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Painting, oil, portrait, James Lowther, 1st Earl of
Lonsdale, by Thomas Hudson, about 1755.
'Wicked Jimmy', the 'Bad Earl', the 'Tyrant of the North',
'Jimmy Grasp-all, Earl of Toadstool' - some of the nicknames
given to Sir James Lowther 1736-1802, the 1st Earl of
Lonsdale, portrayed here in 'Vandyke' masquerade costume.
'He was truly a madman', commented the Reverend Alexander
Carlyle, 'but too rich too be confined'. His wealth was
matched only by his meanness, as is well illustrated in his
treatment of the Wordsworth family. John Wordsworth, father
of the poet, was his land-steward and law-agent at
Cockermouth, and when he died in 1783 Sir James owed him
L5,000 in legal and political fees. Despite six years of
litigation Sir James refused to pay the money to the
Wordsworth children, leaving them in near poverty, and it
was not until after his death in 1802 that the poet and his
brothers and sister received their dues with full interest
from Sir James's successor.
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