Category Archives: British Royalty

03/20/15

Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visit Kentucky

Duke and Duchess of Cornwall

Duke and Duchess of Cornwall

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are visiting Louisville, KY. Just around the corner. As  the eldest son of the monarch Prince Charles also inherits the title of Duke of Cornwall. In 1337 Edward III set up the Duchy of Cornwall to provide an income for his eldest son. Edward, the Black Prince was the first to benefit.

Today, the Duchy is a huge source of wealth for the Duke. Its work includes development of admirable new towns with traditional architecture and quality materials, such as Poundbury in Dorset. Might there be such a development in Cornwall?

07/16/14

What or Who is a Viscount?

Anyone growing up in the U.K. would likely know the answer, but our American cousins might be unfamiliar with the term. As explained in my talk, The Cornish Chronicle, British peerage had a series of heriditary titles in masculine and feminine form, of which Viscount was one, as shown here:

MASCULINE FEMININE
Duke Duchess
Marquess Marchioness
Earl Countess
Viscount Viscountess
Baron Baroness

The peerage hierarchy of aristocracy actually predated the Norman Conquest of 1066. Simply stated, it was a system that described the ranks of nobles owing fealty to the king.  In return for swearing loyalty and promising troops when required, the barons received land (manors) and privileges from the king. Over time the roles have become more ceremonial and less hereditary. But the privileges were much sought after and the wealthy would trade cash for “honours”. Today Life Peers are created with the right to sit in the House of Lords without being able to pass on their titles to their heirs.

My fictional villain Sir James Trenance inherited upon the death of his father the barony that the family had previously purchased. Not content with this he also purchased an Irish Viscountcy, but got into trouble with the king when he was slow in paying for it.

In Chapter 32, you will find this exchange when Sir James informs his wife that he has come into a Viscountcy: 

 “You have been raised to a viscountcy? How did that come about? Will a place come with it? Will there be emoluments?”

“More likely more damn expense,” he replied. “All I have to do is support the king’s friends in the election, make sure they’re elected in some of these boroughs as well as the county. Made me a viscount. Cost me a pretty penny though, ten thousand pounds. Need new robes too, and the old coronet won’t do, need one with eighteen silver balls. Suppose you’ll need one too, now that you’re a viscountess. Worth it, though, should show these Cornish gentry how to make real money.”  

The English aristocracy were sticklers for pomp and circumstance, ritual and costume – which they valued as markers of rank and importance. Peers enjoyed the privilege of attending the coronation of a new monarch, when ceremonial robes and coronets would be worn. Shown here is a typical viscount coronet, featuring the desired 18 silver balls.

07/12/14

Who’s Who in The Miner & the Viscount?

One of the joys and, indeed, challenges of writing an historical novel is creating fictional characters and integrating them with real people from the time of the book’s events.  Interweaving real people with fictional persons helps enliven a bygone era and engage the reader in a way a dry, historical account might not.

I have my own favorite characters in The Miner & the Viscount; I wonder who yours might be.

Here is the cast of characters — the imagined and the long dead — which you can also find in the front pages of the book.

The Historic Characters

ELIOT FAMILY, of Port Eliot

Edward Eliot (1727-1804), created first Baron Eliot 1784

Catherine Elliston Eliot (1735-1804) his wife;

Edward James Eliot (1758-1797) their eldest surviving son;

John Eliot (1761-1823) their second son, first Earl of St. Germans;

William Eliot (1767-1845) their third son, second Earl of St. Germans;

John Eliot (1742-1769) younger brother of Edward Eliot

 PITT FAMILY, of Boconnoc

Thomas “Diamond” Pitt (1653-1726) East India merchant, Governor of Madras;

Robert Pitt (1680-1727) his eldest son, married Harriet Villiers (c.1680-1736);

Thomas Pitt, (1705-1761) elder son of Robert, former Lord Warden of the Stannaries, married Lucy Lyttelton;

William Pitt, the Elder (1708-1778) second son of Robert, married Lady Hester Grenville (1720-1803);

William Pitt, the Younger (1759-1806) second son of William Pitt the Elder;

Harriot Pitt (c. 1758-1786) younger daughter of William Pitt the Elder;  

Other Characters of Note:

Ralph Allen (1693-1764) Postmaster of Bath, entrepreneur;

Thomas Bolitho, merchant, investor, man of business;

Frances Boscawen (?-1805) widow of Admiral Edmund Boscawen, member of Blue Stockings Society;

Hannah More, intellectual, educator, member of Blue Stockings Society;

St. Piran (c. 6th century) patron saint of Cornwall and of tin miners;

Joshua Reynolds, portraitist, patronized by Eliots;

John Smeaton, inventor, first civil engineer, Fellow of the Royal Society;

Philip Stanhope, illegitimate son of Earl of Chesterfield, MP for Liskeard and later St. Germans, diplomat;

Reverend John Wesley, founder of Methodism;

John Williams, captain of Poldice Mine;

James Davis, Mayor of Liskeard;

Edwin Ough,Town Clerk of Liskeard;

Stephen Clogg, Councilman of Liskeard;

Thomas Peeke, turnpike witness

The Fictional Characters

PENWARDEN FAMILY

Addis, a tin miner in the Poldice mine; mine captain at Wheal Hykka; Lizzie, wife of Addis;

Jedson, a tin miner and younger brother of Addis;

Jeremiah (Jemmy), his firstborn son;

Jedson, second son;

Jennifer, his infant daughter

TRENANCE FAMILY, of Lanhydrock

Baron Trenance

Sir James Trenance, his son; becomes Baron Trenance upon the death of his father; later acquires title of Viscount Dunbargan

Lady Elianor, his wife

Honorable James Trenance, their son;

Honorable Gwenifer Trenance, their daughter;

Willy Bunt, valet and footman at Lanhydrock , then worker at Port Eliot;

Mary Bunt, née Abbott, Willy Bunt’s wife and former maid at Lanhydrock;

Catherine Bunt, their daughter, goddaughter to Catherine Eliot;

Charles Bunt, their son, godson to Charles Polkinghorne;

Joseph Clymo, steward of Lanhydrock estate;

Morwenna Clymo, his daughter

Tom Kegwyn, member of a mining family, ringleader at Wheal Hykka;

Reverend Peter Perry, Perranporth, Methodist minister;

Charles Polkinghorne, man of business for Port Eliot estate.