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Prime Ministers
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1756 - 1757 |
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William Cavendish |
| 4th Duke of Devonshire |
| Party - Whig |
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William
Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire is credited with his own ministry in two
official lists, yet little is written of him as prime or first minister. He is
mentioned as one of those with whom William Pitt formed a ministry after
Newcastle's resignation, along with Pitt's brother-in-law, Richard Temple
Grenville (Viscount Cobham and 2nd Earl Temple) and George Grenville. We have
been able to unearth little else about the 4th Duke of Devonshire.
William Cavendish, 4th
Duke of Devonshire (ca.
1720 -
1764), was
a
statesman and titular
prime minister of
Great Britain. He was
First Lord of the Treasury from
1756 to
1757, in an
administration effectively run by
William Pitt the Elder. He married Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731
- 1754),
the daughter and heiress of
Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork and 3rd Earl of Burlington, a famous
architect and
art collector. Through her, the Devonshires inherited
Chiswick House, London; Burlington House;
Bolton Abbey; Londesborough Hall, Yorkshire;
Lismore Castle,
County Waterford,
Ireland.
The son of the 3rd Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish was a Whig MP for 10
years (1741-1751) before entering the House of Lords as Lord Cavendish in 1751.
He assumed a ministerial office of the Master of the Horse (1751-1755) almost
immediately, and was a successful Lord Lieutenant and Governor-General of
Ireland (1755-1762).
George II appointed Devonshire First Lord of the Treasury on 16 Nov 1756 and
asked him to form a ministry following Newcastle's resignation, although in
reality William Pitt
'the Elder', Secretary of State for the Southern Department (1756-1761),
dominated the political scene. Devonshire's brief period in office was notable
for the court martial of Admiral Byng (executed 14 Mar 1757) for his failure to
relieve Minorca, and for difficulties with the Duke of Cumberland over the
defense of Hanover. The latter dispute provoked a political crisis in early 1757
leading to the reconstitution of the Government, with the
Duke of Newcastle
replacing Devonshire as First Lord of the Treasury (29 Jun 1757) and prime
minister. Devonshire remained in the Government as Lord Chamberlain (1757-1762),
but the influence of the
Earl of Bute and the Tories increased as that of Newcastle and Devonshire
declined. When Devonshire refused to attend Privy Council meetings following
Bute's appointment as First Lord of the Treasury (26 May 1762)
George III dismissed
him from ministerial office and from the Privy Council.
