page_title: William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: The memorial to William Ward in Worcester Cathedral.
context_page_description: William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, known as The Lord Ward from 1835 to 1860, was a British landowner and benefactor.
context_section_description: On 6 December 1835, he inherited the title of Lord Ward, when he became the 11th Baron Ward. His inheritance included Himley Hall and the ruins of Dudley Castle. In 1837 his trustees purchased the Witley Court estate in Worcestershire from Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley.
  Ward never held any political office, but served as Colonel Commander of the Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1854.
  Between 1859 and 1877 Ward paid for the entire refacing and restoration of Worcester Cathedral and there is a monument to him in the cathedral. In 1868 he defrayed one third of the cost of the tower and spire of St John the Baptist's Church at Hagley. He was also a trustee of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.
  In 1860, the earldom held by his kinsman was revived when he was created Viscount Ednam, of Ednam in the County of Roxburgh, and Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of Stafford.
caption: The monument to William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, in Worcester Cathedral
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