William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
The Viscount Sidmouth | |
---|---|
Home Secretary | |
In office 11 July 1794 – 30 July 1801 | |
Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
Preceded by | Henry Dundas |
Succeeded by | Lord Pelham |
Leader of the House of Lords | |
In office 2 April 1783 – 18 December 1783 | |
Prime Minister | Himself |
Preceded by | The Earl of Shelburne |
Succeeded by | The Earl Temple |
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
In office 8 April 1782 – 15 August 1782 | |
Prime Minister | The Earl of Shelburne |
Preceded by | The Earl of Carlisle |
Succeeded by | The Earl Temple |
Lord Chamberlain of the Household | |
In office 1765–1766 | |
Monarch | George III |
Preceded by | The Earl Gower |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Hertford |
Personal details | |
Born | Bulstrode Park, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England | 14 April 1738
Died | 30 October 1809 Westminster, England | (aged 71)
Resting place | St Marylebone Parish Church |
Political party | |
Spouse | |
Children | 6, including William, 4th Duke; Lord William and Lord Charles |
Parents | |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Signature | |
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland,
Portland was known before 1762 by the
Early life and education
William Henry, Lord Titchfield, was born on 14 April 1738 at
In December 1757, the nineteen-year-old Lord Titchfield was sent to study under Lord Stormont for a year in Warsaw, he was accompanied by Stormont's secretary Benjamin Langlois. Stormont was to superintend all expenditures on his equipage, while Benjamin Langlois was to hire local masters and direct the studies of teenage Titchfield. The books he directed to read were ancient history, modern history, general law.[7]
In 1759, he travelled with Benjamin Langlois through Germany to Italy, spent a year in Turin, and went on to Florence. When Stormont was appointed ambassador to Vienna in 1763, Langlois went with him as Secretary of the embassy.[8]
Marriage and children
On 8 November 1766, Portland married Lady Dorothy Cavendish, a daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and Lady Charlotte Boyle. They were parents of six children:
- William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854).
- Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 1774 – 17 June 1839).
- Lady Charlotte Cavendish-Bentinck (2 October 1775 – 28 July 1862).Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville, Algernon Greville, and Henry William Greville (1801–1872), and a daughter, Harriet (1803–1870) m. Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.[10]
- Lady Mary Cavendish-Bentinck (13 March 1779 – 6 November 1843).[11]
- Lord Charles Bentinck (20 May 1780 – 28 April 1826).[12] Ancestor of the 6th and 7th dukes of Portland and Queen Mother Elizabeth.
- Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (2 November 1781 – 11 February 1828) married Lady Mary Lowther (died 1863), daughter of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, 16 September 1820; had issue: George Cavendish-Bentinck, ancestor of the 8th and 9th dukes of Portland.
- A stillborn baby, birthed at Burlington House on 20 October 1786.[13]
Political and public offices
Portland was elected to sit in the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Portland served as
First government
In April 1783, Portland was selected as the titular head of a coalition government as
In 1789, Portland became one of several vice presidents of London's Foundling Hospital. The charity had become one of the most fashionable of the time, with several notables serving on its board. At its creation, 50 years earlier, Portland's father, William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, had been one of the founding governors, as listed on the charity's royal charter granted by George II. The hospital had a mission to care for the abandoned children in London, and it achieved rapid fame through its poignant mission, its art collection donated from supporting artists and the popular benefit concerts by George Frideric Handel. In 1793, Portland took over the presidency of the charity from Lord North.
Home secretary
Along with many other conservative Whigs such as
Second government
In March 1807, after the collapse of the
Portland's second government saw the United Kingdom's complete isolation on the continent but also the beginning of its recovery with the start of the Peninsular War. In late 1809, with Portland's health poor and the ministry rocked by the scandalous duel between Canning and Castlereagh, Portland resigned and died shortly thereafter.
He was Recorder of Nottingham until his death.
Death and burial
He died on 30 October 1809 at Burlington House, Piccadilly, after an operation for the stone, and was buried at St Marylebone Parish Church, London.[19]
He had lived expensively: with an income of £17,000 a year (worth £577,000 in 2005),[20] he had debts at his death computed at £52,000 (£1.76 million in 2005),[20] which were paid off by his succeeding son by selling off some property, including Bulstrode Park.[21]
Along with
Legacy
The Portland Vase of Roman glass was given its name because it was owned by Portland at his family residence at Bulstrode Park.
Portland Parish, in Jamaica, was named after him. The Titchfield School, founded in 1786, is in the parish and is also named in his honour. The school's crest is derived from his personal crest.
Two major streets in Marylebone are named after him: Portland Place and Great Portland Street. Both were built on land that he once owned.
Portland Bay in Victoria, Australia was named in 1800 by the British navigator James Grant. The city of Portland is located on the bay.
The department of
The Portland Estate Papers held at Nottinghamshire Archives also contain items relating to the 3rd Duke's properties.
The Portland Collection[22] of fine and decorative art includes pieces owned and commissioned by him, including paintings by George Stubbs.
Arms
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Cabinets as Prime Minister
First Ministry, April – December 1783
- The Duke of Portland—First Lord of the Treasury
- Lord Stormont—Lord President of the Council
- Lord Carlisle—Lord Privy Seal
- Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- The Viscount Keppel—First Lord of the Admiralty
- Lord John Cavendish—Chancellor of the Exchequer
- The Viscount Townshend—Master-General of the Ordnance
- Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
- The Great Seal is in Commission
Second Ministry, March 1807 – October 1809
- The Duke of Portland—First Lord of the Treasury
- Lord Eldon—Lord Chancellor
- Lord Camden—Lord President of the Council
- Lord Westmorland—Lord Privy Seal
- Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- Lord Castlereagh—Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
- Lord Mulgrave—First Lord of the Admiralty
- Spencer Perceval—Chancellor of the Exchequer and of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Lord Chatham—Master-General of the Ordnance
- Lord Bathurst—President of the Board of Trade
- Changes
- July 1809—Lord Harrowby, the President of the Board of Control, and Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, the Secretary at War, enter the Cabinet
Ancestry
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References
- ^ "William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd duke of Portland | prime minister of Great Britain | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Line of descent of the Earls and Dukes of Portland" (PDF). University of Nottingham. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ Settlements, mortgages, litigation, Acts of Parliament etc. relating to the 'maternal' estates of the Dukes of Portland; 1583–1790 Archived 6 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, University of Nottingham, UK.
- ^ Series of manorial papers in the Newcastle (Clumber) Collection (1st Deposit); 1357–1867 Archived 6 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The University of Nottingham, UK.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 119.
- ^ "William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738-1809)". www.historyhome.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-4183-2.
- ^ "LANGLOIS, Benjamin (1727-1802)". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786. 30 October 1775.
- ^ "Harriet Catherine Greville".
- ^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786. 13 April 1778.
- ^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786. 17 June 1780.
- ^ Caledonian Mercury, 28 October 1786, p. 2
- ISBN 978-0333963852.
- ^ Wilkinson pp 38–41
- ^ Stephens, Henry Morse (1885). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- ^ Wilkinson p 56
- ^ Wilkinson p150-7
- ^ "The Edinburgh Annual Register for 1809". John Ballantyne and Company. 1811 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b [1] National Archives currency converter.
- ISBN 978-0-19-861355-8.
- ^ "George Stubbs // The Portland Collection // The Harley Gallery". Harley Gallery.
External links
- William Bentinck, Duke of Portland profile on the 10 Downing Street website
- Biography of the 3rd Duke, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
- Portraits of William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- "Archival material relating to William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland". UK National Archives.