Colonel Sheldon Cradock (27 September 1777 – 19 February 1852) was an English landowner and Whig politician.

Early life

Cardock was born on 27 September 1777 as the eldest and only surviving son of Sheldon Cradock of

Hartforth Hartforth is a small village in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately south-west from the market town of Darlington, and is part of the List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire, civil parish of Gilling ...

and Elizabeth Wilkinson (daughter and heiress of Christopher Wilkinson of Thorpe-on-Tees). He succeeded to his father's estates in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

in 1814, where his family had been established since the 27th century. In 1730, his great-grandfather, William Cradock, had acquired the Hartforth estate (three miles from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

), and through his parents' marriage, they gained more Yorkshire property at Thorpe. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

before matriculating at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1794.

Career

He was a Captain in the

North York Militia The North York Militia, later the North York Rifles, was an auxiliary military force raised in the North Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 the Militia regiments of the riding served ...

in 1800, a Major in 1804, Lt.-Col. in 1816, and Col. from 1820 to 1846. In June 1822 he was returned on a vacancy alongside Mark Milbank for

Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...

by his Durham neighbour, Lord Darlington (later the 1st

Duke of Cleveland Duke of Cleveland was a title that was created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England. The first creation in 1670 (along with the baro ...

), after a contest. Milbank was Lord Darlington's son-in-law. After the parliamentary reforms, Cradock did not seek election.

Personal life

Cardock, who never married, had nine illegitimate children, three sons and six daughters born between 1821 and 1836 by Jane Wilson, formerly of Saltburn, including: * Annie Cradock (b. 1823), who married François de Josselin. * Elizabeth Cradock (1824–1878), who married Samuel Smithson. * Christopher Cradock (1825–1896), who entered

as Christopher Wilson in 1842; he married Georgina Cradock Duff. * Mary Cradock (1827–1917), who married William John Tweedie. * Frances Cardock (1833–1889), who married Francis Horsley. * Margaret Cradock (1837–1918), who married Robert Lidwill Brown, a son of John Brown and Mary Charlotte Lidwill, in 1862.Bernard, Sir Burke, editor, ''Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Ireland, 3rd ed.'' (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

Ltd, 1912), page 74. Cardock died on 19 February 1852. In his will, he left property at Marske to a "single woman", Jane Wilson, with remainder to his six daughters with her. He left property at Stapleton, near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

to his younger illegitimate sons, Richard and Henry. The primary family estates passed to his eldest son Christopher.

Descendants

Through his son Christopher, he was a grandfather of Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, who was killed during the

Battle of Coronel The Battle of Coronel was a First World War naval battle that led to an Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader ...

off the coast of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in November when the German ships sank his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

. Through his daughter Margaret, he was a grandfather of Helen Cowley Brow, who married Charles Sadleir Musgrave Trench (son of Hon.

Cosby Godolphin Trench Cosby Godolphin Trench DL, JP (6 January 1844 – 9 December 1925), styled "the Honourable" from 1855, was a British soldier and magistrate. Early life Trench was the second son of Frederick Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown and his first wife Ha ...

and a grandson of the 2nd Baron Ashtown).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans, Switzerland:

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 130.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cradock, Sheldon 1777 births 1852 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School North York Militia officers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Camelford UK MPs 1820–1826