Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley


George Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley,,, , styled Earl of Rocksavage from 1923 until 1968, was a British peer and Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1968 and 1990.

Life and work

Cholmondeley was born in 1919 in St George Hanover Square, London, a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was the son of George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley and Sybil Sassoon, of the Sassoon and Rothschild family. His mother was Jewish. Like his great-great-grandfather, his great-granduncle, his great-grandfather, his grandfather, his father and his son, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton. He studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge University.
Cholmondeley served in the British army, initially in the Grenadier Guards and later in the 1st Royal Dragoons. During the Second World War, he saw action in the Middle East, in Italy, in France and in Germany. In 1943, he was decorated with the Military Cross. When Cholmondeley retired from the military in 1949, he had attained the rank of Major.
Cholmondeley succeeded to his father's land, estates and title in 1968. He died at Cholmondeley Castle in 1990.

Marriage and children

Cholmondeley married Lavinia Margaret Leslie, daughter of Colonel John Leslie, on 14 June 1947. The children of that marriage were:
Lavinia, Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley lived at Cholmondeley Castle.

Lands and estates

The family seats are Houghton Hall, Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a estate near Malpas, Cheshire.

Position at court

One moiety part of the ancient office of Lord Great Chamberlain is a Cholmondeley inheritance. This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office.