The 1st Marquess of Hertford
Francis Seymour-Conway (1719-94) was created 1st Marquess of Hertford in 1793, the year before he died.
He was descended from the Edward Seymour who became Lord Protector of England in 1547.
A loyal Tory courtier, he was Ambassador to Paris 1762-5, when he met Madame de Pompadour, and Lord Chamberlain 1766-82. His family’s property included Ragley Hall in Warwickshire (still the country seat of the Marquesses of Hertford), Conway Castle, Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk and extensive estates in Ireland.
Eight oil paintings now in the Wallace Collection were acquired by him: six works by Canaletto (and his studio) and portraits of two of his daughters, Frances and Elizabeth, which he commissioned from Joshua Reynolds.
Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Engraved by J. Watts, 1789
