(1772 - 1840) of Saltram, Devon, o. s. of 1st B. Boringdon; Ch.Ch. Oxf. 1789; FRS 1795; army officer, lt.col. 1794, col. 1799 in N.Devon militia; suc. fa. 1788 as 2nd B.; m. 1 1804 Ldy. Augusta Fane, dau. of 10th E. of Westmorland, (div. 1809), 2 1809 Frances Talbot; cr. E. of Morley 1815.
1793 - 4 Milan (13 Sep. 1793), Turin (Sep.), Genoa (by 16 Oct.), Leghorn, Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Rome (3 Nov. - Dec. 1793), Naples (Jan. - Apr. 1794), Rome (Apr.), Venice ( - by 22 Apr.)
Lord Boringdon came to Italy with Lord Morpeth (later 6th Earl of Carlisle) and the Rev. Matthew Marsh, and he later described his tour in his memoirs (Morley MSS). Mary Carter had met them in Berne in the summer of 1793 among 'a flight of Englishmen going to Italy' - 'Lord Morpeth (a pretty soft manner); Lord Boringdon (as decisive)'.1 George Canning, Boringdon's close friend from Christ Church days, had conceded that since this was probably his last chance to travel 'at any considerable length for purposes of mere leisure and entertainment' he should go to Italy and accept 'the additional temptations, which the company of Morpeth & of Marsh must offer'. At Turin Boringdon met Lady Maynard who 'had made herself perfectly mistress of all the passes of the alps'. At Genoa he saw the seizure of a French frigate by the Bedford, but was advised to leave under cover to elude any Jacobin reprisals. He sailed with Morpeth and Marsh to Leghorn where Boringdon was impressed with the opera (David and La Vinci). They passed quickly through Lucca and Florence to Rome, where they spent six weeks. Thomas Jenkins recommended Colin Morison as their guide, although Boringdon remarked that 'M's' [Morpeth's] knowledge of Rome was such that 'he might almost himself have acted as cicerone'.
In January 1794 they went on to Naples, taking with them an Italian master. Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, whom they met in Naples and who became their particular friend, shared his services. Morpeth rather charmed Lady Webster ('I always liked him'),2 but she made no mention of Boringdon who was, however, shocked by the corruption of court and state in Naples. In July 1794 Boringdon and Morpeth were listed (clearly retrospectively) among the 'prodigious number of young Lords' who had passed through Rome on their way to (or from) Naples.3 'Lord Boningdon' had left Venice with Lord Granville for England by 22 April 1794.4
His account book (Morley accts.MSS), which shows a total cost for the tour of £;1,350 (of which 'about £;165 lost at play'), includes payments to Mr Clarke [James Clark] in Naples (£;25) and to Guy Head in Rome for pictures (£;14). Bronzes by Zoffoli now at Saltram are thought to have been bought by Boringdon in Italy in 1794.5
Boringdon visited Italy a second time in the 19th century, before 1819.
1. Carter Letters, 6. 2. Holland Jnl., 1:122. 3. The Oracle, 21 July 1794. 4. ASV IS 770. 5. J. Cornforth, CL, 4 May 1967, 1068, and 11 May, 1162.