Salusbury family

The Salusbury family is an Anglo-Welsh family notable for their social prominence, wealth, literary contributions and philanthropy.[1] They were patrons of the arts and were featured in William Shakespeare's The Phoenix and the Turtle and other works. The family mostly rose in power by supporting the rising Tudor dynasty.[2]

Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet and his family

Rise to prominence

The early history of the Salusburies is uncertain, though they possibly sprang from Herefordshire, given the election of John Salusbury to represent Leominster in the House of Commons in 1416.[1][3] By 1334, they were settled at Lleweni.[1]

Thomas Salusbury fought at the Battle of Blackheath (1497) and was knighted by Henry VII and appointed steward of the Lordship of Denbigh.[3]

Establishment at Court

After the establishment of Henry VIII as the new King of England, the Crown began to favour Welshmen for positions at court allowing for the creation of Salusbury Road in Queen's Park. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the family developed a passion for supporting the arts. During this time Lleweni Hall, the family's seat, expanded greatly after Sir John Salusbury was appointed the Custos Rotulorum of Denbighshire. Sir John, who was knighted in 1601, also had the distinction of being the dedicatee of Shakespeare's The Phoenix and the Turtle after Salusbury became his patron.

Lleweni Hall c.1775

Sir John's brother, Thomas Salusbury, was executed for his involvement in the Babington Plot in 1586,[4] and a cousin Owen Salusbury was killed while fighting for Essex during the Essex Rebellion of 1601. Sir John, however, supported the Queen at this critical juncture and was knighted shortly afterwards. Fighting as a Royalist during the English Civil War, Henry Salusbury, the second son of Sir John Salusbury, received a baronetcy on 10 November 1619 during the reign of James I for his father's contributions to the Crown.

After the Restoration, the family fortunes began to decline. John Salusbury went on a long and ultimately failed expedition of Nova Scotia. He had one daughter, Hester Piozzi, who had twelve children by her first husband Henry Thrale, of whom four daughters survived, the eldest being Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith.[5]

Post-Georgian era

In 1762, after the death of Sir John Salusbury, the family had a lack of male heirs. The Salusbury family was revived after Hester Piozzi (born Salusbury) adopted John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury, the Italian nephew of her Milanese husband.[6] Therefore, the ancient and modern family are unrelated in blood. Around this time, the seat of the Salusbury family moved from Lleweni Hall to Brynbella. John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury is the progenitor of the modern Salusbury family, and all people who possess the right to bear the Salusbury arms are descended from him.

Prominent Salusburys

Salusbury Baronets

Salusbury of Rug

By marriage

See also

References
  1. "SALUSBURY, SALISBURY, SALESBURY family, of Lleweni and Bachygraig". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  2. "SALUSBURY, John I (by 1485-1547/49), of Denbigh". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  3. Edwards, P.S., "Salusbury, John I, of Denbigh", The History of Parliament: 1509–1558
  4. "Salusbury, Thomas". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  5. Hyde, Mary (July 1977). "The Thrales of Streatham Park IV: The Thrale Daughters and Their Children". Harvard Library Bulletin. XXV (3): 334. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  6. "Piozzi, Hester lynch". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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