James, First Earl of Lonsdale

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	item:- Dove Cottage : 1991.83 image:- ©  see bottom of page	click to enlarge
	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.
	wxh, image:-	1016x1270mm

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