Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh

Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh (27 June 1791 – 27 September 1850) was created 1st Baron Leigh in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1839.

Descended from Thomas Leigh, Lord Mayor of London in 1558, he was the grandson of the 2nd Duke of Chandos and the son of James Henry Leigh of Adlestrop, Gloucestershire. James Henry Leigh inherited the Leigh family seat at Stoneleigh Abbey, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, following the death of his distant cousin Edward Leigh, 5th Baron Leigh (of the first creation).

He was Lord Byron's schoolmate at Harrow School and 'inherited some of his master's poetical talent'. He was an author and minor poet. He dined together with Lord Byron on the evening before Byron left England for Europe in April 1816. He was also a close friend and confidant of Leigh Hunt.

He was a cousin of Jane Austen, who visited Stoneleigh Abbey in 1806. There is good evidence that it was the model for the chapel of Sotherton Court in Mansfield Park (1814).

He was appointed High Sheriff of Warwickshire for 1825.

In 1839, he formed Stoneleigh Cricket Club in the Stoneleigh grounds at the request of his son Edward Chandos Leigh, who wanted to continue to play cricket on returning home from Harrow School in the summer months. Cricket is still regularly played on the ground - http://www.stoneleighcc.org.uk. The club is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Warwickshire. In 2003, it was officially named the most beautiful ground in England by The Wisden Cricketer.

He married Margarette Willes and was succeeded by their son William Henry.

Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title	Baron Leigh 1839–1850	Succeeded by William Henry Leigh

Persondata
Name	Leigh, Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 June 1791
Place of birth
Date of death	27 September 1850
Place of death