The Earl of Wilmington | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait byGodfrey Kneller,c. 1715 | |
| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 16 February 1742 – 2 July 1743 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | Robert Walpole |
| Succeeded by | Henry Pelham |
| Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 31 December 1730 – 13 February 1742 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Prime Minister | Robert Walpole |
| Preceded by | The Lord Trevor |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Harrington |
| Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain | |
| In office 17 March 1715 – 1727 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Prime Minister | Robert Walpole (from 1721) |
| Preceded by | Sir Thomas Hanmer |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Onslow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1673 Compton Wynyates, England |
| Died | (aged c. 70) Westminster, England |
| Resting place | Compton Wynyates |
| Political party | Whig |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
| Signature |  |
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (1673 – 2 July 1743[1]) was a BritishWhig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death in 1743. He sat in theEnglish andBritish House of Commons between 1698 and 1728, and was then raised to the peerage and sat in theHouse of Lords. He served asprime minister of Great Britain from 1742 until his death in 1743. He is considered to have been Britain's second prime minister, afterRobert Walpole, but worked closely with theSecretary of State,Lord Carteret, in order to secure the support of the various factions making up the government.[2]
Spencer Compton was born in 1673 in Compton Wynyates, aTudor castle inWarwickshire. He was the third son ofJames Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton, who fought for theroyalists during theEnglish Civil War and his wife Mary Noel, daughter ofBaptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden. His father died in 1681 when Spencer was young and his brother,George Compton, become the sole beneficiary of the family's estates. Spencer was educated atSt Paul's School and matriculated atTrinity College, Oxford on 28 February 1690, aged 15;[3] thereafter he was admitted intoMiddle Temple in 1687.
Although his family wereHigh Tories, Compton turned to theWhigs after a quarrel with his brother, the4th Earl of Northampton. He first stood for Parliament atEast Grinstead on the interest of his kinsman theEarl of Dorset at the1695 English general election but was unsuccessful. He was returned unopposed asMember of Parliament forEye at a by-election on 3 June 1698. In Parliament he soon stood out as prominent amongst the Whigs and began a partnership withRobert Walpole that would last for over forty years. Compton was returned unopposed for Eye at the two general elections of1701 and in1702 and1705.[4]
In 1707 Compton becamePaymaster of Pensions, a post that he retained for the next six years. He was returned unopposed again at the1708 British general election and was particularly active in Parliament thereafter. He remained as chairman of the committee of privileges and elections, and was a teller on the Whig side in many divisions. He managed several bills and on 14 December 1709 was nominated to the committee to draw up the articles of impeachment againstDr Sacheverell. At the1710 British general election he was dropped as a candidate for Eye by his patronLord Cornwallis after a disagreement, and he was unwilling to risk standing anywhere else because of his involvement with the Sacheverell case. However he retained his post as Paymaster of Pensions after the Tory government took office in that year. It is believed that the Tories retained him because they sought to maintain the support of the Compton family. At the1713 British general election he was returned as Whig MP forEast Grinstead and when the Whigs took power in 1715 he was hopeful that he would enter a high office.[4]
Instead of the high political office he had hoped for, Compton received the Court appointment of Treasurer to thePrince of Wales (laterGeorge II); shortly afterwards, however, he was unanimously elected asSpeaker of the House of Commons. He held this post from 1715 to 1727. In 1716, he was invested aPrivy Counsellor. He maintained the role of Speaker despite the split in the Whigs in 1717, in which he joined the Walpole-Townshend alliance and found himself in opposition to the government of the day. He managed to maintain his position though until 1720, when the split ended.[5]
Compton had a reputation for being a lax Speaker, once telling an MP who complained of being interrupted, "No sir, you have a right to speak, but the House have a right to judge whether they will hear you." When Walpole became the leading minister of the day in 1721, there was speculation about his future shouldGeorge I pass away and be succeeded by his son, who was more favourably inclined towards Compton than Walpole and declared that he would replace the latter with the former on accession. In order to avoid this, Walpole sought to keep Compton on the margins of government, though he was appointed asPaymaster of the Forces, a very lucrative post, from 1722 until 1730.[6] In 1725, Compton entered Walpole's government asLord Privy Seal and was also created aKnight of the Bath.[5]
In 1727, George II succeeded to the throne and sought to bring about the change in leadership he had promised.[7] However, Compton was not perceived as a man of great ability. He was described by a contemporary as "a plodding, heavy fellow, with great application but no talents".[8] In particular he proved unable to compete with Walpole's proposals for an allowance for the king. At a meeting between the three, Compton declared he was not up to the task of government.[9] He maintained a hatred of Walpole for the humiliation. With this passed his last serious chance of holding real control over policy, and his influence sharply declined as a result.
In order to remove him from the Commons, Walpole raised Compton to the peerage asBaron Wilmington, ofWilmington in theCounty of Sussex on 8 January 1728;[10] two years later, on 14 May 1730, he was createdViscount Pevensey, ofPevensey in the County of Sussex andEarl of Wilmington[11] and was appointedLord President of the Council in December of that year. He became increasingly associated with thePatriot Whigs, those most critical of Walpole, but in Parliament generally stuck to the official line of the ministry. In 1730 he attempted to form a coalition between thePatriot Whigs and theHanoverian Tories to bring down Walpole, but this failed and he continued in office.[12] However, during theExcise Crisis of 1733, he failed to carry through a threat to resign, after being bought off with the promise to make him aKnight of the Garter, which he duly was. This further weakened any following he still commanded. He served as Lord President until 1742.
He was involved in the creation of theFoundling Hospital in 1739, which was anorphanage forabandoned children. This charity became the capital's most popular way to prove one'sphilanthropic credentials and had very distinguished Board members (including Wilmington).
In January 1742, he succeeded Walpole asFirst Lord of the Treasury and head of theCarteret ministry.[13] Wilmington's time in office was short and undistinguished and he was a poor leader. His opposition controlled the House of Commons so his direct influence was greatly limited. His brief premiership was dominated by dealing with foreign affairs, particularly in theWar of the Austrian Succession.[14] His strong work ethic took its toll, and his health gradually deteriorated. He remained in office until his death in 1743, when he was succeeded by thePaymaster of the Forces,Henry Pelham.[14]
.jpg)
He bought the East Borne estate in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1724 and renamed itCompton Place.[15] He engaged the architectColen Campbell (and after Campbell's deathWilliam Kent) to rebuild the house. It was completed in 1731.[16]
He never married and died without issue, therefore all his titles became extinct upon his death. Over 1110 items from his "large and valuable library" were auctioned byChristopher Cock over 10 evenings, from to 27 February to 7 March 1733.[17] He was buried at thefamily seat ofCompton Wynyates inWarwickshire.[1] Compton Place passed to his nephew,James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton.
 |
|
Media related toSpencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain 1715–1727 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster of the Forces 1722–1730 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1730 | In commission Title next held by The Duke of Devonshire |
| Lord President of the Council 1730–1742 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Great Britain 16 February 1742 – 2 July 1743 | Succeeded by |
| First Lord of the Treasury 1742–1743 | ||
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEye 1698–1710 Served alongside:Sir Joseph Jekyll | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Grinstead 1713–1715 Served alongside:John Conyers | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSussex 1715–1728 With:James Butler 1715–1722 Henry Pelham 1722–1728 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Grinstead 1722 Served alongside:John Conyers | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| New creation | Earl of Wilmington 1730–1743 | Extinct |
| Baron Wilmington 1728–1743 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
.svg)
.jpg)
