The far from humble life of William Ward, FIRST EARL OF DUDLEY
HIS statue stands in the shadow of the castle from which he took his title. William Ward, first Earl of Dudley, was one of the most influential people in the history of the Black Country. Through his coal mines and iron and steel works he became one of the wealthiest men in Britain and he spent lavishly – not only on his own lifestyle but in support of churches, building projects and charitable concerns across our region.
He was born on March 27, 1817, at Edwardstone in Suffolk, an obscure member of the minor aristocracy. However, he had very bright prospects. His father, Rev William Humble Ward, was the second cousin of the former Foreign Secretary John Ward. Confusingly, John Ward is also known as the first Earl of Dudley, a title he was granted in 1827. John Ward was unmarried and childless and when he died in 1833 his original earldom became extinct but Rev Ward inherited the title of Baron
Ward and along with it rich estates in the Black Country, including both Himley Hall and Dudley Castle.
Rev Ward passed away in 1835, meaning that his son William inherited while still a minor. At the age of 18 William Ward was exceptionally rich but the trustees of his father’s will took good care of his estates while he was educated at Eton and Oxford. William went on to play first class cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club.
In 1837, the trustees, on William’s behalf, bought Witley Court in Worcestershire from the debt-ridden Foley family. From 1843 to 1846 the grand house was loaned to Queen Adelaide, the widow of William IV, and in the 1850s William Ward began a huge rebuilding programme, restyling Witley Court in the italianate style and creating the impressive Perseus and Andromeda fountain.
Married
In April 1851 William Ward married Selina de Burgh but she died later that same year.
In 1860 the earldom of Dudley was revived and William Ward was given the titles Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam.
The earl married for the second time in 1865, to Scottish noblewoman Georgina Moncreife, 29 years his junior and acclaimed as one of the most beautiful women in Europe. They had six sons and one daughter.
The Dudleys lived a lavish life at Dudley House in Park Lane, London (now owned by the Emir of Qatar), and at Witley Court, the earl spending freely on clothes, jewellery and artworks for his wife. The earl was also a public benefactor. From 1859 to 1877 the earl paid for the restoration and the entire re-facing of Worcester Cathedral. The earl also gave money and land for the building of numerous churches across the Black Country and contributed to many charitable efforts.
The earl never accepted any political office but he was commander of the Worcestershire Yeomanry, which he equipped from his own funds.
For his wealth and generosity, the earl could be a controversial figure. He was a man of “new money” and the industrial source of great wealth meant that he was never quite accepted by the old titled elite. It was rumoured that his wife had several lovers, among them the Prince of Wales and there was further sensation in December 1874 when the Countess of Dudley’s jewellery was stolen from her carriage at Paddington Station.
Mystery
Neither the robbers nor the jewels were ever traced but mystery surrounded the whole affair. The stolen jewels were originally valued at a staggering £50,000, but that was later reduced to £15,000 – still an enormous sum at the time. It was rumoured that the jewels were not stolen at all but were secretly sold by the countess to cover her debts.
The family became embroiled in more controversy when the countess’s sister, Harriet, Lady Mordaunt, was divorced by her husband. The Prince of Wales was implicated in the affair – he was sensationally summoned to appear as a witness – and Harriet was committed to an asylum. In 1879 the Dudleys were preparing to host a grand party, at which the famed actress Sarah Bernhardt was due to recite poetry, when the earl suffered a stroke. Incapacitated, his wife took over the running of the family’s estates. William Ward, first Earl of Dudley, died at Dudley House on May 7, 1885, aged 68. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, William Humble Ward.
Burial
The old earl’s body was brought to Witley Court for burial and was laid to rest in a large red granite sarcophagus in the crypt of the attached Church of Saint Michael and All Angels. That was not his final resting place.
In 1888 the earl was given a lavish marble and alabaster memorial at Worcester Cathedral, for which he had done so much to conserve and protect, with an effigy by James Forsyth, the artist responsible for the great fountain at Witley Court and the fountain in Dudley marketplace. It had always been the earl’s wish to be buried at the cathedral and in 1953 his remains were exhumed and reinterred in the cathedral’s lady chapel.