Charlecote House – Painting of Davenport Lucy
This painting is displayed in the Great Hall of Charlecote House and was given to the National Trust by Sir Montgomerie Fairfax-Lucy (1896 – 1965) in 1946 when the property and most of its contents were transferred to them. This is probably Davenport Lucy (1659/1660-1690) although it was previously thought to have been Elizabeth Lucy. This habit from the time of dressing children up as girls has certainly caused some issues in identifying centuries later on who is who. It’s not known who painted it and the National Trust’s estimated painting date of 1660 is a little aspirational given when Davenport was born and so it likely dates to around 1665.
Anyway, it’s time for a table.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 1659/60 | Birth |
| 1677 | Death of father, Sir Fulke Lucy |
| 24 May 1680 | Commissioned Cornet, Royal Horse Guards |
| 1681 | Jointly sells land at Bank Top (Henbury estate) with mother Isabella |
| 1 May 1681 | Promoted Lieutenant, Royal Horse Guards |
| 1684 | Inherits Charlecote Park upon death of cousin, Capt. Thomas Lucy |
| By Oct 1684 | Promoted Captain, Royal Horse Guards |
| Post 1684 | Sells the Henbury estate |
| 1689 | Death of mother, Isabella Lucy |
| 20 Aug 1690 | Killed by cannonball at the first Siege of Limerick, Ireland |
Davenport Lucy was the eldest son of Sir Fulke Lucy (c. 1623–1677) and Isabella Davenport (d. 1689) and Sir Fulke was the sixth son of Sir Thomas Lucy and Alice Spencer (with Richard Lucy being the third of six sons). As a younger son in a large gentry family, he did not inherit the primary family estate of Charlecote. Instead, he was the designated heir to his parents’ property, primarily the Henbury estate which he inherited from his mother.His path to establishing his own standing instead involved political service and a strategic marriage, although he did inherit Charlecote in 1684. He served as Member of Parliament for Warwick in 1659 and later for Cheshire from 1664 until his death in 1677. He was knighted sometime after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, evidently sharing the political skill of Richard Lucy.
But, moving straight on to Davenport’s death. The Siege of Limerick (1690) was a key event in the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–1691), a conflict between the Catholic supporters of the deposed King James II (known as Jacobites) and the Protestant forces of King William III (Williamites). It took place in August and September 1690, following William’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne in July of that year. Serving as a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards within William III’s besieging army, Davenport Lucy was directly involved in the military operations. On 20 August 1690, during the intense fighting and bombardment characteristic of seventeenth-century siege warfare, he was struck and killed by a cannonball which I imagine he considered to be somewhat sub-optimal. It’s not known if he was buried in Ireland or whether his body was returned to Charlecote. Adding to the complexity, his lack of successors meant that they were left faffing around with the family tree to see who would take it on next.
