David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount of Stormont, (9 October 1727 – 1 September 1796), known as the (7th) Viscount of Stormont from 1748 to 1793, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
and
Stormont lines of the Murray family, inheriting two titles and two fortunes.
Background
![Scone Palace 2012-05-12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Scone_Palace_2012-05-12.jpg)
Mansfield was the son of
David Murray, 6th Viscount of Stormont
David Murray, 6th Viscount of Stormont (c. 1690 – 23 July 1748) was a Scottish peer, succeeding to the Viscountcy of Stormont on his father David's death in 1731 and holding it until his own death. His mother was Marjory Scott, and among his ...
, and his wife, Anne Stewart.
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...
, was his paternal uncle. Viscount Stormont ancestral seat is
Scone Palace
Scone Palace is a Category A-listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland.
Scone was originally the s ...
.
Public life
Mansfield was ambassador to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and then to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in the early years of the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and played a role in sending news of American actions back to England. He had been elected a
Scottish Representative Peer
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottish P ...
in 1754.
When King
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
invaded
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, The Elector of Saxony was forced to retreat to his Polish Kingdom, Mansfield followed and in Warsaw he met his first wife Henrietta Frederica von Bünau, daughter of
Count Henreich Graf von Bünau, in 1759 the couple were married. Then Mansfield was appointed British Ambassador to Austria in 1763 to 1772 at the court of Empress
Maria theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
, followed by ambassador to Paris from 1772 to March 1778. In France, he met Queen
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
, whom he had acquinted back when she was a little archduchess in the court of her mother in Vienna years prior, The Queen of France was very pleased to be greeted by a friendly face and befriended The Viscount, to commemorate their friendship, she gifted him one of three Jean Henri
Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassical "Louis XVI style".
Life and career
Riesene ...
writing desks previously commissioned to mark her marriage.
then he was appointed as the last
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office.
History
Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...
, serving from 1779 to 1782.
In 1783 he was appointed as
Lord President of the Council
The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...
, and again from 1794 to 1796. He served as
Lord Justice General
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
between 1778 and 1795. He was appointed a
Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...
in 1763 and made a
Knight of the Thistle
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1768.
Family
![Kenwood House front with extensions 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Kenwood_House_front_with_extensions_2005.jpg)
Lord Stormont, as he was known at the time, married his wife on 16 August 1759, whilst he was British ambassador to
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. She was Countess Henrietta Frederica von Bünau daughter of
Count Henreich Graf von Bünau. They had two daughters:
*
Lady Elizabeth Murray
Lady Elizabeth Mary Finch-Hatton (née Lady Elizabeth Mary Murray; 18 May 1760 – 1 June 1825) was a British aristocrat and the subject of a notable painting, once thought to be by Johann Zoffany, now attributed to David Martin.
Biography ...
(18 May 1760 – 1 June 1825); married
George Finch-Hatton and had issue, including
George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea
George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham (19 May 1791 – 8 January 1858) was an English politician known for duelling with the then Prime Minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Early life
Hatton, ...
.
* Hon. Henrietta Anne Murray (16 October 1764,
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
– circa 1765,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
)
Henrietta died on 10 March 1766. A decade later, on 5 May 1776, Mansfield married secondly The Hon.
Louisa Cathcart, daughter of
Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart
Lieutenant-General Charles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, KT (21 March 1721 – 14 August 1776) was a British soldier and diplomat. He was also chief of the Clan Cathcart.
Biography
The son of Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart, and Mari ...
. Louisa was his junior by more than 30 years, and they had five children:
*
David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield
David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT (7 March 1777 – 18 February 1840) was a British army officer and peer. Mansfield served as Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire from 1803 until his death.
Family
David William Murray was born in ...
(1777–1840)
* Lieutenant-general The Hon. George Murray (1780–1848)
* Major The Hon. Charles Murray (1781–1859), who married Elizabeth Law and had children
* General
Sir Henry Murray (1784–1860), who married Emily, daughter of Gerard de Vismé, and had children.
* Lady Caroline Murray (died 1867)
In 1793 he succeeded his uncle, Lord Mansfield, as the 2nd Earl of Mansfield of the 1792 creation, while his wife succeeded as second Countess of Mansfield of the 1776 creation, according to
special remainder
In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...
s in the
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
. From the 1st Earl he inherited
Kenwood House
Kenwood House (also known as the Iveagh Bequest) is a former stately home in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The house was originally constructed in the 17th century and served as a residence for the Earls of Mans ...
in the London Borough of Camden.
Lord Mansfield died in September 1796 and his body laid to rest with his uncle, the 1st Earl, in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
His heart was interred in
Comlongon Castle
Comlongon Castle is a tower house dating from the later 15th century or early 16th century. It is located west of the village of Clarencefield, and south-east of Dumfries, in south west Scotland. The original tower has been extended by the add ...
. He was succeeded in his titles and to Kenwood House by his eldest son
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. His second son, the Honourable George Murray, became a
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the Army. His fourth son, the Honourable
Sir Henry Murray, rose to the rank of General.
The Countess of Mansfield survived her husband by 47 years. She went on to marry her first cousin the Honourable
Robert Fulke Greville
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Fulke Greville FRS (3 February 1751 – 27 April 1824) was a British Army officer, courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807.
Life
The son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwic ...
in 1797. Lady Mansfield died in July 1843, aged 85.
See also
*
William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland
William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, PC (Ire), FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1793.
Early life
A member of the influential Eden family, Auckland was a younger son ...
*
Jean-Charles-Pierre Lenoir
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
* Tugdual de Langlais, ''L'armateur préféré de Beaumarchais Jean Peltier Dudoyer, de Nantes à l'Isle de France'', Éd. Coiffard, 2015, 340 p. ().
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, David Murray, 2nd Earl of
1727 births
1796 deaths
Clan Murray
Diplomatic peers
Earls of Mansfield
Lord Presidents of the Council
Lords Justice-General
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Scottish representative peers
Secretaries of State for the Northern Department
Ambassadors of Great Britain to France
Ambassadors of Great Britain to Poland
Dunbar, David Murray, 2nd Earl of
Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor
18th-century British politicians
Leaders of the House of Lords
Burials at Westminster Abbey