Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire by Hugh Douglas Hamilton

Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire PC, FRS (3 March 1753 – 7 September 1801), styled Viscount Fairford until 1789 and Earl of Hillsborough from 1789 to 1793, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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Life

Hill was the eldest son of Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough (later

Marquess of Downshire Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State. Hill had already been created Earl of Hillsborough and Viscount Kilwarlin of County Down ...

). He matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford in 1771, and received his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1773. Hill sat as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

for the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...

from 1774 to 1780, and then for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

until 1784. He also represented Down in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

from 1776 until succeeding to the peerage in 1793. Hill enjoyed a number of civil and military appointments in both England and Ireland during this period. He was commissioned a captain in the Hertfordshire Militia on 22 March 1775, and a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in the regiment on 4 May 1787, resigning his commission on 4 June 1794. Appointed the deputy governor of County Down on 6 August 1779, he was picked as High Sheriff of the county in 1785. Hillsborough, as he then was, was chosen a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

on 22 January 1790 and a deputy lieutenant of Berkshire on 12 May 1792. Upon the death of his father on 7 October 1793, he succeeded him as

, in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

, as well as in his other subsidiary titles, including that of

Earl of Hillsborough Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

in the Peerage of Great Britain. He also succeeded his father as Hereditary Constable of Hillsborough Fort, and as

Custos Rotulorum of County Down The Custos Rotulorum of Londonderry and Down was the highest civil officer in counties Londonderry and Down. Incumbents Londonderry * 1663–1665 John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene * 1666–1695 John Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Massereene ( ...

(16 October) and Governor of Down (17 October). On 7 November, he was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland. Downshire vigorously exerted himself against the

Union of Great Britain and Ireland The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ire ...

in 1800, and was punished by the Government for his opposition by being dismissed from the Governorship of Down and the colonelcy of the Downshire Militia, and struck off the roll of the Privy Council, on 12 February 1800.

Family

On 29 June 1786, he married Mary Sandys, by whom he had seven children: * Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire (1788–1845) *Lt.-Gen.

Arthur Moyses William Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys Lieutenant-General Arthur Moyses William Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys (10 January 1792 – 16 July 1860), styled as Lord Arthur Hill until 1836, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. Background Hill was the second son of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marques ...

(1792–1860) *Lady Charlotte Hill (15 July 1794 – 30 September 1821) *Lady Mary Hill (8 July 1796 – 24 May 1830) * Arthur Marcus Cecil Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys (1798–1863) *Lord Arthur Augustus Edwin Hill (13 Aug 1800 – 10 July 1831) *Major Lord George Augusta Hill (9 December 1801 – 6 April 1879) His last son, Lord George Hill, was born posthumously, as Downshire died by suicide on 7 September 1801. His widow, Mary, felt his early death was in part due to his humiliation by the Government, and thereafter was a bitter enemy to

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...

. She was the heiress of her uncle,

Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (28 April 1726 – 11 March 1797), was a British politician. He was the eldest son of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys, and his wife Letitia, daughter of Sir Thomas Tipping, Bt. He was educated at New College, ...

, and to the estates of her grandfather, William Trumbull, including

Easthampstead Park Easthampstead Park is a Victorian mansion in the civil parish of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It is now a conference centre. Location Since the demise of Easthampstead parish, the house has been located in the western extreme ...

. In 1802, after Downshire's death, she was created Baroness Sandys, with a special remainder to her younger sons and their heirs male in succession and then to her eldest son and his heirs male. Hill also had a son, William Arthur Dore-Hill, born in 1778, with his mistress Sarah Dore (who later married

William Garrow Sir William Garrow (13 April 1760 – 24 September 1840) was an English barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downshire, Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of 1753 births 1801 deaths People from Hillsborough, County Down People from Bracknell Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Fairford, Arthur Hill, Viscount Fairford, Arthur Hill, Viscount Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire Fellows of the Royal Society Kilwarlin, Arthur Hill, Viscount Hillsborough, Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough, Arthur Hill, Earl of Fairford, Arthur Hill, Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Fairford, Arthur Hill, Viscount British Militia officers High Sheriffs of Down

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

Arthur 2 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies