Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Mary II | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Sir John Lowther |
Succeeded by | Charles Montagu |
In office 9 September 1684 – 16 February 1685 | |
Monarchs | Charles II James II |
Preceded by | The Earl of Rochester |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Rochester as Lord High Treasurer |
Member of Parliament for Helston | |
In office September 1679 – 1685 Serving with Sir Vyell Vyvyan (1679–1681) Serving with Charles Godolphin (1681–1685) | |
Monarchs | Charles II James II |
Preceded by | Sir William Godolphin |
Succeeded by | Sidney Godolphin |
In office 1665 – February 1679 Serving with Sir William Godolphin | |
Monarch | Charles II |
Preceded by | Sir Peter Killigrew |
Succeeded by | Sir Vyell Vyvyan |
Personal details | |
Born | Sidney Godolphin 15 June 1645 Breage, Cornwall, Kingdom of England |
Died | 15 September 1712 St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain | (aged 67)
Political party | Tory |
Spouse | Margaret Blagge |
Children | Francis Godolphin |
Parent(s) | Sir Francis Godolphin (1605–1667) Dorothy Berkeley |
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin,
Family and early career
He came from an ancient
Charles appointed Godolphin
In March 1679, Godolphin was appointed a member of the Privy Council and in September was promoted, along with Viscount Hyde (afterwards Earl of Rochester) and the Earl of Sunderland, to the chief management of affairs.
Exclusion and revolution
Although he voted for the
Godolphin was present at the birth of the
Career under William III and Queen Anne
While holding office under William III, for several years Godolphin continued, in conjunction with
Though a Tory, he had an active share in the intrigues that gradually led to the predominance of the Whigs in alliance with Marlborough: the two were nicknamed "the Duumvirs". The influence of the Marlboroughs with the queen was, however, gradually supplanted by that of
Marriage and succession
On 16 May 1675, Godolphin married Margaret Blagge, daughter of Thomas Blagge, the pious lady whose life was written by John Evelyn in his book The Life of Mrs Godolphin.[8] She died in childbirth in 1678 bearing his only son, and Godolphin never remarried. Margaret is buried at Breage, Cornwall, the spot being marked by a small brass floor plaque commissioned by the Duke of Leeds. Progeny:
- Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin (1678–1766)
Gallery
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Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin by Godfrey Kneller
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Margaret Blagge, wife of Sidney Godolphin, portrait by Matthew Dixon
Legacy
The Whig historian
He was laborious, clear-headed, and profoundly versed in the details of finance. Every government, therefore, found him an useful servant; and there was nothing in his opinions or in his character which could prevent him from serving any government. “Sidney Godolphin,” said Charles, “is never in the way, and never out of the way.” This pointed remark goes far to explain Godolphin's extraordinary success in life. He acted at different times with both the great political parties; but he never shared in the passions of either. Like most men of cautious tempers and prosperous fortunes, he had a strong disposition to support whatever existed. He disliked revolutions, and, for the same reason for which he disliked revolutions, he disliked counter-revolutions. His deportment was remarkably grave and reserved, but his personal tastes were low and frivolous; and most of the time which he could save from public business was spent in racing, cardplaying, and
cockfighting.[9]
In the opinion of Julian Hoppit, Godolphin "tirelessly oversaw the dramatic expansion of key areas of the State, providing an element of integrity, continuity, and predictability in a very uncertain environment. He was in a very real sense Marlborough's partner and together the duumvirs oversaw the glory days of the War of the Spanish Succession. In a very real sense Marlborough's dismissal and Godolphin's death the following year marked the end of an era".[10] Roy Sundstrom asserted that Godolphin is an important figure in the history of England:
[…] first he raised the money required to blunt French hegemony in Europe and thus preserved the British constitution and the protestant monarchy; second he was instrumental in planning the military and diplomatic strategy that ultimately defeated Louis XIV; third, as lord high treasurer, he worked to make the Treasury more efficient and attempted to weed out corruption—the Treasury as he left it served England well for the remainder of the eighteenth century; fourth he was instrumental in negotiating and passing the Act of Union with Scotland which created the united kingdom of Great Britain; and fifth he negotiated the creation of a unified East India Company, which would be instrumental in establishing British rule in India.[1]
Notes
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10882. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ David Ogg, England in the Reigns of James II and William III (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), p. 158.
- S2CID 145087878.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7538-1403-1.
- ISBN 978-0-00-720376-5.
- ^ Stanley, A.P., Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey (London; John Murray; 1882), p. 221.
- ^ "Godolphin family".
- ^ Evelyn, John (1847). The Life of Mrs. Godolphin. W. Pickering. pp. 1–.
- ^ Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Popular Edition in Two Volumes. Volume I (London: Longmans, 1889), p. 125.
- ISBN 978-0-19-158652-1.
Primary sources
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Godolphin, Sidney Godolphin, Earl of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 174–175. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Dickinson, William Calvin (1990). Sidney Godolphin, Lord Treasurer, 1702-10. Edwin Meller Press.
- Snyder, H. L. (1975). The Marlborough–Godolphin correspondence. Vol. 3 vols.
- Sundstrom, Roy A. (1993). Sidney Godolphin: Servant of the State. Dover: University of Delaware Press.
Secondary sources
- Hoppitt, Julian (2000). A Land of Liberty? England 1689-1727. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Macaulay, Thomas Babington (1889). The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Vol. Two Volumes. London: Longmans.
- Ogg, David (1969). England in the Reigns of James II and William III. London: Oxford University Press.
- Sundstrom, Roy A. (May 2009) [2004]. "Godolphin, Sidney, first earl of Godolphin (1645–1712)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10882. Retrieved 25 January 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)