The Right Honourable The Earl of Nottingham PC
Portrait byJonathan Richardson
Lord President of the Council
In office 23 September 1714 – 6 July 1716
Monarch	George I
Preceded by	The Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
Succeeded by	The Duke of Devonshire
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
In office 2 May 1702 – 22 April 1704
Monarch	Anne
Preceded by	The Earl of Manchester
Succeeded by	Charles Hedges
In office 2 June 1690 – November 1693
Monarchs	William III andMary II
Preceded by	The Earl of Shrewsbury
Succeeded by	John Trenchard
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office 3 March 1692 – 23 March 1693
Monarchs	William III and Mary II
Preceded by	The Viscount Sydney of Sheppey
Succeeded by	John Trenchard
In office 5 March 1689 – 26 December 1690
Monarchs	William III and Mary II
Preceded by	The Viscount Preston
Succeeded by	The Viscount Sydney of Sheppey
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office 1681–1684
Monarch	Charles II
Preceded by	Sir Henry Capell
Succeeded by	The Earl of Torrington
Personal details
Born	2 July 1647 London,England
Died	1 January 1730(1730-01-01) (aged 82) Burley on the Hill England
Spouses	Lady Essex Rich ​ ​ (m. 1674; died 1684)​ Anne Hatton ​ (m. 1685)​
Children	at least 13, including Daniel Finch William Finch Edward Finch
Parents	Heneage Finch Elizabeth Harvey

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea,PC (2 July 1647 – 1 January 1730) was an EnglishTory politician and peer who supported theHanoverian Succession in 1714. Known asLord Nottingham until 1729, then asLord Winchilsea.

Finch was born inLondon on 2 July 1647, the son ofHeneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham (1620-1682),Lord Chancellor of England, by his wife Elizabeth Harvey, a daughter of Daniel Harvey.^[1][2] His great grandmother wasElizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea.

One of his brothers wasHeneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford.^[2]

Little is known about his upbringing. He enteredWestminster School in 1658, where he boarded for three years at the house of Dr.Richard Busby, the headmaster and his father's former tutor atChrist Church, Oxford. Daniel also went to Christ Church and the excellence of his studies made his father doubt their authenticity. He matriculated at Christ Church as a Gentleman Commoner on 26 July 1662.^[3]

In April 1663, his father wrote to him, advising that he "loose not the reputation which I am told you have gayn'd of diligence and sobriety".^[4] His father also advised him a month after he had arrived in Oxford "to frequent the publique prayers, and study to reverence and defend, as well as to obey, the Church of England" and when his first Easter away from home was approaching, he wrote, "Nothing can make you truly wise but such a religion as dwells upon your heart and governs your whole life". However, Finch suffered from illness and it may be due to this that he left Oxford without graduating.^[5]

Finch went on hisGrand Tour from 1665 to 1668, visitingFrankfurt, Munich,Venice,Florence,Naples, Rome and Paris.^[6] After he returned to England he was appointed a Fellow of theRoyal Society and his cousin SirRoger Twysden wrote to Finch's father that "every body speaks him a very gentleman, and one you and your lady are likely to have much comfort in".^[7]

Later in 1689, he sold Nottingham House in Kensington to King William and QueenMary for £20,000, the house was then expanded byChristopher Wren intoKensington Palace.^[8][9]

Daniel Finch entered parliament forLichfield in 1679. In 1682 he succeeded his father asEarl of Nottingham.^[2] He was one of the privy councillors who in 1685 signed the order for the proclamation of the Duke of York, but during the whole of the reign ofJames II, he kept away from the court. At the last moment, he hesitated to join in the invitation toWilliam of Orange and after the flight of James II, he was the leader of the party who were in favour of James being King in name and William being regent.^[10] He was author of theAct of Toleration of 1688.^[2]

He declined the office ofLord Chancellor under William andMary, but accepted that ofSecretary of State, retaining it until December 1693.^[2] Under QueenAnne in 1702, he again accepted the same office in the ministry ofLord Godolphin, but finally retired in 1704.^[10]

In 1711, during theWar of the Spanish Succession, the Tory ministry ofRobert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford was attempting to negotiate peace with France. On 7 December Finch moved the 'No peace without Spain' amendment to the vote of thanks, which condemned any peace with France that left Spain and the West Indies in possession of a member of theHouse of Bourbon. Finch spoke for one hour and declared that "though he had fourteen children, he would submit to live upon five hundred pounds a year rather than consent to those dark and unknown conditions of peace".^[11]

Nottingham builtBurley House in Rutland, he was to a large extent his own architect and involved himself in the minutiae of its construction, before embarking on the project, Lord Nottingham consulted SirChristopher Wren, but instead employed Henry Dormer (died 1727) just to supervise its building. It was completed in 1705, the main block stretches 200 feet long across 15 windows. He and his large family had moved in prior its completion.^[12][13][14]

On the accession of KingGeorge I he was madeLord President of the Council but in 1716 he finally withdrew from office. On 9 September 1729, he succeeded to the titleEarl of Winchilsea after his 2nd cousinJohn Finch, 6th Earl of Winchilsea died unmarried. Nottingham was reluctant to receive the superior title due to his own familial pride with the Nottingham title, so he combined the title (henceforth became united with his paternal title of Earl of Nottingham). He died on 1 January 1730 Burley.^[10]

He married twice:

• Firstly, on 16 June 1674, to LadyEssex Rich,^[15] a daughter ofRobert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick by his wife Anne Cheeke. By his first wife he had 8 children of whom only one daughter survived to adulthood:
  • Lady Mary Finch (born 1677), who married firstlyWilliam Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax (as his second wife),^[16] and secondlyJohn Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe. had issues includingDorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington.

• Secondly, on 29 December 1685, to Hon.Anne Hatton (1668–1743), a daughter ofChristopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton and Lady Cecilia Tufton, daughter of2nd Earl of Thanet. She was appointed aLady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary II in 1691. By his second wife (who had over twenty pregnancies^[17]) he had at least twelve surviving children, including:
  • Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea (24 May 1689 – 2 August 1769), eldest son and heir, who married firstly Lady Frances Feilding, a daughter ofBasil Feilding, 4th Earl of Denbigh and secondly Mary Palmer, daughter and co-heiress ofSir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet of Wingham. He had four surviving daughters, but had no male heir.
  • William Finch (1690 – 25 December 1766), who marriedLady Charlotte Finch (née Fermor), a royal governess and daughter ofThomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret, by whom he had issue including Sophia Finch andGeorge Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea, who died unmarried.
  • John Finch (1692–1763), who left a daughter.
  • Lady Essex Finch (28 Feb 1687^{[citation needed]} – 23 May 1721), who in 1703 marriedSir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet of Mostyn. They were parents toSir Thomas Mostyn, 4th Baronet of Mostyn and two other children.
  • Henry Finch (1694 – 26 April 1761),^[18] whose illegitimate daughter, Charlotte (died 5 April 1810), marriedThomas Raikes,Governor of the Bank of England;
  • Edward Finch (1697 – 16 May 1771), amember of parliament, who married Anne Palmer, another daughter and co-heiress ofSir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet of Wingham.^[19] Had children. He later took the surname Finch-Hatton, his grandson wasGeorge Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea and all futureEarls of Winchilsea descended from this line.
  • Lady Charlotte Finch (1693 (?1711) – 21 January 1773), who in 1725 became the second wife ofCharles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and was the mother ofLady Charlotte andLady Frances Seymour.
  • Lady (Cecilia) Isabella Finch (1700–1771), who never married but became firstLady of the Bedchamber toPrincess Amelia, a spinster aunt of King George III.^[20] In 1740^[20] she commissionedWilliam Kent to build her a magnificent townhouse at 44Berkeley Square inMayfair, London, which is famed for its theatrical staircase. It was purchased after her death byWilliam Henry Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clermont (1722–1806), and served as his Londontownhouse. In the 20th century it was used as theClermont Club.^[21]
  • Lady Mary Finch (1701 – 30 May 1761) (not to be confused with her elder half-sister), who in 1716 marriedThomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham.
  • Lady Henrietta Finch (1702 – 14 April 1742), who in 1723 marriedWilliam Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Cleveland. No known descendants.
  • Lady Elizabeth Finch (1704 – 10 April 1784), who marriedWilliam Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. No descendants, but helped raisedDido Belle andLady Elizabeth Murray.

TheWhig historianLord Macaulay said of Lord Nottingham in 1848:^[22]

This son, Earl Daniel, was an honourable and virtuous man. Though enslaved by some absurd prejudices, and though liable to strange fits of caprice, he cannot be accused of having deviated from the path of right in search either of unlawful gain or of unlawful pleasure. Like his father he was a distinguished speaker, impressive, but prolix, and too monotonously solemn. The person of the orator was in perfect harmony with his oratory. His attitude was rigidly erect: his complexion so dark that he might have passed for a native of a warmer climate than ours; and his harsh features were composed to an expression resembling that of a chief mourner at a funeral. It was commonly said that he looked rather like a Spanish grandee than like an English gentleman. The nicknames of Dismal, Don Dismallo, and Don Diego, were fastened on him by jesters, and are not yet forgotten. He had paid much attention to the science by which his family had been raised to greatness, and was, for a man born to rank and wealth, wonderfully well read in the laws of his country. He was a devoted son of the Church, and showed his respect for her in two ways not usual among those Lords who in his time boasted that they were her especial friends, by writing tracts in defence of her dogmas, and by shaping his private life according to her precepts. Like other zealous churchmen, he had, till recently, been a strenuous supporter of monarchical authority. But to the policy which had been pursued since the suppression of theWestern insurrection he was bitterly hostile, and not the less so because his younger brother Heneage had been turned out of the office of Solicitor General for refusing to defend the King's dispensing power.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDaniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nottingham, Earls of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 824–825.
• Henry Horwitz,Revolution Politicks. The Career of Daniel Finch, Second Earl of Nottingham, 1647–1730 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968).
• Henry Horwitz,Finch, Daniel, second earl of Nottingham and seventh earl of Winchilsea (1647–1730),Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2009, accessed 30 January 2011.
• Thomas Babington Macaulay,The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Popular Edition in Two Volumes (London: Longmans, 1889).
• Burke's Peerage (1939 edition),s.v. Winchilsea
• Pearl Finch, "History of Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland", Volume 1 (London: J. Bale, Sons & Danielsson Ltd, 1901)

• 1647 births
• 1730 deaths
• Secretaries of state for the Southern Department
• Earls of Winchilsea
• Earls of Nottingham
• Lords president of the Council
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• Finch-Hatton family
• English MPs 1661–1679
• English MPs 1680–1681
• English MPs 1681
• People from Burley, Rutland
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