| Biography | The Vernons of Sudbury are descended from Sir Henry Vernon of Haddon who died in 1515. Sir Henry's sons, Sir Richard Vernon inherited Haddon (died 1517), and his younger brother Sir John Vernon (died 1545) married heiress Helen Montgomery of Cubley and inherited the Sudbury estate in 1513. Sir John Vernon's son, Sir Henry Vernon (c.1523-1569) married Margaret Swinnerton of Swinnerton and Hilton in 1547 and became a knight and an MP for Derbyshire. Sir Henry Vernon's son, Sir John Vernon (died 1600) inherited the Sudbury and Hilton estate from his father. He married Mary Littleon, who already had a son, Sir Edward Vernon (1584-1657) who eventually inherited the family estates. Sir Edward Vernon had a son, Henry Vernon (1615-1660).
George Vernon (1635-1702) was the son and heir of Sir Henry Vernon (1615-1660) and started building Sudbury Hall in 1660. He married three times: firstly to Margaret Onley of Catesby Northamptonshire and had one son and five daughters, secondly to Dorothy Shirley (daughter of Sir Robert Shirley who built Staunton Harold Church and sister to Earl Ferrers) and had two daughters, and thirdly to Catherine Vernon (daughter of a London merchant) who gave him his surviving son and heir, Henry Vernon (1686-1719). George was High Sheriff for Derbyshire 1663-4, and MP for Derby 1679-81 and 1698-1700.
Henry Vernon (1686-1719) MP for Stafford, married firstly Anne Pigot and had issue, and then married Matilda Wright by whom he had his son George Venables Vernon (1709-1780).
George Venables Vernon (1709-1780) took the name Venables in 1728 through inheriting estates through his mother's family. He was created 1st Baron Vernon of Kinderton on 12th May 1762. He married firstly Mary Howard in 1733, then Anne Lee in 1741 and then Martha Harcourt in 1744. His son by Mary was George, 2nd Lord Vernon (1735-1813). His sons by Anne were Henry, 3rd Lord Vernon (1747-1829) and Edward (Most Reverend) D.D. Archbishop of York (1757-1847).
Henry, 3rd Lord Vernon (1747-1829) married firstly Elizabeth Sedley in 1779 by whom he had his son and heir George Charles, 4th Lord Vernon (1779-1835). Henry remarried in 1795 to Alice Lucy Whiteford.
George Charles, 4th Lord Vernon (1779-1835) married Frances Maria Warren, daughter of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren K.B., in 1802 and had his son and heir George John, 5th Lord Vernon (1803-1866).
George John, 5th Lord Vernon (1803-1866) married Isabella Caroline Ellison in 1824 and had his son and heir Augustus Henry, 6th Lord Vernon (1829-1883) in Rome. He then remarried in 1859 to Frances Maria Emma Boothby. As the 5th Lord Vernon spent a lot of time in Italy, in September 1839 he rented Sudbury Hall to Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV for three years. In Italy, George John excavated Etruscan tombs near Cumae and was a leading scholar on Dante.
Augustus Henry, 6th Lord Vernon (1829-1883) married Lady Harriet Anson (third daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield of Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire) in 1851, and had his son and heir George William Henry, 7th Lord Vernon (1854-1898).
George William Henry, 7th Lord Vernon (1829-1883) married Frances Margaret Lawrance (daughter of Francis C. Lawrence of New York) and had his sons and heirs George Francis Augustus, 8th Lord Vernon (1888-1916), and Francis Lawrance William, 9th Lord Vernon (1889-1963). George William Henry was Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentleman-at-Arms, 1892-94, sometime Lieutenant of the Scots guards and Captain of the 12th Lancers. George Francis Augustus was Captain of the Derbyshire Yeomanry and died in 1915 from dysentery contracted during service at Gallipoli in World War I, leading his brother to inherit the title and family estates.
Francis Lawrance William, 9th Lord Vernon (1889-1963) was educated at Eton, served in the Royal Navy in World War I and married Violet Miriam Clay in 1915, and had his son and heir John Lawrance, 10th Lord Vernon (1923-2000). John Lawrance married Sheila Jean Clark in 1955 and had two daughters, Georgina and Joanna. John Lawrance remarried in 1982 to Sally June Stratford. He was a Captain in the Scots Guards and served in World War II, and then served in the Cabinet Office 1953-1957, then the Colonial Office attached to the Kenya Government 1957-1958. Upon the 9th Lord Vernon's death, the 10th Lord Vernon was hit with death duties and Sudbury Hall and its contents was offered to the Treasury as payment, and then transferred to the National Trust in 1967 via the National Land Fund. The 10th Lord built himself a house in the village of Sudbury for his family to live in. |