William Henry Francis Petre, 11th Baron Petre

William Henry Francis, 11th Baron Petre (22 January 1793 – 3 July 1850) was the first Baron Petre to take his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829.

He was a son of Robert Edward Petre, 10th Baron Petre and Mary Bridget Howard. His mother was a sister of Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk.

He was a passionate horseman and maintained, and was master of, his own pack of foxhounds (1822–1839) known as the "Thorndon Hunt", from which the Essex Union Hunt subsequently developed. He also constructed a racecourse at Oxney Green, near Writtle. It is said that following the Battle of Waterloo, Petre acquired Marengo, the grey Arabian horse of Napoleon I of France

Keen on hunting he also created, at Thorndon Park, a mixed herd of up to 2,000 Fallow Deers and Red Deers, which subsequently formed the basis not only of the present Brentwood, Essex herd but also the entire deer population of New Zealand.

On 2 June 1815, Petre married his first wife Frances Charlotte Bedingfeld (19 April 1796 – 29 January 1822 Thorndon Hall), daughter of Sir Richard Bedingfeld, 5th Baronet and his wife Charlotte Georgiana Jerningham. Her maternal grandparents were Sir William Jerningham, 6th Baronet and Frances Dillon. The senior Frances was a daughter of Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon and Lady Charlotte Lee. The senior Charlotte was a daughter of George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield and Frances Hales. The eldest Frances was a daughter of Sir John Hales, 4th Baronet.

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