“I am sorry to find that a report very disadvantageous
to Lord Byron is in circulation, and
![]()
![]()
![]()
as I cannot believe it I wish it may be contradicted. It
is said, and in a circle where it is likely to have credit, that he has behaved
very unhandsomely to the
young man who
purchased Newstead—that the latter from the imprudent eagerness of youth
bid much more for the property than it was worth and that, though almost ruined
by the contract, Lord B. cruelly takes advantage of the
Law to make him adhere to unfair terms. I should be very ungenerous if I did
not put the most candid construction on all Lord
Byron’s actions and if I did not wish that others should
do the same. As I shall not have an opportunity of seeing him again I should be
glad if you would tell him that however long his absence may be, I shall always
have pleasure in hearing that he is happy, and if my esteem can afford him any
satisfaction, he may rely on my not adopting the opinions of those who wrong
him. Of the propriety of this communication you will judge, but I feel certain
that it would not be misunderstood, and unless he is more changeable than I
imagine, he may be gratified by my friendly dispositions, particularly at a
moment when he experiences such painful injustice.”
Thomas Claughton (1774 c.-1842)
Educated at Rugby, he was a Warrington solicitor and MP for Newton, Lancashire (1818-25)
who agreed to purchase Newstead Abbey in 1812 and then paid the forfeit. He was the father
of Thomas Legh Claughton (1808-1892), bishop of St Albans.
Samuel Whitbread (1764-1815)
The son of the brewer Samuel Whitbread (1720-96); he was a Whig MP for Bedford, involved
with the reorganization of Drury Lane after the fire of 1809; its financial difficulties
led him to suicide.
