Essex, William Capel, 3rd Earl of
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- Essex, William Capel, 3rd Earl of
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(1697 - 1743), o. s. of 2nd E. of Essex; sty. Vct. Malden - 1710 when suc. fa. as 3rd E.; m. 1 1718 Ldy. Jane Hyde (d. 1724), dau. of 4th E. of Clarendon, 2 1726 Ldy. Elizabeth Russell (d. 1784), dau. of 2nd D. of Bedford; KT 1725; min.plen. Turin 1731 - 2, amb. 1732 - 6; FRS 1737; KG 1738.
1714 - 17 Padua (23 Oct. 1714), Venice ( - 22 Feb. 1715), Rome (Mar. - 16 Apr. 1715), Venice (Sep. 1716 - Feb. 1717)
1732 - 6 Turin (summer 1732 - 31 Jul. 1736) [with leave in London Dec. 1734 - May 1735]
The 3rd Earl of Essex first went to Italy as a young man with his tutor Gabriel Liniere. They were in Padua on 23 October 1714.1 They spent some time in Venice and then in February 1715 set off with Lord Morpeth (later 4th Earl of Carlisle) for Rome2 where Kent noticed them on 16 April 1715.3 Essex was expected in Geneva 'in a day or two' on 7 December 1716,4 but he lingered in Venice where, in February 1717, Alexander Cunningham reported that he had 'been going from hence to ffrance these six months'.5
In 1731 Lord Essex was appointed minister plenipotentiary at Turin, principally to mediate (unsuccessfully) in a treaty between the Emperor and the King of Sardinia, and in 1732 he was confirmed as ambassador to Turin, a post he held until July 1736.6 In terms of nobility he was the highest ranking British diplomat of the time and he appears to have lived grandly, with a country seat 'near [Turin] among the hills'.7 He was evidently addicted to the opera and in 1734 he acquired the works of the dramatist and librettist Metastasio.8 He made several visits to other parts of Italy and he was on leave in England from December 1734 to May 1735 (when Arthur Villettes was left in charge). His son and heir was born in Turin on 7 October 1732.
Lady Essex, 'extreamly wellbred & good-humour'd', with 'an excellent taste for everything that is called here Virtu',9 commissioned four pictures from Canaletto. On 18 September 1734 Joseph Smith wrote to Lord Essex from Venice explaining how 'by the force of a Constant reminding Canal of his Engagement to serve Lady Essex' he had made him 'sett aside some other works' and concentrate 'all his skill to finish the four pieces', which had now 'gone by a ship sail'd this week for London'.(10) Lady Essex had previously commissioned two other paintings in Venice (artist unknown; cost, unframed, £;23-16-8) which Smith announced as completed on 22 August 1733.(11) She was in Venice in May 1733, setting out for Bologna where she proposed to see 'a very fine Opera'; she 'had nobody with her but Mr [the Hon. Thomas] Villiers & 6 or 7 servants'.9 Lady Grisell Baillie accompanied her to the opera at the Palazzo Albergati on 15 May.(12) She visited Florence in February 1734,13 and on 25 December 1734, when her husband was in England, she set out for Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples, escorted by Lord Euston and his tutor (Walter Chetwynd).14 She was in Florence for three weeks in January 173515 and in Lucca on 15 February when, accompanied by Chetwynd, she attended a grand reception.16 She was, presumably, the 'Madama Es Es' staying in Rome at Easter 1735.17
Lord Essex left Turin on 31 July 1736. In the Essex sale (31 Jan.ff. 1777) there were pictures by Solimena, Van Wittel, Trevisani and Panini which were probably acquired in Italy.
1. Brown 1443 - 4. 2. SP 99/61, ff.11, 18 (Broughton, 11 Jan., 22 Feb. 1715). 3. Kent letters MSS. 4. SP 99/61, f.271 (Dayrolle, 7 Dec. 1716). 5. SP 99/61, f.308 (13 Feb. 1717). 6. Horn, 1:123. Lewis 1961, 95. 7. Pococke letters MSS, f.19 (26 Jun. 1734). 8. Add.27733, f.80 (J. Smith, 14 May 1734). 9. SP 99/63, f.226 (Burges, 22 May 1733). 10. Add.27733, f.131. 11. Add.27732, f.219. 12. Baillie, Household Bk., 345. 13. SP 98/37 (Walton, 13 Feb. 1734)). 14. SP 92/37 (Villettes, 25 Dec. 1734). 15. SP 98/36 (Fane, 18 Jan. 1735). 16.
ASLU or 13. 17. AVR SA, S.Lorenzo in Lucina.