iamentary division of
Somersetshire, England, on the Bristol Channel, 15-1/2 m. W. of Bristol on
a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901)
5900. The cruciform church of St Andrew has Norman and later portions;
it is the burial-place of Henry Hallam the historian, and members of his
family, including his sons Arthur and Henry. Clevedon Court is a
remarkable medieval mansion, dating originally from the early part of
the 14th century, though much altered in the Elizabethan and other
periods. The house is considered to be the original of "Castlewood" in
Thackeray's _Esmond_; the novelist was acquainted with the place through
his friendship with the Rev. William Brookfield and his wife, the
daughter of Sir Charles Elton of Clevedon Court.

CLEVELAND, BARBARA VILLIERS, DUCHESS OF (1641-1709), mistress of the
English king Charles II., was the daughter of William Villiers, 2nd
Viscount Grandison (d. 1643), by his wife Mary (d. 1684), daughter of
Paul, 1st Viscount Bayning. In April 1659 Barbara married Roger Palmer,
who was created earl of Castlemaine two years later, and soon after this
marriage her intimacy with Charles II. began. The king was probably the
father of her first child, Anne, born in February 1661, although the
paternity was also attributed to one of her earliest lovers, Philip
Stanhope, 2nd earl of Chesterfield (1633-1713). Mistress Palmer, as
Barbara was called before her husband was made an earl, was naturally
much disliked by Charles's queen, Catherine of Braganza, but owing to
the insistence of the king she was made a lady of the bedchamber to
Catherine, and began to mix in the political intrigues of the time,
showing an especial hatred towards Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, who
reciprocated this feeling and forbad his wife to visit her. Her house
became a rendezvous for the enemies of the minister, and according to
Pepys she exhibited a wild paroxysm of delight when she heard of
Clarendon's fall from power in 1667. Whilst enjoying the royal favour
Lady Castlemaine formed _liaisons_ with various gentlemen, which were
satirized in public prints, and a sharp quarrel which occurred between
her and the king in 1667 was partly due to this cause. But peace was
soon made, and her influence, which had been gradually rising, became
supreme at court in 1667 owing to the marriage of Frances Stuart (la
belle Stuart) (1648-1702) with Charles Stuart, 3rd duke of Richmond
(1640-1672). Acco