Biography of William Drury Lowe (1802-1877)
William Drury Holden was the eldest son of Robert Holden of Darley Abbey (1769-1844) and Mary Ann Drury Lowe (1783-1840). His father purchased Nuthall Temple in Nottinghamshire in 1819, which became the family home. William matriculated at Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1822, and received his B.A. in 1825.
Following his marriage in 1827, William lived for a time at Aston Lodge in Aston-on-Trent, Derbyshire. In the 1830s the family moved to Upper Dean near Kimbolton, Bedfordshire, where William took over the running of the estate.
They went to Italy in 1839, and lived there between 1840 and 1843. Their daughter Florence was born in that city in 1842. William was a great collector of paintings with a fascination for Italian art and culture.
William inherited the Denby and Locko estates of the Drury Lowe family on his father's death in 1844, but did not take possession of Locko Park until his grandmother's death in 1848. In 1849 he assumed the name and arms of Lowe in place of Holden, confirmed by Sign Manual in 1853. In 1854 he was Sheriff of Derbyshire. William was Chairman of the Liberal Committee in South Derbyshire in the mid-1860s.
William and Caroline, with their younger children, lived in France between 1855 and 1857 when building work was being carried out at Locko Park. William employed the Derby architect Henry Stevens for the alterations, which included an Italianate tower, completed in 1856, and a Picture Gallery.
William was estranged from his eldest son and heir William Drury Nathaniel Lowe for many years after his son's marriage in 1858. They were reconciled before William's death in 1877.
Family
He married in 1827 the Hon. Caroline Esther, dau. of Nathaniel 2nd Lord Scarsdale, and had:
- William Drury Nathaniel Drury-Lowe (1828-1906)
- Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe (1830-1908)
- Robert Henry Curzon Drury-Lowe (1831-1907)
- Felicia Drury-Lowe (d 1916)
- Caroline Mary Drury-Lowe (d 1907)
- Florence Catherine Drury-Lowe (1842-1879), m in 1868 Francis Nicholas Smith of Wingfield Park, Derbyshire
- Vincent Francis Keppel Drury-Lowe (1847-1905), Captain in the 63rd Foot, lived for a time in South Africa, m in 1877 Elizabeth Christmas
- Richard Curzon Sherwin Drury-Lowe (1848-1906), of the 10th Hussars, m in 1900 Gertrude Elizabeth Petch (d 1920)
The children were all known by the surname of Holden until 1849.
Archive Collections
- Title deeds, settlements, estate and legal papers relating to William Drury Lowe's ownership of his estates are part of the Drury-Lowe papers held in Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham
- The Drury-Lowe papers include correspondence (Dr C 50-70), diaries and personal papers (Dr F 30-100), and papers as Sheriff of Derbyshire (Dr O 4-6), of William Drury Lowe.