Maurice George Bisset

Maurice George Bisset was born in 1757 as a member of the Clan Bisset, the eldest son and heir of Rev. Alexander Bisset (the son of Major William Bisset, the second son of Alexander Bisset, 13th feudal baron of Lessendrum in Aberdeen, Scotland)Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn, including the district commonly called Formartine, its proprietors, with genealogical deductions; its parishes, ministers, Churches, churchyards, antiquities, [etc.], Aberdeen, 1894 [https://archive.org/details/thanageoffermart00tempuoft] by his wife Jane Bockland, daughter and heiress of Lieutenant-General Maurice Bocland (1695–1765) of Knighton Gorges, MP.Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn "The Bissets of Lessendrum, one of the most ancient families in the county of Aberdeen, were in possession of that barony long before the War of Independence."Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn

In 1765, aged 8, he inherited the estate and manor house of Knighton Gorges from his grandfather Lieutenant-General Maurice Bocland.'Parishes: Newchurch', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 177–187 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp177-187] He became a captain in the South Hampshire Militia, which covered the Isle of Wight. Bisset became a close friend of Sir Richard Worsley, his near neighbour on the Isle of Wight. As was revealed in the court case, with the encouragement of her husband, Bisset began an affair with Lady Worseley and in August 1781 she gave birth to his daughter, christened as Jane Seymour Worsley, whose paternity was nevertheless accepted by the baronet, to avoid scandal. In November 1781 Bisset ran away with her so she could escape her failing marriage with Sir Richard. They were however discovered and in February 1782 Worsley brought a criminal conversation legal action against Bisset seeking damages of £20,000 (2023: £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|20000|1782|2023|r=-4}}}}). Seymour, who was rumoured to have 27 lovers, turned the case against Sir Richard and made it clear that he had consented to and even encouraged the relationship between her and Bisset. This testimony destroyed Worsley's suit and the jury awarded him nominal damages of just one shilling (2023: £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.05|1782|2023|r=2}}}}).

Seymour was unable to obtain a divorce from Richard, only a separation, meaning she could not remarry until he died. Because of this, Bisset eventually left Seymour, and went on in 1787 to marry Harriat Mordaunt, an illegitimate daughter of Charles Mordaunt, 4th Earl of Peterborough (by his mistress, and later second wife, Robiniana)In his will Maurice Bisset mentions "all moneys equally among my two daughters – my daughter Ann to have £1,000 more than her sister, because her sister had £1,000 given her by the will of her grandmother, the late Countess of Peterborough" by whom he had two daughters and co-heiresses:

• Jane Harriet Bissett (d.1866), 21st Scottish feudal baroness of Lessendrum Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn, including the district commonly called Formartine, its proprietors, with genealogical deductions; its parishes, ministers, Churches, churchyards, antiquities, [etc.], Aberdeen, 1894 [https://archive.org/details/thanageoffermart00tempuoft] summary pedigrees [http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rowerowe/genealogy/Thanage.htm] who married her first cousin Venerable Maurice George Fenwick-Bisset (1797-1879), Archdeacon of Raphoe, who on his wife's inheritance of Lessendrum adopted the additional surname of Bisset. Her son was Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset (1825–1884) of Bagborough, Somerset, MP, 22nd Scottish feudal baron of Lessendrum and Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, who inherited the manor of Dauntsey in Wiltshire, the seat of the Earls of Peterborough, from his childless great-uncle Charles Mordaunt, 5th Earl of Peterborough, 3rd Earl of Monmouth (1758–1814).Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn
• Ann Bissett (d.1879).Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn[https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/27f22f51-b0e0-49b5-968b-f8720ee40eaf As named in his will]

By 1818 he had moved to Bath in Wiltshire, as in his will dated in that year he describes himself as "late of Knighton but now resident in Bath".{{Cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/27f22f51-b0e0-49b5-968b-f8720ee40eaf|title = Attested copy of the will of Maurice George Bisset, late of Knighton within the parish of Newchurch, I.W., but now resident in Bath, dated 1 December 1818}} In 1820 his manor house of Knighton Gorges was burnt down and demolished, with no vestige remaining today.'Parishes: Newchurch', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 177-187 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp177-187] He died in 1821 at Lessendrum in Scotland,{{Cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/27f22f51-b0e0-49b5-968b-f8720ee40eaf|title = Attested copy of the will of Maurice George Bisset, late of Knighton within the parish of Newchurch, I.W., but now resident in Bath, dated 1 December 1818}} aged 64. He was succeeded as feudal baron of Lessendrum and in the estate of Knighton Gorges, according to entails,Temple, William, The Thanage of Fermartyn by his younger brother Rev. William Bissett (1758–1834), Bishop of Raphoe, 19th feudal baron, who died without issue when the barony was inherited by his nephew William Bisset, son of his younger brother Alexander Bisset.

His monument in Lessendrum Church is inscribed: "Sacred to the memory of Maurice George Bisset Esq., of Lessendrum who died at Lessendrum on the 16th December 1821 in the 64th year of his age. This tablet is jointly inscribed by Harriot, his affectionate and mournful widow, and his brother and immediate successor, William Lord Bishop of Raphoe, in honour of his name, and in grateful recollection of his many virtues that adorned his sacred character."

Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard played Bisset in the 2015 BBC2 television film The Scandalous Lady W, based upon Hallie Rubenhold's book Lady Worsley's Whim.

The site of the manor house of Knighton Gorges has become famous as a supposedly haunted place and many unfounded stories have grown up concerning its history and demise. One of the latter is that Bisset himself demolished his house "out of spite because his daughter was marrying a clergyman, against his wishes, and he therefore prevented her from ever owning the manor".See for example [https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/en/isle-of-wight-guide/blog/guide-to-the-most-haunted-places-on-the-island/] and [https://www.curiousarchive.com/knighton-gorges-most-haunted-isle-of-wight/] However, in his will, dated 1818, he provides generously for his two daughters and makes no mention of any intention to disinherit either. "The stories of Knighton Gorges's destruction often end with Bisset dying alone and miserable in a cottage on the property",{{Cite web|url=https://www.curiousarchive.com/knighton-gorges-most-haunted-isle-of-wight/|title = The Tragic History of Knighton Gorges, the Isle of Wight's most Haunted Location|date = 7 March 2021}} which is entirely unfounded as he died at Lessendrum in Scotland,{{Cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/27f22f51-b0e0-49b5-968b-f8720ee40eaf|title = Attested copy of the will of Maurice George Bisset, late of Knighton within the parish of Newchurch, I.W., but now resident in Bath, dated 1 December 1818}} as is stated on his monument in Lessendrum Church, still married to his long-term wife of 34 years Harriat, whom he calls in his will "my dear wife" and provides for generously. In his will he bequeathed to his wife Harriet "my manor of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, held on lease from the Duchy of Cornwall, in lieu of any annuity or rights of dower and hope she will give it at her death to our two daughters".

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|author1=Richard WORSLEY (Right Hon. Sir)|author2=Maurice George BISSET|author3=Robert Pye DONKIN|title=The Trial with the Whole of the Evidence, Between the Right Hon. Sir R. W. ... Plaintiff and G. M. Bissett, Defendant, for Criminal Conversation ... Taken in Shorthand by R. P. Donkin ... Fifth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8hbAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA10|year=1782|pages=10–}}
• {{cite book|author1=Regina Hewitt|author2=Pat Rogers|title=Orthodoxy and Heresy in Eighteenth-century Society: Essays from the DeBartolo Conference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcPlVq0t2QgC&pg=PA86|year=2002|publisher=Bucknell University Press|isbn=978-0-8387-5501-3|pages=86–}}
• {{cite book|author=Susan Mitchell Sommers|title=Thomas Dunckerley and English Freemasonry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYpECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA58|date=6 October 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-32047-0|pages=58–}}

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Category:1757 births

Category:1821 deaths

Category:Sex scandals in the United Kingdom

Category:Adultery in law