Robert William Cumberbatch


Robert William Cumberbatch was a British diplomat who held the post of Consul in the Russian and Ottoman Empires.

Life and career

Cumberbatch was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Abraham Parry Cumberbatch, a wealthy slave owner in Barbados, and his second wife, Caroline Chaloner.
He first went to Istanbul in June 1845 to serve as secretary to his half-brother Abraham Carleton Cumberbatch, who had been promoted from Vice Consul to Consul General there on 3 May 1845. Cumberbatch served as Acting Second Consul from May 1855 to June 1856, then as third Vice Consul until September 1857. He was appointed Consul at Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov on 12 January 1858. On 25 April 1864 he was appointed Consul at Smyrna, remaining in his post until his death. Being in the diplomatic service in Smyrna, Cumberbatch enthusiastically struggled with slave trade. He was buried at the British Cemetery at Smyrna on 30 March 1876. Despite the disapproval of his superiors in the foreign service, he repeatedly attempted to draw attention to the slave trade in the Mediterranean in order to create pressure to ban it.

Personal life

Cumberbatch was married twice. In 1843 he married Ellen Lloyd in Winkfield, Berkshire, and in 1853 he married Louisa Grace Hanson in Constantinople. Cumberbatch and Hanson had ten children:
Through Henry Alfred Cumberbatch, his grandson was Commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch RN, his great-grandson is actor Timothy Carlton, and his great-great-grandson is the actor Benedict Cumberbatch.