- William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley (
8 January 1789 –16 November 1849 ), was the son ofRichard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley . He was an officer in the Coldstream Guards, attaining the rank of Captain in the service of the 50th Regiment of Foot.He was promoted from ensign to
captain in theColdstream Guards in March 1809. ["London Gazette", no. 16243,4 April 1809 ] He later transferred to the50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot , and exchanged to thehalf-pay of the100th Regiment of Foot on1 September 1812 . ["London Gazette", no. 16639,29 August 1812 ]Lord Alvanley was a Regency buck and member of the Prince Regent's circle, and was friends with
Beau Brummell . He, Brummell, Henry Mildmay, and Henry Pierrepoint were considered the prime movers ofWatier's , dubbed "the Dandy Club" by Byron. They were also the four hosts of the July 1813 masquerade ball at which the Prince Regent greeted Alvanley and Pierrepoint, but then "cut" Brummell and Mildmay by snubbing them, staring them in the face but not speaking to them. Brummell then said to Alvanley, "Alvanley, who's your fat friend?" The Prince Regent was not amused; this incident was the final and most public sign that Brummell was no longer favored by "Prinny".Alvanley continued to support Brummell, sending money to his friend during Brummell's exile in France. In 1835, Alvanley fought a duel with
Morgan O'Connell .Because of his spending habits, his family estates had to be sold to pay debts. Underbank Hall in
Stockport was sold by auction in 1823, most of theBredbury estate was sold in lots in 1825, the Arden Hall mansion in 1833. He was forced to dispose of his half-pay on10 June 1826 ["London Gazette", no. 18256,10 June 1826 ] . He later served in the Forest Troop, King's Regiment of Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry, as acornet , but resigned on17 January 1840 . ["London Gazette", no. 19817,24 January 1840 ] He did not marry and had no children. On his death, the title went to his only brother, the Hon. Colonel Richard Arden.References and Further Reading
* Kelly, Ian. "Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy". Hodder & Stoughton, 2005.
* Genealogy at [http://thepeerage.com/p560.htm thepeerage.com] .
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