George Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury

Who was George Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury?

George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury, styled Viscount Savernake from 1878 to 1886, was the son of George John Brudenell-Bruce and Lady Evelyn Mary Craven, and succeeded his grandfather as 4th Marquess on the latter's death on 18 October 1886. On his death in 1894 he was succeeded in the marquessate, and his other titles, by his uncle. According to family records, he went by the name William, and was known informally as Willie.

In his youth, he was a habitual gambler, forcing his grandfather to step in and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to satisfy his creditors. Upon succeeding his grandfather in the family estates, his propensity for gambling only increased, and he soon found his entire estate approaching bankruptcy. During the legal proceedings in 1891, many offers were made to buy the great Savernake estates, including one by Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, then Chairman of the Board and former CEO of the Guinness Company. However, the Board of Trustees of Savernake, headed by Ailesbury's uncle, Lord Henry Brudenell-Bruce, fought hard to prevent Ailesbury from selling.