Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Cholmondeley

Thomas Cholmondeley was born on 9 Aug 1767, the son of Thomas Cholmondeley MP, descended from the younger brother of the 1st Earl of Cheshire. His mother was Dorothy Cowper. The family seat was at Vale Royal Abbey. Thomas was High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1792, and MP for Cheshire from 1796 to 1812. He was raised to the peerage on 17 July 1821, becoming 1st Baron Delamere of the Vale Royal in the County Palatine of Chester. His descendant, the 5th Baron Delamere said of him:
“He was an idiot who decided it would be impressive to have a peerage. He thought he had a bargain when he paid 5,000 for it. The only problem was that the going rate was 1,200. Before he came along we had been content to be shire knights in Cheshire, when William the Conquerer gave us the whole county.”
He was the commander of The Prince Regent’s Own 2nd Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry which was raised in 1819 to augment the local volunteer army already in existence in Cheshire. They comprised 6 Troops and were employed in the aid of the civil power in 1826 but in 1828 they were disbanded.
Cholmondeley was married in Dec 1810, to Henrietta Williams-Wynn and they had 6 children. He died on 30 Oct 1855 leaving the estate of Vale Royal to his son Hugh.

Regimental Details | Cheshire Yeomanry Lieutenant-Colonel Commandants