Manuscripts and Special Collections

Biography of Lt Colonel Henry Francis (d 1817)

Henry was the second son of Charles Mellish of Blyth. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1800 but did not reside. He had an army career, eventually becoming Lieutenant-Colonel. In the Peninsular War campaign of 1808-1810 he was aide-de-camp to General Ferguson.

He was noted for his interests in horse racing and gambling. His horses won the St Leger in 1804 and 1805. 

His elder brother Joseph Charles Mellish was disinherited on account of his extravagance. Henry inherited the Blyth and Hodsock estates on the death of his father in 1797. He sold the Blyth estate in 1806 to pay off his own gambling debts, and Hodsock became the main family residence. His estates passed to his sister Anne Chambers after his death.

Family

He married Harriet. They had no children.

Archive Collections

  • Papers relating to Henry Francis Mellish are part of the Mellish Collection held in Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham
 

Manuscripts and Special Collections

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