Duke of Richmond

Former estates

In 1836 Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond inherited Gordon Castle, near Fochabers in Scotland from his uncle George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon. The Dukes of Richmond continued to own the Gordon Castle estate until 1937.^[3]

In the 1883 edition of John Bateman's The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond and 1st Duke of Gordon's estates were recorded as spanning 286,400 acres across England and Scotland, including 160,000 acres in Banffshire, 69,600 acres in Aberdeenshire, 27,400 acres in Inverness-shire, 12,200 acres in Morayshire, and 17,100 acres in Sussex, which produced a combined annual income of £79,600.^[4]

The ducal estates had remained relatively intact by the time the 6th Duke died in 1903;^[5] however this had decreased to approximately 150,000 acres when the 8th Duke died in May 1935.^[5] In the months preceding his death, the 8th Duke sold the 45,000-acre Glenavon shooting estate in Banffshire to Lt. Col. Oliver Haig^[c] of Ramornie House, Ladybank, Fife;^[7] the sale was finalised in January 1935.^[8][9][10]

Due to the heavy estate duties payable following the death of the 8th Duke, his son Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond sold much of the family's landed estate in Scotland during the mid-1930s.^[3][11][12]

The 12,000-acre Huntly estate in Aberdeenshire was sold in January 1936; at the time of the sale the estate's rental income was reported to be £9,000 annually.^[13] In November 1937 Gordon Castle, together with six villages and 90,000 acres of land in Morayshire and Banffshire producing an annual income of £55,000, was sold to the Crown Estate Commissioners.^[11] At the time of the sale, the Daily Telegraph reported the sale price as being £750,000;^[11] however, during a debate in the House of Commons in February 1939, the-then Minister for Agriculture Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith stated that the price paid was £525,000.^[14]

As a result of these land sales, by 1938 the ducal estates had been reduced to the 17,000-acre Goodwood Estate in Sussex, and 31,200 acres of deer forest and grouse moor centred on Glenfiddich Lodge in Morayshire.^[5] The 9th Duke later sold the Glenfiddich estate in May 1946 for £70,000 to Hugh Borthwick-Norton of Southwick House, Hampshire and Borthwick Castle, Midlothian.^[15][16]

Richmond House, Whitehall

The first Richmond House was built in c. 1660 on the former bowling green of the Palace of Whitehall, adjoining the Privy Garden, and was occupied from 1668 by Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond.^[17][18] The dukedom became extinct on Stewart's death in 1672, after which his widow, Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, continued to occupy the first Richmond House until her death in 1702, and the house reverted to the Crown.

The dukedom was subsequently recreated for Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, an illegitimate son of Charles II. In 1711 Lennox obtained a lease of neighbouring Crown property at Whitehall, where he erected a second Richmond House.^[19] His son, Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, replaced his father's residence between 1733 and 1736 with a third, Palladian-style Richmond House, which was designed by Lord Burlington.^[20]

In 1738 the first Richmond House formerly occupied by the Stewart dukes was granted to the 2nd Duke, who demolished it to provide unobstructed views from his new residence. Following the 2nd Duke's death in 1750, the house was inherited by Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond; in 1758 he established a gallery and school there for artists and sculptors, and parts of the house were remodelled to designs by James Wyatt in 1782. The house was later gutted by fire in December 1791 and was not rebuilt. ^[21] A later parliamentary account stated, however, that the Duke continued to reside in the part of the premises which had survived the fire.^[22]

In 1819 Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond indicated his willingness to dispose of the remaining leasehold interest in Richmond House to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. According to an 1830 House of Commons debate, the interest was valued at £5,000, from which the Commissioners deducted £700 in respect of the Duke's obligation under the lease to repair damage sustained in the 1791 fire, leaving £4,300 to be paid for the remainder of the lease. The transaction was ultimately completed in March 1822, after which the ruined mansion a neighbouring house which had been formerly occupied by the Earls of Loudoun and Mar were cleared for redevelopment.^[23] A terrace of eight large houses, Richmond Terrace, was constructed on the site between 1822 and 1824.

Upper Grosvenor Street and Cavendish Square

In April 1820 the 5th Duke and his family subsequently took up residence at a new London house in Upper Grosvenor Street,^[24] and later maintained his London residence in Cavendish Square from c. 1830 until c. 1834.^[25][26]

Richmond House, Portland Place

In 1837 the 5th Duke of Richmond leased a new London townhouse at No. 50 Portland Place,^[27] which continued to be his London residence until he died at the house in 1860.^[28][29] He was succeeded by his son, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, whilst the 5th Duke's widow Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Richmond, continued to live at 50 Portland Place until her own death in March 1874.^[30][31]

Belgrave Square

Following the death of Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea in 1861, the lease of his London house, No. 49 Belgrave Square, was acquired by the 6th Duke of Richmond in May 1862.^[32][33] The house was used as the residence of the Duke of Richmond and his family for the remainder of the nineteenth century; following the 6th Duke's death in 1903, the lease of the house was sold to the financier Otto Beit in January 1904.^[34][35] At the time of the sale, the lease had a remaining term of 16 years, with a ground rent payable of £150 annually for the house and £40 annually for the associated stabling.^[34]

Lowndes Square, Upper Belgrave Street and Cadogan Square

Following his succession to the Dukedom in 1903, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond took a lease of No. 54 Lowndes Square in January 1904.^[36] He maintained the house as his London residence until the lease was sold in April 1910.^[37][38] The Duke had previously attempted to sell his interest in the house at auction in July 1909, but the lease, which then had an unexpired term of approximately 19 years,^[39] was withdrawn when bidding failed to exceed £8,500.^[39]

Following the sale of 54 Lowndes Square the Duke did not immediately establish a new London residence;^[35] eventually he purchased the lease of No. 3 Upper Belgrave Street in March 1912, which served as his London house until mid-1923.^[35][40] By September 1923 the Duke had leased a new London townhouse at No. 67 Cadogan Square,^[41] which continued to be his London home until his death in January 1928. In the months following the 7th Duke’s death his successor Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond maintained a household at 67 Cadogan Square until the lease was sold in October 1928.^[42][43]

Norfolk Crescent

During the late 1920s the 8th Duke’s only surviving son, Frederick, Earl of March had taken a lease of No. 12 Norfolk Crescent, where his first child Charles, Lord Settrington was born on 19 September 1929. Following Lord March's accession as the 9th Duke of Richmond in 1935, he continued to maintain 12 Norfolk Crescent as his London residence until at least 1937,^[44] although Dods Parliamentary Companion continued to record the Duke's London address as No. 12 Norfolk Crescent until the publication of its 1944 edition.^[45][46][47]