Early life

Peter Howe Brown, second marquis of Sligo, who packed an extraordinary amount into his 57 years on Earth. (Westport House)
Peter Howe Brown, second marquis of Sligo, who packed an extraordinary amount into his 57 years on Earth. (Westport House)
Peter Howe Brown, second marquis of Sligo, was to pack an extraordinary amount into his 57 years on Earth. Born in 1788, some of his formative memories stemmed from the late summer of 1798, when French forces seized Westport House from his father and made it their base during the ill-fated rebellion of the United Irishmen. He subsequently went to school at Harrow in England, where he befriended the poet Lord Byron and future prime minister Robert Peel. In January 1809 he succeeded to his father’s titles and immense fortunes, including over 130,000 acres of County Mayo and numerous sugar and coffee plantations in Jamaica. Like many a Regency buck, the young marquis turned to gambling with a passion. He turned out to be rather good at it, and he stunned the racing world when his Arabian steed, Waxy, thundered home to win the 1809 Epsom Derby.