William Congreve (1777-1843)

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Major William Congreve

unknown artist, in the collection of Peter J Hanley

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Lady Pepperell-Congreve

unknown artist, in the collection of Peter J Hanley

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Yeomanry Cavalry Pennants 1803-1811

William Congreve inherited the Aldermaston estate via family connections ¹ back to Ralph Congreve (d.1775). He was know to have been in possession of the estate in 1798 ¹,

Burke’s, of Burkes Peerage fame, in their 1847 Genealogical & Heraldic Dictionary  ² provides further information about William Congreve and it implies that he may have inherited Aldermaston from his father William Congreve of Congreve, Staffordshire who died in 1782. The same record gives the following information about the son:

William b 2 March 1777;  m 11 July 1799, Mary-Mackintosh Hurst, second daughter and co-heiress of the late Sir William Pepperell, Bart. She d. 3 Feb 1839

• Arms – Sa., chevron between three battle axes, arg.
• Crest – A falcon rising, wings expanded
•  Motto – Non moritur eujus fama vivit
•  Seat – Aldermaston House, Berkshire

1 – A History of Berkshire Volume 3 P 386-389 by P H Ditchfield and William Page. You can find it online here.

2 – Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, 1847, Volume 1, by John Burke and Bernard Burke.