'Some Sidelights on Dutch History, in an Englisch
County Record Office'1
Among those Dutchman who came to England with William of Orange in 1688,
when he became William III of England was Henry de Nassau, Lord of Ouwerkerk
in the Provincie of Zeeland, his kinsman. Henry was no stranger to England, he had
accompanied William on his state visit of 1670 and had acquired, in passing, the
degree of Doctor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford. In 1685, he had been
William's special personal envoy to convey William's congratulations to James II
on his accession to the English throne. But his transit to England in 1688 was no
state visit or special embassy, Henry Nassau D'Auverquerque (his Dutch name
became French in England and this French version of Ouwerkerk will be used
throughout this address) became a man of some significance at the Court of William
and Mary and served his kinsman loyally and faithfully until William's death
in 1702.
In 1688, Henry came to England as Captain of the Royal Bodyguard, a post of
trust and consequence, and in February 1688/9, William appointed him Master of
the Horse, in which position he was in charge of the royal stables; the horses,
coaches and staff of the stables, their livery, maintenance and upkeep falling to
Henry's lot. His responsibilities were not confined to the royal stables in England
but extended, whenever William travelled abroad either at the head of his armies
or to attend to Dutch affairs, to the stables permanently maintained in The Hague
and to the supply of horses, fodder and stabling to the royal entourage and armies
in the field. As early as 1664, Henry was commissioned as a cornet in the army of
the States-General and continued to follow the profession of arms throughout his
life. In 1690, he fought at the battle of the Boyne in Ireland and accompanied
William to the campaigns in Brabant in 1691/2, having by then been commissioned
a Major-General in the British Army. In 1697 he became a full General in the
British Army.
On the death of William III, Henry Nassau D'Auverquerque, who had been made
deputy Stadholder in 1692, returned to his native land and estates. He became
Field Marshal of the Dutch forces under the overall command of the Duke of
Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession and enjoyed the entire trust
of his superior. Henry died on 17th October, 1708 N.S., in camp before Lille and
his body was carried to Ouwerkerk, his family house, where he was buried with due
pomp and ceremony.
Henry's wife was Frances, daughter of Cornelius Van Aerssen, Lord of Sommels-
dijck and Plaata by whom he had seven children, five sons and two daughters. It is
1 Nagekomen lezing tijdens de archiefstudiedagen, 14 oktober 1966.
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not entirely certain whether Frances, Countess D'Auverquerque returned to Holland
with her husband on William Ill's death but she was certainly in England whilst he
was on campaign with Marlborough. She continued to live in London until her
death in 1720, when she was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Of the five sons of Henry and Frances, the eldest, Louis, died in 1687 still a youth,
just before the family moved to England. Of the four remaining sons, Francis died
in battle in 1710 and Cornelius likewise in 1712. The two other sons were Henry,
who in his father's lifetime in 1698 was created Earl of Grantham, Viscount Boston
and Baron Alford by William III; and William Maurice, who followed his father's
profession of arms and reached the same high rank and dignity as his father. Whilst
Henry, Earl of Grantham, became to all intents and purposes Anglicised and an
Englishman, William Maurice remained wholly Dutch and his life and achievements
belong to the domestic history of the Netherlands in the 18th century. Of William's
life I do not intend to say much before this audience, except to remind you that
in 1730 he was appointed Governor of Sluys and subsequently became Field Marshal
commanding the army of the States General. He died on 25 May 1753 and left
his considerable fortune of over 300,000 to this brother, Henry, Earl of
Grantham.
Henry Nassau D'Auverquerque, Earl of Grantham, like his father, held offices
of trust and confidence at the English Court. He was Keeper of the Privy Purse,
1700-1702, and from 1716-1727 was Chamberlain to Caroline, Princess of Wales
and continued to hold that office when her husband ascended the throne as
George II, relinquishing it in 1737.
The two sisters of Grantham and William Maurice Nassau were Isabella, who
in 1691 married as his second wife, Charles Granville, Lord Lansdowne heir to
the first Earl of Bath, who died in August, 1701. Charles succeeded to the title
as 2nd Earl but died tragically by accidentally shooting himself twelve days after
wards. He left behind a son, William Henry born on 30th January 1691/2, who
became the third Earl of Bath. William Henry Granville died of smallpox in May,
1711, aged 19. The second daugther of Field-Marshal Count Henry Nassau and
Elizabeth van Horn was Frances, who married Nanfant Coote, Earl of Bellamont
and had one daughter.
Henry, Earl of Grantham, in 1697 married Lady Henrietta Butler, his cousin and
sister of James, 2nd Duke of Ormonde. She died on 11 October, 1721 and was
buried at St. James, Westminster. By her, Grantham, had two sons, Henry who
died without issue in 1718 and Thomas who likewise died without issue in 1730;
and three daughters. Frances, the eldest, married a Captain Elliot and died without
issue in 1772; Emilia Maria died in childhood at the age of 10; the third daughter,
Henrietta, married on 29 June 1732 as his first wife, William 2nd Earl Cowper,
whose seat was at Cole Green in the parish of Hertingfordbury, some 3 miles
from the county town of Hertford. On 26 August, 1738, Henrietta, Countess
Cowper, gave birth to a son, George Nassau Clavering Cowper, who was to be
the only son and heir of his father. Henrietta died on 23 September, 1747 and
was buried in Hertingfordbury Church on 2nd October.
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