Louis (Durfort) Duras KG PC (abt. 1638 - 1709)

Born about 1638 in Duras, Guyenne, France

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Sondes) Durford — married 9 Mar 1676 (to 1 Jan 1677) in Sheldwich, Kent, England

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Biography

Louis (Durfort) Duras KG PC is Notable.

Louis de Durfort, Marquis de Blanquefort, was the sixth son of Guy-Aldonce de Durfort and his wife, Elizabeth de la Tour d'Auvergne. ^{[1] [2]} A professed Protestant it was however in the service of James, Duke of York, brother of the restored King, Charles II, that he had found his way in England by 1665, the year in which he was naturalised,^[2] taking the name Duras, and the year in which he distinguished himself at the Battle of Lowestoft, fighting against the Dutch navy. He was a firm favourite of the Duke of York who advanced him to Captain and then Colonel in his own guards. Louis was granted an English peerage in 1673 being made Baron Duras of Holdenby.^[2]

On the 9th of March 1676 at Sheldwich in Kent he married Mary Sondes, ^[3] daughter of George Sondes and his second wife, Mary Villiers. ^[4] On the 8th of April following his son-less father-in-law was created Baron Throwley, Viscount Sondes, and Earl of Feversham in Kent with special remainder to Louis. ^[2] Mary died on the 1st of January 1677 but by the special remainder Louis was still assured of his inheritance which came when Feversham died on the 16th of April 1677. ^[5]

In December 1679 he was made master of horse to the Queen, Catherine of Braganza, and in 1680 advanced to be her lord chamberlain. ^[2] Of the many services he performed for the king the last was the most dangerous. As the King lay dying The Duke of York ordered from the death bed all but Louis and John Granville, Earl of Bath, both protestants and chosen to witness the king's conversion to Catholicism by father Huddleston. ^[6]The King died the following day, the 6th of February 1685.^[7]

York ascended the throne remarkably peacefully considering the furore that had raged against him for years, but trouble came in June when the Duke of Monmouth, the late king's bastard son, landed at Lyme Regis in arms, intent on claiming the Kingdom.^[8] Louis who had already been made a Privy Councilor was placed at the head of the King's army sent against the rebels but had little care for the task. The morning when the two forces came together found Louis fast asleep in bed, earning him the contempt of his officers among them John Churchill his second in command. ^[2] The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on the 6th of July 1685. It was no problem for the royal army to defeat the hapless untrained followers of Monmouth. ^[9] Monmouth fled the field and Louis returned to court leaving Percy Kirke the task of hunting down the survivors of the rebel forces. ^[2] A grateful King saw him installed as the 493rd Knight of the Garter. ^[10] However he was lampooned by Buckingham in his farce "The Battle of Sedgemoor’" as the general who won a battle without getting out of bed. ^[2]

Louis had only the slightest inconvenience when William of Orange made himself king in 1688 suffering no more than a couple of weeks imprisonment and continuing his life much as before, doing little services here and there, including serving as pall-bearer for Samuel Pepys in 1703. ^[2]

Louis died on the 8th of April 1709 and was buried on the 28th in the vault of the French chapel in the Savoy.^[2] His body was taken up and reinterred with those of his nephew and niece, Armand and Charlotte de Bourbon, 21 March 1739–40, in the north cross of Westminster Abbey.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands officiers de la Couronne, de la Maison du Roy et des anciens barons du royaume, Tome 5, par le Père Anselme de Sainte-Marie, continuée par Honoré du Fourny, ed. la compagnie des libraires (Paris) 1726-1733. Page: 737 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k76078s/f749.image, consulté le 7 juin 2020
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10} Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 16 Duras, Louis by Gordon Goodwin
3. ↑ Marriage record Sheldwich (9 March 1676 Lewes Durose married Mary Sondes) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
4. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Sondes, George, first earl of Feversham (1599–1677) Thomas Seccombe, revised by Sean Kelsey
5. ↑ History of Parliament online: SONDES, Sir George (1599-1677), of Lees Court, Sheldwich, Kent
6. ↑ "Royal Survivor, A Life of Charles II" Stephen Coote. Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 0 340 69619 2 Page 351
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Charles II of England
8. ↑ Wikipedia: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
9. ↑ Wikipedia: Battle of Sedgemoor
10. ↑ Wikipedia: List of Knights and Ladies of the Garter

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Duras, Louis, second earl of Feversham (1641–1709) Stuart Handley

• British History online Parishes: Badlesmere

• Wikipedia: Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham