Weld family

The Weld family is an ancient English family, and their possible relations in New England, an extended family of Boston Brahmins. An early record of a Weld holding public office is the High Sheriff of London in 1352, William. In the 16th and 17th centuries people called Weld and living in Cheshire began to travel and to settle in the environs of London, in Shropshire, in Suffolk and thence in the American Colonies, and in Dorset. While most of the Welds of England had adopted Protestantism, the exception was all three sons of Sir John Weld of Edmonton, who married into elite recusant families, thus reverting, with their descendants, to Roman Catholicism. The noted Catholic Weld lineage, unbroken till the new millennium, is that of Lulworth Castle in Dorset. subscription necessary

London Welds

The Welds are an old gentry family which claims descent from Eadric the Wild and are related to other Weld branches in several parts of the United Kingdom, from Willey, Shropshire, and the Lulworth Estate, Dorset and still others in the Antipodes and in Massachusetts. A notable early Weld was William de Welde (or atte Welde), High Sheriff of London in 1352, whose progeny moved in and out of obscurity.'Folios i - x: Sept 1352 -', in Calendar of Letter-Books of the City of London: G, 1352–1374, ed. Reginald R Sharpe (London, 1905), pp. 1–13. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-letter-books/volg/pp1-13 [accessed 30 July 2020].

In mid 16th century, a cadet line originating from John Weld of Eaton, Cheshire and his wife Joanna FitzHugh of Congleton Cheshire descends from his fourth and youngest son, Sir Humphrey Weld (died 1610).'Weld of Eaton', in J.P. Rylands (ed.), The Visitation of Cheshire in the Year 1580, Harleian Society XVIII (1882), p. 244 (Internet Archive).Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 2 vols (H. Colburn, London 1847), II, pp. 1545-6 (Google). Weld settled in Holdwell, Hertfordshire and became a City of London merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. On 9 May 1598, he was elected an alderman of the City of London for Farringdon Within ward. He was Sheriff of London from 1599 to 1600. He was knighted on 26 July 1603. He transferred as alderman to Walbrook ward in 1604. In 1608, he was elected Lord Mayor of London. During his mayoralty the reconstruction of the Aldgate, one of the four principal gates of the City of London, was completed.John Strype, A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster Book 1 Chapter 4, pp. 15-16 (Strype's Survey Online). Weld's name as Mayor appeared on the gate itself, and in connection with an engraving of the gate produced later. He was president of Christ's Hospital from 1609.A.B. Beavan, The Aldermen of the City London, temp. Henry III.-1908, 2 vols (The City Corporation, London 1913), II, p. 46 (Internet Archive). Of his seven surviving children born by his first wife, Ann Wheler, two were sons. His second wife and widow was Dame Mary.In her will of 1623 (P.C.C. 1623, Swann quire), Dame Mary Weld describes John as "my son-in-lawe Sir John Weld knight deceased" and Anne as "my daughter-in-lawe the Lady Stonehouse": meaning "stepson" and "stepdaughter".F.C. Cass, East Barnet, London and Middlesex Archaeological and Natural History Society (Westminster 1885), at pp. 30-39 (see p. 37, note) (Google). The elder of Humphrey's sons being Sir John Weld (1585–1622) of Arnolds in Southgate, Middlesex. A merchant, and a charter member and Council assistant of the Newfoundland Company of 1610, he founded the Weld Chapel in Edmonton, London. He married Frances daughter of William Whitmore of London (and sister of Sir William Whitmore), he was knighted in 1617,'11 November 1617. John Wild', in W.A. Shaw, Knights of England, 2 vols (Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906), II, p. 167 (HathiTrust) died in 1622,Will of Sir John Weld (P.C.C. 1623, Swann quire). and was buried in his private chapel at Arnolds. His younger brother, Humphrey died without issue.'Weld of Arnolds', in G.J. Armytage (ed.), Middlesex Pedigrees, as Collected by Richard Mundy in Harleian MS. no. 1551, Harleian Society LXV (1914), pp. 25-26 (Internet Archive).

Sir John's sons married into prominent Catholic families and became recusants. The children of Sir John Weld and Dame Frances (née Whitmore) are shown as follows by Burke: Thomas Weld, died young

Humphrey Weld (22 January 1612 – 1685), 2nd son, the heir, married (1639) Clare (died 1691), daughter of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour. Weld graduated in law from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1629 and was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1631. Between 1633 and 1636 he went on a Grand Tour of Europe. He was Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset, a Justice of the peace, a member of the Royal household, public official, landowner and property administrator who was elected to the House of Commons for Christchurch in Hampshire in 1661. Weld was a crypto-recusant who kept his religious allegiance secret in order to stay in public office during a turbulent political period in English history. He was appointed Cup-bearer to the Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria 1639–44 and later as Gentleman of the Privy Chamber 1668–85 under her son, Charles II. He served as a magistrate and in numerous other public roles in London, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and in Dorset, where he was governor of Portland Castle. He acquired "Weld House" in London.'Site of Weld House', in W.E. Riley and L. Gomme (eds), Survey of London, Vol. 5: St Giles-in-The-Fields, Pt II (London 1914), pp. 93-97 (British History Online) [accessed 2 September 2020]. In 1641 Humphrey bought the huge Lulworth Estate in Dorset, with financial help from his brothers, and began the Lulworth line of Welds which has continued for over 350 years. (Sir) John Weld (died 1674), of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, married (1648) Mary, daughter of William Stourton, 11th Baron Stourton, of Stourhead, and had a son: William Weld, who succeeded to his uncle Humphrey (the crypto Catholic) George Weld (died 1696), married Bridget Thimblethorp of Lincolnshire, and had daughters Cicely and Elizabeth Anne Weld, married Sir John Cutts of Childerley Mary Weld, married Thomas Allen, Esq. of Finchley Frances Weld, married ----- Martin, Esq. of Buckinghamshire Margaret Weld, married (1634) William Bowyer, Esq. of Denham Court, Buckinghamshire Dorothy Weld

The Welds of Lulworth

Edward Weld was the third and first surviving son of Humphrey Weld (died 1722) of Lulworth, son of William Weld, and the grandnephew of Humphrey Weld MP, (purchaser in 1641 of the vast Lulworth Estate, who had died without a male heir), and of his wife Margaret Simeons, daughter of Sir James Simeons of Chilworth nr. Oxford. Weld succeeded his father in 1722. On coming of age he was the fourth generation of Welds to take charge of the vast estate with its portion of the magnificent Jurassic Coast (today a UNESCO World Heritage Site). With the financial help of his mother's family, he developed the castle and its grounds. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Edward Weld (1740–1775), briefly the first husband of Maria Fitzherbert, before being fatally injured in a riding accident. The next proprietor of Lulworth was Edward's youngest brother: Thomas (1750–1810), distinguished as a bibliophile, philanthropist and personal friend of king George III. He greatly facilitated the return of Roman Catholic education to post-reformation England. He endowed Stonyhurst College and Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall. He was also the patriarch of a dynasty which carries on into the new millennium. Thomas Weld and his wife, Mary Massey-Stanley, had fifteen children: Thomas, b. 1773, married Lucy Clifford, 1796, had issue. Widowed, became a priest and cardinal of the Roman Catholic church Juliana, b. 1774 died unmarried Edward, b. 1775 (died young) Joseph, b. 1777, married Charlotte Mary Stourton, 1802, had issue. He succeeded his brother Thomas to the Lulworth Castle and estates, and is remembered as one of the first to build and handle fast-sailing yachts. His best known boat was The Arrow, which took part in the first America's Cup race in 1851 under the ownership of Thomas Chamberlayne. Joseph was also founder of the Isle of Wight based Royal Yacht Squadron. Catherine Winifred, b.1776, married William Stourton, 18th Baron Stourton, had issue John, b. 1780 became a Jesuit priest and rector of Stonyhurst William, b. 1781 (died young) Humphrey, b. 1783, married Christiana-Maria Clifford, had issue Mary Theresa, b. 1784, became a nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary James, b. 1785, married Juliana-Anne Petre, had issue. George, b. 1786, married Maria Searle, had issue Francis, b. 1787, (died young) Clare, b. 1788?, became a nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary Elizabeth Mary, b.1789? married Charles Thomas Bodenham de la Barre of Rotherwas, Herefordshire, had issue Theresa, b. 1792? married William Vaughan of Courtfield, Monmouthshire

Descendants

Thomas Weld (1808–1887) heir to Lulworth, took on the name Blundell to inherit the Ince Blundell estate. Charles Weld, eldest son of Humphrey Weld of Chideock, was a noted artist, who made copies of pictures of the English martyrs, the originals of which are now missing. Henry Thomas Weld (1816–1893), eldest son of James and Julianna Weld, emigrated to Maryland in 1838 and became a director of the Maryland and New York Coal and Iron Company. He married Harriet Hoffman Tilghman, daughter of Capt. Philemon Tilghman RN and a relation of William Tilghman. Sir Frederick Weld (1823–1891), another son of Humphrey Weld of Chideock, Prime Minister of New Zealand and Governor of Western Australia, appointed GCMG. Mgr Francis Weld (died 1898), son of James Weld, was an author.Weld, Francis. Divine Love, and the Love of God's Most Blessed Mother (London, 1873). Alfred Weld (1823–1890), son of Mary, née Searle, and George Weld, was a leading English Jesuit and astronomer. He was a senior administrator of the Society of Jesus and an editor and author.Weld, Alfred. The Suppression of the Society of Jesus in the Portuguese Dominions, (London, 1877). During his time as master of novices at Roehampton, in 1868 Weld welcomed the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins into the Society. Henry Joseph Weld-Blundell (1848–1901), Australian politician, member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Herbert Weld Blundell (1852–1935), English traveller in Africa, archaeologist, philanthropist and yachtsman. In 1924, he dropped the use of the suffix Blundell. During his tenure the castle's interior was gutted by fire on 29 August 1929. Some priceless items were able to be saved thanks to the help of a Girl Guides camp present in the castle grounds. Colonel Sir Joseph William Weld, OBE, TD (1909–1992), Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, was directly descended from Sir Humphrey Weld (died 1610). He became owner of the Lulworth Estate and Lulworth Castle in 1935 upon the death of his cousin, Herbert Weld

Wilfrid Weld (1934–2015), Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset and restorer of Lulworth:

Willey Welds