William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington

Who was William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington?

William Richard Arthur Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington was a British nobleman.

Long-Wellesley, the son of the notorious spendthrift William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley and Catherine Tylney-Long, was born on 7 October 1813 at Wanstead House, at that time in Essex, but within the London borough of Redbridge since 1965.

His father's spending wreaked havoc on the family estate, but upon his mother's death in 1825, he inherited the remaining estates at Wanstead, also Tylney Hall, Athelhampton and the Draycot estate. A bitter custody battle took place after his mother's death, with his mother's sisters endeavouring to have him placed under the guardianship of the Duke of Wellington, his great-uncle.

In 1836 he took his father to court, after his father had sold furniture and pictures belonging to Draycot House, to cover a ₤3,000 debt. These were passed out of a window after the sales agent was refused admission to the house. William junior maintained that these items belonged to him as heirlooms by the will of Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet.

His father succeeded as Earl of Mornington in 1845, after which William was styled Viscount Wellesley.