Birmingham: Peplow Memorial Lecture

The Noble Descendants of Bess of Hardwick

Speaker: Howard Connell

Given that Hardwick and Chatsworth are both in the Midlands (albeit East rather than West) my topic is “The Noble Descendants of Bess of Hardwick”. The lecture will seek to trace the ways in which this remarkable woman, who became the second wealthiest in England, contributed to the bloodlines of so many English hereditary peers.

Howard Connell is a barrister living and working in the Isle of Man. His 40 year career in public service included 20 years as a lawyer in the UK Civil Service, and 12 in the Attorney General’s Chambers in the Isle of Man. He is also an Anglican Lay Reader and the Diocesan Chancellor for the Diocese of Sodor and Man. Heraldry became a passion of his at about the age of 8 and he has served on the Council of the Heraldry Society and the Court of Trustees of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies and lectured on the topic to both the English and Scottish Heraldry Societies and at the International Congress in Saint Andrews.

William Augustus Peplow

Gus as he was known was a successful business man from the Black Country and descended from a long line of clockmakers. He had a keen interest in Heraldry, which he helped develop in the society, also making authoritative surveys of the hatchments of Worcestershire. He later became President of the Worcester Archaeological Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. After his demise in 1983 this annual lecture was set up in his memory.