The Cholmondeleys were long established at their seat at
Vale Royal Abbey, Cheshire which had been in the family since 1615.[5]
Career
Cholmondeley served as
High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1792 and then in 1796 was elected to the
House of Commons for his father's old seat of Cheshire, which he retained until 1812. On 17 July 1821 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Delamere, of
Vale Royal in the
County Palatine of Chester.[6] The current baron, the 5th Baron Delamere, paints a picture of his early-19th-century ancestor with deft, harsh strokes:
"[The 1st Baron Delamere] 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 Conqueror gave us the whole county."[7]
Charles Watkin Neville (27 May 1826 – 18 March 1844).[1]—unmarried
The marriage of the baron's third son, Henry, produced nine grandchildren; and of these, Lionel would become chaplain to the
British Embassy in Tokyo[9] and would write the first English-language history of the isolated
Bonin Islands, including notes of changes which evolved after annexation by
MeijiJapan in 1875.[10]
Cholmondeley died at age 88 in October 1855. He was succeeded in the land, estates and title by his eldest son
Hugh Cholmondeley.[1]