Francis Godolphin, 2nd Baron Godolphin (2 November 1706 – 25 May 1785) was a British politician and peer.

Life and career

He was the eldest surviving son of

Henry Godolphin Henry Godolphin (1648–1733) was a Provost of Eton College and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, a position in which he clashed with Sir Christopher Wren in the period when the new cathedral had reached the finishing touches. Life He wa ...

, provost of Eton and

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlett, ...

, and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

(1718–1721) and

Queen’s College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, w ...

(1723). In 1733 he inherited his father's estates in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. He was appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of the Scilly Isles from 1739 to 1766 and as Governor from 1766 to his death. He served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for the borough of

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

from 1741 to 1766, when he succeeded to the title of Baron Godolphin (of Helston) on the death of his cousin

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, (3 September 1678 – 17 January 1766), styled Viscount Rialton from 1706 to 1712, was an English courtier and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1712, whe ...

. He was also the recorder for Helston from 1766 to his death. He married twice: firstly on 18 February 1733/4 at Saint James in Westminster, London, to Lady Barbara Bentinck, the daughter of

William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. H ...

, and, secondly, to Lady Anne Fitzwilliam (22 Aug 1722 – 1805), the daughter of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam, on 28 May 1747, also at St James, Westminster.''The Register of Marriages in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754''. 28 May 1747.

References

1706 births 1785 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Governors of the Isles of Scilly {{GB-baron-stub