Charles Arbuthnot, 1767-1850

Charles Arbuthnot was a son of John Arbuthnott, of Rockfleet, county Mayo, by the daughter of J. Stone, a London banker and brother of Archbishop Stone, primate of Ireland. His paternal grandfather, George Arbuthnot, was one of three brothers who left the family's ancestral home in Scotland (Arbuthnott, Kincardineshire) at the turn of the eighteenth century, the most famous being his grand-uncle, Dr. John Arbuthnot (1667 - 1735), physician and wit, who settled in London, where he was appointed physician extraordinary to Queen Anne and formed a close friendship with Swift and other leading statesman of the Harley administration.

Charles Arbuthnot was raised in London by his grand-uncle, Andrew Stone, a banker and friend of George III. He did not come to know his siblings until adulthood, but seems to have established close family ties with them at this time, his support in assisting Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot (1776 - 1849) and Lieutenant General Sir Robert Arbuthnot (1773 - 1853) embark upon their distinguished military careers being well testified.

An autobiographical account, written in 1847, describes how he spent his early years in Oxford in idleness and amusement. , before travelling widely on the Continent, ... being a good deal with Stanislaus, the last of the Kings of Poland (unpublished autobiography of Charles Arbuthnot: GB 231 MS 3029/ 1/ 4/ 4). His career began in 1793 as precis-writer in the foreign office, and in 1795 he was elected MP for East Looe. He entered the diplomatic service in 1800, serving in Sweden and Portugal, before accepting the prestigious appointment of ambassador extraordinary to Constantinople in 1804. His time here ended unhappily in 1807, when diplomatic relations with the Porte were broken off, and he returned to England with his family, where he served in various Government offices, including the Treasury, the Board of Wood and Forests, and the Duchy of Lancaster, until 1830. During this period he achieved prominence in domestic politics, being returned as MP for Eye, Suffolk, 1809, Orford, Suffolk, 1812, St Germans, Cornwall, 1818 - 1827, and St Ives, Cornwall, 1828 - 1830.

Arbuthnot married Marcia Clapcott-Lisle, daughter of William and Mrs H. Clapcott-Lisle, in 1799. Marcia's mother was a sister of the Marquis of Cholmondeley and lady in waiting to the princess of Wales, Caroline of Brunswick. She accompanied Charles abroad, but died in childbirth in Constantinople in 1806. They had four children: Charles, Henry, Caroline and Marcia. Their eldest son, Charles G.J. Arbuthnot entered the army in 1816, and rose to the rank of general after service in Ireland and Ceylon. In England, he was attached to the Royal Household and later commanded troops at Birmingham during the period of popular unrest in the late 1840s. Arbuthnot was married again in 1814 to Harriet Fane, daughter of Henry Fane, of Fulbeck, Linconshire, and grand-daughter of the eighth Earl of Westmorland. The couple were close friends of the Duke of Wellington, and after Harriet's death in 1834, Charles lived much of the remainder of his life at Aspley House, as his close friend and companion. Around this time he made his estate at Woodford, Kettering, Northamptonshire, over to his eldest son.

See D.N.B. and refer also to sources cited in Publication Note for further details on Charles Arbuthnot and his extended family.

From the guide to the Papers of Charles Arbuthnot, 1767 - 1850, (University of Aberdeen)