Algernon Seymour, 15th Duke of Somerset

Who was Algernon Seymour, 15th Duke of Somerset?

Algernon St. Maur, later Seymour, 15th Duke of Somerset, etc. was the son of Algernon St. Maur, 14th Duke of Somerset and Horatia Morler. He was also a baronet.

On September 5, 1877, he married Susan Margaret Richards Mackinnon, the ninth daughter of Charles Mackinnon of Corriechatachan. Because St. Maur did not have any children, his titles passed to his nearest relative, Edward Seymour.

He served in the Navy on HMS Britannia as a youth, but later joined the 60th Rifles and took part in the Wolseley Expedition of 1870. He was a tall and athletic man, of powerful build. After leaving the Regular Army, he spent several years ranching in Western America. On accession to the Dukedom in 1894, he voted often in the House of Lords, although he seldom spoke there. He became president of Dr Barnardo’s Homes, a charity which both he and the Duchess had supported for many years.

The Duke and the Duchess were buried on Brimble Hill near their residence at Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, West Wiltshire. Their graves are in a little wood on a hilltop surrounded by agricultural land. They are surrounded by a metal fence and marked by standing rough stones with small text plaques.