- Richard Godolphin Long
Richard Godolphin Long (c.
12 November 1761 –1 July 1835 ) was an English politician.The son of Richard Long JP and Meliora Lambe, he was baptised on
12 November 1761 inWest Lavington inWiltshire . Long wasMember of Parliament (MP) for Wiltshire from 1806 to 1818 and the founder of the Wiltshire Yeomanry. In 1799 he purchased Steeple Ashton Manor House and farm, which remained in the family until 1967. He commissioned architectJeffry Wyattville to buildRood Ashton House in 1808.Long was a partner in the
Melksham Bank, together with his younger brother John Long, John Awdry and Thomas Bruges. In 1793, he wasHigh Sheriff of Wiltshire .On
27 March 1786 , he married Florentina Wrey, daughter ofSir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet . They had four daughters, and two sons including Walter Long. Their daughter Florentina (Flora) formed a strong attachment to the then elderly poetGeorge Crabbe [The Romance of an Elderly Poet: A Hitherto Unknown Chapter in the Life of George Crabbe, Revealed by his 10 Years Correspondence with Elizabeth Charter 1815-1825. By Alexander Meyrick Broadley, Walter Jerrold, George Crabbe. Published 1913] and she had previously been engaged to another elderly gentleman, Henry Cobbe (uncle ofFrances Power Cobbe ), who had died the day before they were to be married. [Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian Feminist, Journalist, Reformer - Sally Mitchell 2004, ISBN 0-8139-2271-2] Flora and her aunts were frequent visitors of novelistJane Austen , who referred to Flora as her 'cousin' [Jane Austen's letter to her sister Cassandra, May 29, 1809, published by Edward, Lord Braybourne 1884] , though their exact relationship is not known. Austen never met George Crabbe, but nursed a fantasy of becoming Mrs Crabbe. [George Crabbe: An English Life - 1754-1832 by Neil Powell 2004 ISBN 0712689990]After a lingering illness Richard Long died aged 73, at Rood Ashton House in his favourite chair, just 6 weeks after his wife, and was buried in the Long family crypt at St John's church,
West Ashton .References
*cite web | url= http://www.thepeerage.com/p19356.htm#i193552| title= thePeerage| accessdate= 2007-01-23
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