The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 4 April 1832
“4th.
“Well, altho’ I say it who should not, I
really think I was very great at the Earl
and Countess Grey’s on Saturday. The
party consisted of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who came together in the same
carriage, and therefore their marriage could not be more distinctly
announced;† Lord and Ly. Cleveland, Lord and Lady Morley,
Lord and Lady
Ponsonby, General and
Lady Grey, Bulteel and Lady
Churchill, Ellice, Sydney Smith and Mr. Creevey. As I opened the door for the ladies when they left
the dining-room, Lady Cleveland said:—‘How
agreeable you have been!’ When Lady Grey
came last, she put out her hand and said:—‘Oh thank you!
Mr. Creevey; how useful you have been.’
Lady Georgiana told me last night
she had laughed out aloud in bed at one of my stories. . . . Such is my
evidence of the success of a vain old man! . . . I don’t suppose there
could be a stricter or more cordial friendship than between Lady
Morley and myself. She has a great deal of natural waggery, with
overflowing
![]()
![]()
| 244 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. X. |
![]()
spirits, but she is more of a noisy man than a polished
countess.”
Sir George Buggin (1760-1825)
Of Thetford in Norfolk; after the death of his first wife Janet in 1805 he married
Cecilia Letitia Underwood in 1815.
John Crocker Bulteel (1794-1843)
Of Flete, the son of John Bulteel; he was MP for South Devon (1832) and High Sheriff of
South Devon (1841) and a keen sportsman. In 1826 he married Elizabeth Grey, the daughter of
Lord Grey
Thomas Creevey (1768-1838)
Whig politician aligned with Charles James Fox and Henry Brougham; he was MP for Thetford
(1802-06, 1807-18) Appleby (1820-26) and Downton (1831-32). He was convicted of libel in
1813.
Edward Ellice (1783-1863)
British merchant with the Hudson's Bay Company and Whig MP for Coventry (1818-26,
1830-63); he was a friend of Sir Francis Burdett and John Cam Hobhouse.
Charles Grey, second earl Grey (1764-1845)
Whig statesman and lover of the Duchess of Devonshire; the second son of the first earl
(d. 1807), he was prime minister (1831-34).
Sir Henry George Grey (1766-1845)
The second son of the first Earl Grey; he was a military officer who served in the West
Indies and was commander at the Cape of Good Hope, 1806-11.
Lady Augusta Murray (1768-1830)
The daughter of John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore; in 1793 she married Prince Augustus
Frederick, Duke of Sussex in contravention of the Royal Marriage Act. They lived together
until 1801.
John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore (1732-1809)
After succeeding to the title in 1756 he was governor of Virginia and New York (1770-75),
and of the Bahama islands (1786-96). He retired to Kent, where the father of Francis
Hodgson was his chaplain.
Barbara Palmer, duchess of Cleveland [née Villiers] (1640-1709)
The daughter of William Villiers, second viscount Grandison (1614-1643) and mistress of
Charles II, who granted her the title in 1670. Her sexual adventures were detailed in
Delarivier Manley's
The New Atalantis (1709).
Frances Parker, countess of Morley [née Talbot] (d. 1857)
The daughter of the surgeon Thomas Talbot; in 1809 she became the second wife of John
Parker, Lord Boringdon, afterwards earl of Morley. Sydney Smith described her as “the
perfection of all that is agreeable and pleasant in society.”
John Parker, first earl of Morley (1772-1840)
The son of John Parker, first baron Boringdon (1735-1788); educated at Christ Church,
Oxford, he was a supporter of George Canning in Parliament, created earl of Morley and
Viscount Boringdon in 1815.
John Ponsonby, viscount Ponsonby (1770 c.-1855)
The son of William Brabazon Ponsonby, first Baron Ponsonby (d. 1806); he was a Whig MP
for Galway Town (1801-02); when not having affairs with Lady Jersey and Harriette Wilson he
pursued a career as a diplomat.
Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
Clergyman, wit, and one of the original projectors of the
Edinburgh
Review; afterwards lecturer in London and one of the Holland House
denizens.
Cecilia Letitia Underwood, duchess of Inverness [née Gore] (1785 c.-1873)
The daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore, second Earl of Arran; in 1815 she married Sir
George Buggin; in 1831 she married Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex in contravention of
the Royal Marriages Act. She was created Duchess of Inverness in 1840.
William Harry Vane, first duke of Cleveland (1766-1842)
The son of Henry Vane, second earl of Darlington (d. 1792); educated at Christ Church,
Oxford, he was a lifelong friend of Henry Brougham and a notable sportsman.
John William Ward, earl of Dudley (1781-1833)
The son of William Ward, third Viscount Dudley (d. 1823); educated at Edinburgh and
Oxford, he was an English MP, sometimes a Foxite Whig and sometimes Canningite Tory, who
suffered from insanity in his latter years.
