Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley

George Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley GCVO, MC, DL (CHUM-lee); 24 April 1919 – 13 March 1990), styled Earl of Rocksavage from 1923 until 1968, was a British peer who served as Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1968 and 1990.

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Cholmondeley GCVO MC DL
Lord Great Chamberlain
In office 1968–1990
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess
Succeeded by	David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess
Personal details
Born	George Hugh Cholmondeley (1919-04-24)24 April 1919 St George Hanover Square, London^[1]
Died	13 March 1990(1990-03-13) (aged 70)^[2] Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire
Nationality	English
Spouse	Lavinia Margaret Leslie
Children	4, including David
Parent(s)	George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley Sybil Sassoon
Residence(s)	Houghton Hall Cholmondeley Castle
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge

Lord Cholmondeley's coat of arms

Houghton Hall in Norfolk, ancestral home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley since the establishment of the title in 1815, has now opened some of its rooms to the public.

Life and work

Cholmondeley was born in 1919 in St George Hanover Square, London, a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was the son of George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley and Sybil Sassoon, of the Jewish Sassoon and Rothschild families. His mother was Jewish (from a family from Iraq, India, Germany, and France). Like his great-great-grandfather, his great-granduncle, his great-grandfather, his grandfather, his father and his son, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton. He studied at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.

Cholmondeley served in the British army, initially in the Grenadier Guards and later in the 1st Royal Dragoons. During the Second World War, he saw action in the Middle East, in Italy, in France and in Germany. In 1943, he was decorated with the Military Cross (MC).^[3] When Cholmondeley retired from the military in 1949, he had attained the rank of Major.^[4]

Cholmondeley succeeded to his father's land, estates and title in 1968. He died at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire in 1990.^[5]

Marriage and children

Cholmondeley married Lavinia Margaret Leslie (9 September 1921 – 7 November 2015), daughter of Colonel John Leslie, on 14 June 1947.^[6] The children of that marriage were:

• Lady Rose Aline Cholmondeley (born 20 March 1948); concert pianist, President of the Chopin Society UK, awarded the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis by the Polish government^[7]
• Lady Margot Lavinia Cholmondeley (born 27 January 1950); married Walter Anthony Huston (divorced), has issue, including actor Jack Huston^[8]
• Lady Caroline Mary Cholmondeley (born 10 April 1952); married Rodolphe Frederic d'Erlanger (son of banker Leo Frédéric Alfred Baron d’Erlanger), has issue^[9]
• David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley (born 27 June 1960)

Lavinia, Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley lived at Cholmondeley Castle.^[10]

Lands and estates

The family seats are Houghton Hall, Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a 7,500-acre (30 km²) estate near Malpas, Cheshire.^[11]

Position at court

One moiety part of the ancient office of Lord Great Chamberlain is a Cholmondeley inheritance.^[12] This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.^[13] The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office.

Further reading

• 1947 – A day's march nearer home. Experiences with the Royals, 1939–1945. London : privately printed. OCLC 57035942

Notes

1. England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837–2008
2. England and Wales, Death Registration Index 1837–2007
3. "No. 35917". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 February 1943. p. 965.
4. "No. 38747". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1949. p. 5173.
5. Midgley, Carol. "The Cholmondeley people," The Times (UK). 5 July 2003.
6. The Daily Telegraph, Obituary, published 20 November 2015
7. "Lady Rose Cholmondeley awarded 'Gloria Artis' Gold Medal for Merit to Culture". Cheshire Life. 11 January 2012.
8. Burke's Peerage, 2003, p.765
9. Burke's Peerage, 2003, p.1077
10. Lacy, Stephen. "Unforgettable fire," The Telegraph (UK). 31 December 2001; excerpt, "The dramatic gardens at Cholmondeley Castle have been her special project for half a century, but Lady Cholmondeley's passion for hands-on horticulture is showing no sign of waning;" Lagonda Club, 5–9 June 2011 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine; excerpt, "An Invitation from Lavinia, Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley to a private early afternoon tea ...."
11. Caroline, Donald. "The new garden at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk," The Times (UK). 11 May 2008.
12. Notes and Queries (1883 Jan–Jun), p. 42.
13. Portcullis 20 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine: Deed of Covenant and Agreement between Lord Willoughby de Eresby, The Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley and the Marquis of Cholmondeley re the exercise of the Office of Hereditary Great Chamberlain (16 May 1829). 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine

References

• Debrett, John, Charles Kidd, David Williamson. (1990). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-38847-1^{[page needed]}
• Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage: 107th Edition. Burke's Peerage. 2003.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Cholmondeley
• Cholmondeley Castle

Court offices
Preceded by The 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley	Lord Great Chamberlain Acting 1966–1968	Succeeded by Himself
Preceded by Himself as Deputy	Lord Great Chamberlain 1968–1990	Succeeded by The 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Cholmondeley	Marquess of Cholmondeley 1968–1990	Succeeded by David Cholmondeley