The Duke of Devonshire | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byThomas Hudson,c. 1750s | |
| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 16 November 1756 – 29 June 1757 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1720-05-08)8 May 1720 St Martin's-in-the-Fields,London, England |
| Died | 2 October 1764(1764-10-02) (aged 44) |
| Resting place | Derby Cathedral |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | |
| Children | William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Lord Richard Cavendish George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington |
| Parent(s) | William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire Catherine Hoskins |
| Signature |  |
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (8 May 1720 – 2 October 1764), styledLord Cavendish before 1729, andMarquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a BritishWhig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominalPrime Minister of Great Britain.[1] He was the first son ofWilliam Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire and his wife,Catherine (née Hoskins). He is also a great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ofKing Charles III through the king's maternal great-grandmother,Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
In October 1762,George III suspected that Devonshire andThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, were plotting against him. He had mistaken a visit by Devonshire as a tender of resignation, but George refused to see him in person. Four days later, George personally struck out Devonshire's name from the list of Privy Councillors.[2]
Cavendish's health declined during the 1760s. He visited the town ofSpa in theAustrian Netherlands for treatment in itsmineral baths, but he died there in October 1764. Dying at the age of 44 years and 147 days, Devonshire remains the shortest-lived British prime minister. Devonshire was buried atDerby Cathedral.[3]
The eldest of four sons ofWilliam Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, andCatherine (née Hoskins), he was baptised on 1 June 1720 atSt Martin's-in-the-Fields in London. He was possibly educated privately at home before going on agrand tour in France and Italy, accompanied by his tutor, in 1739-40.[4]
He was electedMP forDerbyshire in 1741 and 1747. Devonshire was a supporter of SirRobert Walpole and, after Walpole's fall from power, of the Pelhams.Henry Pelham wrote to Devonshire's father that he was "our mainstay among the young ones, of themselves liable to wander".[5]
Horace Walpole described him as "a favourite by descent of the Old Whigs"[6] and as "errant [a] bigot to the Pelham faction as everJacques Clément was to the Jesuits".[7]
He had been offered the post of governor to thePrince of Wales but he declined.[8]
Pelham appointed himMaster of the Horse, a post he held until 1755. To take it he left the House of Commons for the Lords bywrit of acceleration as Baron Cavendish and joined thePrivy Council.[9]
In 1753, as Marquess of Hartington, he acted as intermediary in arranging a Treasury pension for the journalistJames Ralph, editor of the opposition weeklyThe Protester; after an introduction byDavid Garrick he brokered terms under which Ralph withdrew from political writing.[10][11]
Devonshire supported theDuke of Newcastle after Henry Pelham's death in 1754 and wasLord Lieutenant of Ireland from 2 April 1755 until 3 January 1757 in Newcastle's administration. In April 1755 he was one of the Lords Justices of the realm upon the King's absence in Hanover.[12]
Devonshire succeeded his father asDuke of Devonshire in December 1755 after his death.
TheSeven Years' War was going badly for Britain under the leadership of the Duke of Newcastle and when he resigned in October 1756,George II eventually asked Devonshire to form an administration.[13] Devonshire accepted on the condition that his tenure would last only until the end of the parliamentary session. Devonshire believed his duty to the King required an administration capable of prosecuting the war successfully.[14]
Devonshire was given theGarter and appointedFirst Lord of the Treasury (most historians consider him prime minister during this service) in November 1756, and he served as First Lord until May 1757 in an administration effectively run byWilliam Pitt. Devonshire's administration secured increased money for the war, troops were sent to America and aMilitia Act was passed.[15]
The administration was eventually brought down for a variety of reasons including the opposition ofGeorge II and the alleged mishandling of the trial and execution of AdmiralJohn Byng. It was replaced by thePitt–Newcastle ministry headed by the Duke of Newcastle and including Pitt,Henry Fox and theDuke of Bedford. This government steered Britain through most of the Seven Years' War, leading the country to ultimate victory.
Devonshire wasLord Chamberlain in Newcastle's government (with a seat in the inner Cabinet) and his relations with him were close.[16] George II died in October 1760 and was succeeded by his grandsonGeorge III, who was suspicious of Devonshire and Newcastle. When Newcastle resigned in May 1762 Devonshire said that he would rarely attendLord Bute's councils.
When, in October, George III requested that he attend a Cabinet meeting on peace terms, Devonshire declined, claiming he had inadequate knowledge of the subject.[17]
On 28 October, travelling from Kew to London, the King overtook Devonshire and Newcastle's coach in the belief that the two dukes were plotting and that Devonshire was coming to tender his resignation. He was in fact passing through London toChatsworth House and had come to give his leave to the King. When Devonshire arrived, George III refused to see him, as he later wrote:
"I ordered the page to tell him I would not see him, on which he bid him ask me with whom he should leave his wand...I said he would receive my orders...On the Duke of Devonshire's going away he said to the page,God bless you, it will be very long before you see me here again
At a meeting of the Privy Council four days later the King personally struck out Devonshire's name from the list of Privy Councillors. In the opinion of one of his biographers,John Brooke, "Few things in King George III's long life show him in so poor a light".[18]
Devonshire resigned hisLord Lieutenancy of Derbyshire in solidarity with Newcastle and Rockingham when they were dismissed from their Lord Lieutenancies.[19]
For a long time he had a weak constitution, and he gradually grew more ill during these years. He ultimately died in theAustrian Netherlands, where he had gone to take the waters atSpa. His death was a large political loss to his allies, the Whig magnates such as the Duke of Newcastle. Dying at the age of 44 years and 147 days, he remains the shortest-lived British prime minister. Devonshire was buried atDerby Cathedral.[3]
He marriedLady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle,6th Baroness Clifford (1731–1754), the daughter and heiress ofRichard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington of the first creation, a famousarchitect andart collector andLady Dorothy Saville. The wedding was held at Carlton House, the then residence of the Dowager Lady Burlington, situated between St James' Park and Pall Mall, by special licence on the 28 March, 1748.[20] Through Charlotte, the Devonshires inheritedChiswick House andBurlington House in London;Bolton Abbey andLondesborough Hall in Yorkshire; andLismore Castle inCounty Waterford,Ireland. The Duke employedCapability Brown to landscape the garden and park atChatsworth House, his main residence. He hiredJames Paine to design the new stable block.
The Duke had four children:
 |
|
Horace Walpole described Devonshire as possessing "an impatience to do everything, and a fear to do anything, he was always in a hurry to do nothing".[22]Paul Langford said Devonshire was "eminently sensible and highly respected", and that his death "left a marked gap in the ranks" of the opposition and "effectively destroyed a generation in the 'Old Whig' leadership".[23]Gerald Howat summed up Devonshire's life:
Devonshire had been a moderate among men of great political passion. If scarcely a spectator in the play of events, he had never bestrode the stage. His death, coming just after those of Hardwicke and Legge, deprived the Whigs of three material men. Given health, he might have returned to office in the Crown's restless pursuit of ministers up to 1770. He had been a man with a concern for king and country. He died the acknowledged leader of the Whigs.[19]
Karl Wolfgang Schweizer says of Devonshire:
Devonshire was a man of solid if not outstanding abilities. He was endowed with the qualities—devotion to friends and duty, patriotism, and unswerving integrity—which made him the ideal sounding board and factotum among the prominent politicians of his day. Unlike Pitt or Fox he lacked a brilliant mind, and his diary provides evidence of devotion to king, country, and duty rather than quickness of intellect. A political broker rather than a leader, he exploited his personal popularity and family prestige to mediate between the factious and egotistical individuals who dominated Dublin and Westminster politics in the 1750s and early 1760s.[4]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant | Master of the Horse 1751–1755 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord High Treasurer of Ireland 1754–1764 | Vacant Title next held by The Duke of Devonshire |
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1755–1757 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Great Britain 16 November 1756 – 29 June 1757 | Succeeded by |
| Leader of the House of Lords 1756–1757 | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Chamberlain 1757–1762 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDerbyshire 1741–1751 With:Sir Nathaniel Curzon, Bt | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire 1756–1764 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Devonshire 1755–1764 | Succeeded by |
| Baron Cavendish of Hardwick (writ of acceleration) 1751–1764 Member of theHouse of Lords (1751–1764) | ||
