Sir Lumley Skeffington, 2nd Baronet

Who was Sir Lumley Skeffington, 2nd Baronet?

Sir Lumley St. George Skeffington, 2nd Baronet, was a British nobleman, fop and playwright.

He attended Newcome's School in Hackney, where he acquired a taste for drama; in May 1802 he presented a five-act comedy at Covent Garden entitled The Word of Honour, followed the next season by another at Drury Lane entitled The High Road to Marriage; both were moderately successful, with his first major achievement being a "grand legendary melodrama", The Sleeping Beauty, presented at Drury Lane in May 1805.

Later plays included Maids and Bachelors, The Mysterious Bride, Bombastes Furioso, Ethelinde, and Lose No Time, a comedy. None are believed to have been printed, bar some portions of Sleeping Beauty.

He succeeded to the baronetcy on 26 January 1815, as the only surviving son of his father, William Charles Farrell-Skeffington, 1st Baronet of Skeffington Hall, Leicestershire. However, he had never married, and the title became extinct on his death for lack of an heir.

He was a noted dandy and was consulted on dress and style by the Prince Regent. He invented the colour Skeffington brown. He was caricatured by Gillray and satirised by Byron and Moore.