
*
*
*
References
Attribution
*
External links
*
*
Howard-Vyse Manuscripts
at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vyse, Richard William Howard
1784 births
1853 deaths
18th-century British Army personnel
19th-century British Army personnel
Military personnel from Buckinghamshire
19th-century British archaeologists
British Army major generals
1st The Royal Dragoons officers
15th The King's Hussars officers
British Life Guards officers
87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot officers
West India Regiment officers
English engineers
English archaeologists
English Egyptologists
British anthropologists
High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1807–1812
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Honiton
Great Pyramid of Giza