From Pageboy to Proprietor: the Extraordinary Life of James Cumberlidge

Nadege Forde-Vidal
In this talk Nadege Forde-Vidal will share the research that has revealed so much more of James Cumberlidge's from his roots, the places he frequented and people he knew, his education, interests, home life and family

About the talk

Nadege Forde-Vidal will share the research that has revealed so much more of James’s story – from his potential roots, the places he frequented and people he knew, his education, interests, home life and family – to a career spanning over 45 years that began as Lady Dorothy Burlington’s pageboy, and ended in the Royal Court of King George III and Queen Charlotte.  

Last year’s highly productive visits to our archives at Chatsworth, combined with in depth online research and a new report by Dr Edward Town, have led to several incredible new discoveries about the life of one particular Black resident of Chiswick House – James Cumberlidge (c1730 – 1783).

About the speaker

Nadege Forde-Vidal has been working at Chiswick House and Gardens in a variety of capacities since 2019. Her academic knowledge spans over 6000 years of global history from Dynastic Egypt to the British Empire. She currently leads the research for the Black Chiswick through History project and also delivers culturally inclusive local history workshops to London based community groups and secondary schools through the Sankofa London Schools Project.

From Pageboy to Proprietor: the Extraordinary Life of James Cumberlidge

Support us with a donation

Support the ongoing work of the London Luminaries to help our important historic properties stay open and keep being enjoyed by all.

Share this
London Luminaries
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping us to understand which sections of the website you find most useful and interesting.

You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.