Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton
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Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton PC (21 December 1698 – 31 May 1731) was an English peer and Jacobite politician who was one of the few people in the history of England, and the first since the 15th century, to have been raised to a dukedom whilst still a minor and not closely related to the monarch.
Youth
Wharton was the son of "Honest Tom" Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton, the Whig partisan, and his second wife Lucy Loftus, and had a good education. Well prepared for a life as a public speaker, the young Wharton was both eloquent and witty. When his father died in 1715, Philip, then sixteen years old, succeeded him as 2nd Marquess of Wharton and 2nd Marquess of Malmesbury in the Peerage of Great Britain and as 2nd Marquess of Catherlough in the Peerage of Ireland. One month after inheriting these peerages, he eloped with Martha Holmes, the daughter of Major-General Richard Holmes. Wharton did not get control of his father's extensive estate, as it had been put in the care of his mother and his father's Whig friends.
Thereafter, young Wharton began to travel. He travelled to France and
Wharton then went to Ireland where, at the age of 18, he entered the Irish House of Lords as Marquess of Catherlough. When he was 19 years old, in 1718, he was created Duke of Wharton by King George I, part of an effort to solidify his support. In 1719, Wharton's wife gave birth to a son named Thomas, but the child died in a smallpox epidemic the next year. From that point on, Wharton had little to do with his wife.
Political life
Wharton turned Jacobite when travelling in 1716, or at least nominally Jacobite. He began signing his name "Philip James Wharton" to indicate his allegiance. Because he was a powerful speaker, an elegant writer, a wealthy (initially) peer, and a man with a seat in the House of Lords, the new Hanoverians always sought to gain him as an ally, while the old Jacobites were, at least initially, zealous to keep him on their side.
Even before his losses in the
Wharton began to borrow money from Jacobite bankers and accumulated more debts. In 1719 Wharton is credited with founding the original Hellfire Club[1] (not related to Dashwood's Hell-fire Club), which primarily performed parodies of religious rites. He became Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1723, and was active in the House of Lords in opposition to Robert Walpole. In 1723, he wrote and spoke in favour of the exoneration of Francis Atterbury, the accused Jacobite bishop, although Atterbury's Jacobitism was superficial. He published The True Briton as a periodical to oppose the rise of Walpole. He was in favour of the Pretender not for religious or nationalist reasons but, he explained, because he was a true Old Whig like his father, whose principles had been betrayed by Walpole and the new non-native royals.
His substantive change to Jacobitism occurred in 1725, when Wharton joined Earl Orrery in attacking the court. He made allies among city politicians, which was valuable to the Jacobites as Jacobitism had previously been associated with Scotland and disaffected country squires. The city had been a Whig stronghold and any erosion in their support would have powerful consequences. Indeed, although Wharton did not benefit from it, much of this would bear fruit in the emergence of the Patriot Whigs a few years later. At the same time, Wharton was £70,000 in debt.
Debt and decline
Wharton's debts were impossible for him to overcome. He accepted or sought the position as Jacobite ambassador to the
In 1728, Wharton began to help Nathaniel Mist with Mist's Weekly Journal. He wrote the infamous "Persian Letter" that caused the Walpole ministry to respond violently with arrests and the destruction of the presses. The power of Wharton's name and eloquence was such that Walpole offered Wharton a pardon and forgiveness of his debts if he were to agree to leave off writing. He also wrote, that year, a powerful piece against the "corruption" of Whig causes under Walpole entitled, "Reasons for Leaving his Native Country". Edward Young modelled "Lorenzo" in Night Thoughts on Wharton. Alexander Pope referred to Wharton as "the scorn and wonder of our days" – a man "Too rash for thought, for action too refined" (Epistle to Sir Richard Temple).
Wharton was soon stealing food from acquaintances and seeking money anywhere he could get it. He sold his title back to George I and took a position as a
Before the treason charge, Wharton fitfully attempted a reconciliation with George. He offered to give Walpole's spies intelligence, but they rejected him as of little value, and he returned to Madrid to live on his army pay alone. When he was insulted by a valet, he caned him and was imprisoned briefly before being banished.
Death & succession
In 1730, he renounced James and the Jacobite cause. In advanced stages of alcoholism, he and his wife moved to the Royal
See also
References
- ^ Blackett-Ord p. 44
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29171. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Per inscription on monument to Lady Jane Wharton in St Mary's Church, Sunbury [1]
- ^ 'Parishes: Grinton', in A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1, ed. William Page (London, 1914), pp. 236-245 [2]
- ^ British Mining, No.45, Northern Mine Research Society, Sheffield, 1992, p.153 [3]
- ^ Christoper Clarkson, History of Richmond, 1814, p.142 [4], quoted in British Mining, No.45, Northern Mine Research Society, Sheffield, 1992, p.153
- ^ George Baker, The History of Antiquities of the County of Northamptonshire, 1838, Part IV, p.145, quoted in [5]
- ^ "This monument was erected by Anna Maria Draycott as the least honour that gratitude could pay to her memory"[6]
Bibliography
- Smith, Lawrence B. "Philip James Wharton, Duke of Wharton and Jacobite Duke of Northumberland." In Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. vol. 58, pp. 367–70. London: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Further reading
- Chambers Book of Days May 31, Philip Wharton
- Philip Wharton – The Freemason
- Melville, Lewis (1913). The life and writings of Philip, Duke of Wharton. London: John Lane.
External links
- Media related to Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton at Wikimedia Commons