Wallace Collection the largest, most important and extant collection of French 18th-century decorative arts in the world, rivalled only by the triumvirate of the Musée du Louvre, Château de Versailles and Mobilier National in France. The Wallace Collection is a non-departmental public body and admission is free. The Wallace Collection is a museum which displays the works of art collected in the 18th and 19th centuries by five generations of a British aristocratic family – the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess. In the 19th century, the Marquesses of Hertford were one
Marquess of Anglesey was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, the second Marquess. He served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under Lord Melbourne between 1839 and 1841. His only son from his first marriage, the third Marquess, represented Staffordshire South in Parliament. He was childless and was succeeded by his half-brother, the fourth Marquess. He held the honorary post of vice-admiral of North Wales and West Carmarthen. His son, the fifth Marquess, became known for squandering his inheritance on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts. In 1904 he was declared bankrupt. He died the following year aged