Charles Frederick, Baron de Rutzen

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Charles Frederick, Baron de Rutzen. According to a letter written by him, his ancestor was one Augustus Edlen descended from a member of the German family of Von Frenz, who married the last of the Von Rutzens whose name, title and coat-of-arms he adopted, and whose lands he added to his own. On 26 December 1657 Augustus received an acknowledgement of nobility from Wladislaus IV, King of Poland, which was recorded in the manifesto of the Land Tribunal of the Principality of Samogicia. He is described in the family archives as 'hereditary lord of the estates of Polasche in the circle of Telshe in the principality of Samogicia in Imperial Russia.' From him the family has a proven descent.

Augustus died in 1677, and his will, dated on 18 January of that year, was recorded in the records of the principality of Samogicia on 11 May. He was succeeded by his son Michael Frederick who married one Ida Berthe. The will of Michael Frederick, dated 28 January 1738, was registered on 7 February in the same Land Tribunal. He was succeeded by his son, John Frederick, a minor, who in 1794 married Frederica Elizabeth daughter of Charles Frederick von Suenger of Niederbartan in the duchy of Courland. Courland lay on the southern side of the Gulf of Riga, and is today comprised in Latvia; Samogicia lay to the south of Courland, and is now comprised in Lithuania. Thus the Rutzens were 'Baltic barons'. They started to use the particle 'de' instead of 'von' towards the end of the eighteenth century.

Baron John Frederick, described in the family papers as 'Patron and President of the Ecclesiastical Lutheran Evangelical Council of Kroettingen', sold his hereditary estate of Polasche on 20 April 1793, and purchased other properties in Courland. He took a prominent part in local government and administration. On 19 September 1823 Leopold XII granted a Patent of the Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem to Baron John Frederick de Rutzen 'a nobleman of Curland', the original of which remains among the Slebech muniments. He died on 2 January 1832 and was buried at Maszutten, leaving the following children-

1. Baron Charles Frederick von (de) Rutzen, born 3 March 1795 at Niederbartan in Courland;
2. Baron Charles von (de) Rutzen, living 1859, and married to Olga niece of Prince Potemkin;
3. Baron Henry William von Rutzen, to whom a Confirmation of the arms and of the nobility of the Rutzens was granted by an ukase of the Senate, Department of Heraldry, on 16 October 1849, and who died at Maszutten, one of the family estates, on 2 November 1863, leaving a son, Baron William de Rutzen.

Baron Charles Frederick de Rutzen, the eldest son, is the man who married Miss Mary Dorothea Phillips. He wrote a draft autobiography, of which only r section of 24 folios seems to have survived. According to this memoir, Charles Frederick spent most of his early life on the parental estates and before 1817 made an extensive tour of Europe. In 1819 he was living mainly at Libau in Courland and paid a brief visit to England. We learn, too, that his father had established a private 'express line', of two horses, a groom, and post-boy, in each town, so that he could ride quickly to any part of the country. After 1815 there was much political intrigue concerning partitioned Poland, and several secret societies formed, but the de Rutzens remained faithful to the settlement. A Lithuanian duke of considerable talents and estates and a close friend of Baron Charles Frederick, became a leading member of one of these societies, but as a result of a hot discussion on the matter their friendship came to an end, and all attempts to effect a reconciliation proved fruitless. Despite this, Charles Frederick retained his admiration for the fine qualities of his erstwhile friend. Early one September morning in 1820 he heard from an authoritative source that the duke had been denounced and that detachments of lancers were to surround his residence that evening at half past eleven of the clock when they were to impound all incriminating documents and arrest the owner. Memories of their days of friendship outweighed those of political hostility in the mind of Charles Frederick and he decided to warn the intended victim. As the matter was too urgent, and too dangerous for him to send warning by letter, he decided to go himself. Disguised as a huntsman he mounted his horse and at a quarter past eight in the morning set out at a wild gallop along his father's pony 'express line'. After a most exciting ride, and after many relays of sweating horses had carried him 165 English miles, this Lithuanian Paul Reviere arrived at the duke's castle at exactly seven o'clock in the evening that is, he had accomplished the long ride in under eleven hours. He was correctly, but coldly, received by the man he had come to warn. The duke shewed no emotion at the news but quietly thanked the baron and asked him to take some champagne. This he politely declined, took his leave, and rode away to a distant house where he spent the night. During the following morning he contacted an uncle living nearby, who gave him a carriage to carry him home to Maszutten. The duke profited by the warning, burnt all incriminating papers, and was able to prove his 'innocence' when the troops arrived. In January 1821, Charles Frederick received a letter of thanks from him in which he also asked the baron to honour him by accepting 'the enclosed'. This proved to be a bill, dated i January 1821, for 200,000 silver roubles, nearly £ 36,000 in English money. The galloping baron answered that he was happy to learn that matters had turned out so well, and returned the bill 'as it must have been meant for Hirsch' — an outstanding jockey of the day!

According to the memoir he went to Rome early in 1821. He does not state why he went there, but the late Mrs. Foley-Philipps of Ridgeway, whose knowledge of the family history was considerable, informed me that the baron had held a minor post in the Russian embassy. At any rate we know that he had a fair amount of leisure and moved in the fashionable circles of that city. It was a fortunate journey for the young baron, for there he found Mary Dorothea Phillips of Slebech, whose dower was to more than compensate him for his haughty rejection of the duke's silver roubles.

Let the baron now tell us in his own words:

'Shortly after my arrival at Rome, I dined with Italinsky Chevalier d'ltalinsky the Russian Minister and Medem Count Medem (Paul) asked me after dinner, what I was going to do. I said I was going home to get up Boccacio for my Italien master for tomorrow. Oh, if that is all, said Medem, come with me to a Mrs. Phillips, a remarkable handsome English woman, without much English nonsense. She speaks very good French, knows every body and has a charming daughter who, moreover, is considered the best Pianist in the whole of Rome. It is Mrs. Phillips's at home tonight, and we are sure to meet the cream of the beau monde. It was late when we arrived the rooms were nearly full. Presently there was a simultaneous move a sort of gentle press towards another room. Miss Phillips was going to
play. The instant she touched the Piano, there was a breathless silence, yet no ostentatious prelude, only the favourite Walz of the day at once; but with such a band like power and precision and a truely soul stirring expression. The suppressed 'Brava's' were more than an ovation. Had this little Walz been so plaid in Public, all the bouquets would have been at her feet. Miss Phillips was rising, when a very handsome young man, who was sitting by the Piano, shewed her a Cahier of Notes: she looked at them shrugged her shoulders and was going. Being, however, much entreated by this man & some others that were standing round, to play on, she again looked at the Notes, read some parts with marked and visible attention then looked imploringly & apologetically around and after a short, sharp and appropriate prelude, began the piece, which was one of Rossini's overtures, just come out. At the first turning over, the man that sat by her bungled at the second, he was evidently by some bars out, and this disconcerting Miss Phillips a good deal, I stepped forward, asked to be allowed to turn over, as the light was very much in that gentleman's face which, in fact, was the case and being attentive, of course, got through satisfactorily, so that Miss Phillips, when she had done, said to me, 'Oh mille remerciment, je vois que vous etes musicient'. I said, unfortunately I was not, and a Lady, who, I afterwards learnt was Lady (Countess of) Compton (Northampton) coming up & saying to Miss Phillips, 'Well done Mary', I retired indeed there was nothing else for it, as every one wished to say his say. A few days after Mrs. Phillips's soiree, I was riding with the 3 Miss Bolds, chaperoned as usual by Lord Walpole and I think Prince Sapieha and Lord Stanley the present Lord Derby. In the Piazza del Popolo there came towards us at a stepping dashing pace, a superbly appointed phaeton, in whose charioteer, when he familiarly noded to our party, I recognised the handsome young man that sat by Miss Phillips at the Piano. The horses were such magnificent animals & such marvelous fine steppers, that I did not look at the driver till he was close by. I asked Miss Bold who it was. 'Oh Lord Miltown', and so saying she turned to Walpole and said 'has he proposed?' 'Poor Mil, I know, is very sick' was the answer, 'but I don't think he has yet plucked up courage enough; but, perhaps, she is only doing as her sister did. Anson was kept in fear & trembling ever so long'. At length I made it out that all this was about Miss Phillips. Rome was immensely gay that winter. Grandees and belles, Balls & parties without end, & Mrs. & Miss Phillips everywhere. At one of Countess Apony's great Balls, at the Austrian Embassy, I was standing between Prince Leopold the present King of the Belgians and the Duke of Devonshire, as a Cotillon was being danced. When the Ladies had to look for partners, Miss Phillips came up to me les yeaux baisses, droped me a gracious courtsy, clapped her hands, and we left walsing. Whirling round she noticed the Prince and said (Oh there is Prince Leopold just come. You must take me to him [this is crossed out, and the following French words substituted]) Voila le Prince arrive. Non, Madame, il-y-a desu quelque temps qu'il a parler an duc de Devonshire & moi. This seemed to shock her, and she asked me to take her up to the Prince to apologize for having interrupted the conversation and not having made her obeisance to him as she ought to have done, the Prince having been at her sister's place in Staffordshire when she was there and I think she said she had also met him at Trentham, the Marquis of Stafford's. Had this not been my first dance with Miss Phillips her charming & ladylike manner when conversing with the prince, would have made me recollect it. At our next meeting I really forget now what assembly Miss Phillips said to me in English 'How is it you never dance' 'Les Madam, chez nous le dance que quant on leurs saffle'. 'Does that mean you expect to be asked? No doubt so excellent a lodger has a right to make his own terms!' I tried to make the best of this unfortunate, and as she construed it conceited speech of mine, but her badinage and jeux d'esprit laid [?me] completely prostrate notwithstanding I kept my own ground, I mean I did not answer in English, and I was really glad when Prince Felix Schwarzenberg (he died as Prime Minister of Austria) led her off to a Quadrille. Potoky, Sapieha's cousin, was charmed with her wit and (?), and at my ignoring English, notwithstanding Miss Phillips declared she would never speak to me again in French, as the Miss Bolds had told her that I spoke English like and indeed better than most English. Miss Phillips insisted on speaking English as she said she had understood I might pass anywhere for an Englishman. (By way of episode I would say here that) being well aware that no English could surpass though they might equal me in French, and knowing the great importance of a superior knowledge & command of languages & the disadvantage of the contrary, I very reluctantly gave in: besides I had ever made it a rule never to speak English to any one out of England; Miss Phillips, however, made that resolution go to the wall.'

And there the Baron's fragment ends. It is a pity that the complete memoir has not survived, but the foregoing tells us clearly where and how the Baron met his future bride.

Anyway, not long after their first meeting, the Baron proposed and was accepted, whether in English or French we do not know. They were married by Special Licence at Colwich, Staffordshire, on 30 October 1822, by the Revd. Frederick Anson, Rector of Sudbury in Derbyshire. The witnesses who signed the register were Lord Vernon and Lord Anson, the latter being the bride's brother-in-law. Among the wedding presents received by Mary Dorothea, was a diamond ring from her brother-in-law Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cameron. The marriage settlement, executed on 22 October 1822, was made between the following parties-

1. John Frederick, Baron de Rutzen in the Duchy of Courland, and his eldest son Charles Frederick, Baron de Rutzen:
2. Mary Dorothea Phillips spinster:
3. The Rt. Hon. Thomas William Viscount Anson, Nathaniel Phillips of Slebech Hall (brother of the bride) and Roger Harries of Bernard Street, Russell Square, Middlesex, merchant.

By this settlement the prospective bride agreed to convey £ 10,000 (charged on the Jamaica estate) to the trustees, for the uses of the marriage; the trustees were to advance that sum or part thereof, on security of a mortgage of the De Rutzen estates of Laukozam, Maulgrauschen and Maschutten, in the territory, or under the Government, of Lithuania in Russia, which estates were then in mortgage or otherwise secured to Baron John Frederick: the Baron Charles Frederick was to charge his estates with £ 2,000 as dower for his bride.

The marriage was blessed with seven children. The Baroness continued to charm her family and friends with her musical talent, and a haunting little melody of her own composition, called 'Slebech Hall' has survived. They lived first at Brighton until 1829 when they moved to Bedford Square, London. By the death of her brother, Edward Augustus Phillips, in 1830, the Baroness and her sister, Lady Anson, became coheiresses to the estates in Jamaica and Slebech.

In 1830 the De Rutzens came to live at Slebech, to fit into a way of life that differed greatly from that of fashionable European capitals and watering places. The Baron now had to undertake the duties and responsibilities of an English country gentleman. The Slebech estate which had become the property of Mary Dorothea and her husband, comprised over 3,700 acres lying in the parishes of Slebech, Minwear, Newton, Martletwy, Robeston Wathan, Narberth and Lampeter Velfrey. It produced a rental of £ 5,300 per annum. The estimated value of the extensive woodlands alone amounted to over £ 70,000. The house, then known as Slebech Hall, largely if not wholly rebuilt by a former proprietor in the 1770s, was a substantial building in the form of a square with a circular tower at each corner, and a wing containing domestic offices on its north side. The demesne land, nearly 1300 acres in extent, was park-like in character, laid out with trees and plantations, while the river Cleddy, about 300 yards wide, flowed nearby. The river was navigable as far as Blackpool bridge (built by the De Rutzens about 1830), and all craft entering within the bounds of the estate had to pay toll to the owner and to load or discharge cargoes at Blackpool Quay. The fishery on the river also belonged to him. The tolls and fishery were let for £ 40 per annum. Owing to its seclusion the area abounded in wild fowl of all description, and a very large heronry in the wood near the mansion was the only one on the Milford Haven estuary at that time.

The Baron and his wife were Lords of the Manors of Slebech, Minwear, Newton, Narberth and Robeston Wathen, and of the Manors or Reeveships of Lampeter Velfrey and Llandewi Velfrey. The manorial dues and renders were small, but the mineral rights always had a potential value, while the sporting rights were extremely valuable and immediately available. The Baron insisted on these perquisites, and had to recourse to law to enforce some of them. In the town of Narberth he built a hotel, 'The De Rutzen Arms', and also a market house, and enjoyed tolls of the weekly market and of the fairs held in that town.

The Baron shared a passion for the chase with his Pembrokeshire neighbours, and was a noted performer with rod and gun. He preserved game on a big scale, and in 1835 added to them by importing black fowl from Russia. Some of his activities were influenced by his continental background, sometimes to the discomfiture of his tenants. To add to his pleasures he imported animals that had long been extinct in England. Among these were wild boars. In November 1834 he arranged for the Duke of Brunswick to send him two wild boars, aged I i or 2 years, in a cage via Hamburg. The boars were let loose in the Canaston woodlands and provided good sport for the Baron, but their presence was deeply resented by the farmers and tenants, and as a result of their hostility, the Baron, much to his disgust, had to discontinue importing them. He agreed to destroy them all provided he could do so in his own way-by more intensive hunting. It seemed to the farmers, however, that they took 'an unconscionable time a-dying', and the baron enjoyed several more years of exciting sport before the last boar was bowled over. At one time he even toyed with the idea of importing wolves!

As Lay Rector he was entitled to the Rectorial Tithe rent charges of Slebech, Minwear, and Newton, and was patron of the livings of those parishes. All these, of course, he enjoyed in right of his wife. His somewhat autocratic actions involved him in trouble with Ecclesiastical authority. The three churches were in a state of disrepair. That of Slebech, which had been used during the Middle Ages by the Knights of St. John, lay between the mansion and the river. From 1766 it had been a continual expense, and after the death of Nathaniel Phillips in 1813, the fabric deteriorated sadly. Rather than repair it, the Baron decided to build a new parish church at a distance from the mansion, and on 3 October 1838 the Baroness laid the foundation stone. The church was finally finished and consecrated in 1848, towards the building of which the De Rutzens had contributed very substantially. On either side of the entrance porch, carved in stone, are the heads of the Baron and Baroness, that of the former being particularly lifelike.

In 1844 the Baron obtained an Order in Council which provided for the consolidation of the three parishes for ecclesiastical purposes. He then selected a site for a new church to be built for the parishioners of Minwear and Newton, but nothing more was done. After this, the three old churches became totally derelict, that of Minwear being deliberately dismantled by order of the Baron. These activities led to his appearance in the Court of Arches in 1861. Judgement was given against him, he was ordered to restore the old church of Minwear, and to pay costs of the lawsuit.

He helped to further education in the parish, converted an old blacksmith's shop into a schoolroom, contributed £ 6 to the Master for teaching the labourers' children, and gave him a house, and culm valued at k3; a generosity recorded in the report of the Commission on Welsh Education in 1847.

The family continued to make visits to London where they had many friends, some in exalted places. Among these were Queen Adelaide (wife of William IV), the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their daughter 'the young Victoria', who ascended the Throne in 1837. Among her possessions was a piece of jewelry described as 'Queen Victoria's hair set in a Diamond Brooch, graciously presented by Her Majesty to Baroness de Rutzen'. She was also friendly with the Baroness Lehzen, Queen Victoria's companion and confidante, and with the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. They also maintained contact with their friends and relations on the Continent, among others the De Rutzens, Zachlehner of Memel, Baron de Grotthus, Marquis and Marchioness de Prouleroy, and the Duke of Brunswick. The Baron and Baroness, taking their children with them, made at least one visit to Courland, some time before 1833.

In 1860 the Baroness fell ill. On 18 May she made her will and on 14 June she died and was buried privately in the vault in Slebech new church. In the will she requested that the remains of her father be removed from the old parish church and placed near her in the vault in the new church, and on 2 August this was done.

The Baron felt her loss keenly, for the marriage had been a most happy one, husband and wife being utterly devoted to each other, and to their children. After her death he lived at intervals at different places in Europe, sometimes accompanied by his daughter, Emmeline. While at Dresden he was taken ill and died there on 15 August 1874. His remains were brought back to Slebech and placed in the vault alongside those of his wife.

Baron John [Charles] Frederick de Rutzen and Mary Dorothea his wife had the following issue-

1. Baron Frederick Leopold Sapieha Manteuffel, born at Brighton on 10 June 1825, and baptised at the Royal Chapel. He succeeded his father at Slebech, was a Justice of the Peace, and served as High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire in 1871. He was particularly interested in the volunteer movement, and in 1847 became Cornet in The Pembrokeshire Yeomanry, of which he became Major Commandant in 1864, and Lieutenant Colonel in 1871. He resigned the command in 1878 and in May of that year was appointed Honorary Colonel of the regiment. He died unmarried, on 20 May 1890, aged 64, and was succeeded by his brother, Rudolph.
2. Baron Rudolph William Henry Ehrard, born 6 September 1828, baptised at Brighton on 8 October 1828. He was a B.A. of the University of Cambridge, and became a barrister of the Inner Temple (1864). He was a Justice of the Peace for Pembrokeshire, and served as High Sheriff in 1895. He died unmarried on 18 April 1915, and was succeeded by his nephew Alan.
3. Albert Richard Francis Maximilien - born on 27 January 1830 and baptised at St. James's, Westminster, on 3 April following. He was a B.A. of the University of Cambridge, and became a barrister of the Inner Temple (1857). He embarked on a legal career. From 1872 to 1876 he was stipendiary magistrate for Merthyr Tydfil, and for some years deputy-chairman of Quarter Sessions for Glamorgan, then became Metropolitan Police Magistrate for Marylebone 1876¾1891, Westminster (1891-1897), Marlborough Street (1897-1899), Bow Street (1899-1901) and was Chief Magistrate there from 1901. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Pembrokeshire, and also Justice of the Peace for Glamorgan, Berkshire, London, and the Home Counties. He was knighted in 1901. He formed the subject of one of 'Spy's' famous cartoons.
4. Eugene Ferdinand Ulrich Stanislaus, born 27 July 1834, baptised at Slebech on 7 September following. He married on 10 December 1892, Agnes daughter of Thomas Penman, and died without issue on 29 September 1916.
5. Minna Frederica Phillipa, born 23 September 1823, died 29 June 1825.
6. Frederica Maria Louisa, born 30 January 1827, baptised at Brighton 30 March following; married, 20 August 1850, Richard Ilbert Phillips of Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire. She died on i November 1904 leaving issue.
7. Emmeline Charlotte Catherine, born 24 March 1832, baptised at Slebech on 13 May following; she died unmarried in August 1892.

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