Robert Myddelton Biddulph (1805–1872)

Colonel Robert Myddelton Biddulph (20 June 1805 – 21 March 1872) was a British landowner and Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party.

Portrait of Robert Myddleton Biddulph by Henry Richard Graves.

Election poster

Chirk Castle

Early life

He was the elder son of Robert Myddelton Biddulph (1761–1814) of Burghill by his wife Charlotte Myddelton of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. He was educated at Eton College.^[1] He succeeded his father in 1814 and his mother in 1843, inheriting the Chirk estate. His younger brother was Thomas Myddelton Biddulph (1809–1878), an officer in the British Army and courtier.

Career

He was Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs from 1830 to 1832 and for Denbighshire from 1832 to 1835 and from 1852 to 1868.

He was Colonel of the Royal Denbigh Rifles Militia from 1840,^[2] Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire from 1841, and an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria from 1869, holding all these offices until his death.

Personal life

On 31 May 1832, he married Frances Mostyn-Owen, daughter of William Mostyn-Owen of Woodhouse in Shropshire, and granddaughter of William Mostyn Owen (c. 1742–1795), a Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire. They had three sons (one of whom predeceased him) and three daughters. His children included:

• Mary Caroline Myddelton Biddulph (d. 1890)
• Richard Myddelton Biddulph (1837–1913), who married Catherine Arabella Howard (d. 1899), granddaughter of Edward Charles Howard (a younger brother of Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk).^[3]

At his death, his eldest son, Richard, succeeded to Chirk Castle, his wife inherited his London house at 35 Grosvenor Place, and his brother Thomas received a life interest in the estate at Burghill.

An 1869 portrait by Henry Richard Graves was presented to Biddulph's widow in 1873. It was acquired by the National Trust in 2004 and is in the Myddelton collection at Chirk.^[4]

References

Notes

1. Appendix to the Eton School Lists: Comprising the Years 1853-6-9. E.P. Williams. 1864. pp. 102–.
2. Bryn Owen, History of the Welsh Militia and Volunteer Corps 1757–1908: Denbighshire and Flintshire (Part 1): Regiments of Militia, Wrexham: Bridge Books, 1997, ISBN 1-872424-57-0, p. 15.
3. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage: Comprising Information Concerning All Persons Bearing Hereditary Or Courtesy Titles, Knights, and Companions of All the Various Orders, and the Collateral Branches of All Peers and Baronets. Dean & Son, Limited. 1902. p. 245. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
4. Colonel Robert Myddleton Biddulph MP (1805-1872), National Trust Collections. Accessed 25 February 2012.

Sources

• Margaret Escott, MYDDELTON BIDDULPH, Robert (1805-1872), of Chirk Castle, Denb. and 35 Grosvenor Place, Mdx. in The House of Commons 1820-1832, History of Parliament, 2009.

External links

• Media related to Robert Myddelton Biddulph (1805–1872) at Wikimedia Commons
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Robert Myddelton Biddulph

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Frederick Richard West	Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs 1830–1832	Succeeded by John Madocks
Preceded by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bt	Member of Parliament for Denbighshire 1832–1835 With: Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bt	Succeeded by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bt William Bagot
Preceded by William Bagot	Member of Parliament for Denbighshire 1852–1868 With: Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bt	Succeeded by George Osborne Morgan