George Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury

George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury (8 June 1863 – 10 April 1894), styled Viscount Savernake from 1878 to 1886, was the son of George John Brudenell-Bruce and Lady Evelyn Mary Craven, and succeeded his grandfather as 4th Marquess on the latter's death on 18 October 1886. On his death in 1894 he was succeeded in the marquessate, and his other titles, by his uncle. According to family records, he went by the name William, and was known informally as Willie. (Wardens, page 310 as "dear Willie". Wardens, page 312 as "poor, unfortunate Willie", cited from 3rd Marquess Ailesbury's diary.)

In his youth, he attended Eton, but got into trouble, and left the school "under a cloud." (Wardens, page 310.) He became a habitual gambler, forcing his grandfather to step in and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to satisfy his creditors. In the process of paying off certain creditors, the 3rd Marquess was forced to sell the family's Yorkshire properties to raise the more than 175,000 GBP of debt Willie had amassed. (Wardens, page 313.) Upon succeeding his grandfather in the family estates, Willie's propensity for gambling only increased, and he soon found his entire estate approaching bankruptcy, amassing another huge round of debts exceeding 230,000 GBP. (Wardens, page 318) During the legal proceedings in 1891, many offers were made to buy the great Savernake estates, including one by Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, then Chairman of the Board and former CEO of the Guinness Company. (Wardens, page 319.) However, the Board of Trustees of Savernake, headed by Ailesbury's uncle, Lord Henry Brudenell-Bruce, fought hard to prevent Ailesbury from selling. (Wardens, page 321.) After years of legal battles and appeals, Edward Guinness, by then known as Lord Iveagh, became impatient and withdrew his offer, after a 1 May 1893 deadline was not met. (Wardens, page 327.) Not long after that, Ailesbury suffered an untimely death, brought about by a sudden illness, and due mainly to his excessive lifestyle. (Wardens, page 330.) He was succeeded by his uncle, who therefore had the very difficult task of making the estate solvent once more.

The April 1888 Vanity Fair caricature of William was originally published with a caption that is quoted, in part: "Lord Ailesbury is at bottom an excellently good creature ... But he can rarely remember not to forget himself." (Wardens, plate 14, facing page 316.)

On 6 May 1884, Willie married the daughter of Thomas Haseley, an actress named Dorothy "Julia Haseley, better known to [contemporary] theatre-goers as Dolly Tester." (Wardens, page 312.) But the marriage produced no children.

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