George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth KG, PC, FRS (3 October 1755 – 10 November 1810), styled Viscount Lewisham until 1801, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1778 to 1784.

Background

George Legge, known from birth as Viscount Lewisham, was born 3 October 1755. He was the eldest son of

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, PC, FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered as the namesake of Dartmouth College. Background Dartmouth was the so ...

, and Frances Katherine, daughter of

Sir Charles Gounter Nicoll Sir Charles Gounter Nicoll Order of the Bath, KB (1704–24 November 1733), of Racton, Sussex, was a British politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1729 to 1733. Gounter Nicoll, born Gounter was baptised on 7 O ...

. He was the elder brother of Admiral Sir Arthur Kaye Legge and Edward Legge,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

. He 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 ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he matriculated 22 October 1771, and was created M.A. 3 July 1775, and D.C.L. 28 October 1778. At some time during the 1770s he went to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

as he appears in an important painting by

Johann Zoffany Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...

which the artist titled the

Tribuna of the Uffizi The Tribuna of the Uffizi is an octagonal room in the Uffizi gallery, Florence, Italy. Designed by Bernardo Buontalenti for Francesco I de' Medici in 1584, the most important antiquities and High Renaissance and Bolognese paintings from the Medic ...

. A key to the people shown
oneonta.edu. Retrieved 11 June 2014 He was appointed

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 colonel. ...

of the

Staffordshire Militia The Staffordshire Militia was an auxiliary military force in Staffordshire in the West Midlands of England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1572 and their reorganisation in 1662 and 1777, the Militia regiments of Staffordshire se ...

on 12 March 1779 and took over as its

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1781. He resigned the command in 1783 when the regiment was disembodied at the end 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 ...

. (His son and successor also became colonel of the regiment in 1812.)

Political career

Lewisham was returned to Parliament for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1778, a seat he held until 1780. In the latter year he was returned for both

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

1784, but chose to represent the latter. He continued to represent this constituency until 1784. From 1783 to 1798 he served as

Lord Warden of the Stannaries The Lord Warden of the Stannaries (from la, stannum for Tin, Sn) used to exercise judicial and military functions in Cornwall, England, and is still the official who, upon the commission of the monarch or Duke of Cornwall for the time being, h ...

. He remained out of parliament for the next 17 years, but in 1801 he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's junior title of Baron Dartmouth. He succeeded his father in the earldom later the same year. Dartmouth served under

Henry Addington Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, (30 May 175715 February 1844) was an English Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. Addington is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, an ...

President of the Board of Control The President of the Board of Control was a British government official in the late 18th and early 19th century responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for Indian ...

between 1801 and 1802 and as

Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household in England. He is always a peerage, peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the offic ...

between 1802 and 1804. From 1804 to 1810 he was

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

under successively

Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...

, the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1801 and appointed a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1805. He was also admitted 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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 3 May 1781 and was the first President of the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

in 1805.

Family

Lord Dartmouth married Lady Frances (9 February 1761 – 21 November 1838), daughter of

Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford (6 November 1715 – 9 May 1777), styled Lord Guernsey between 1719 and 1757, was a British peer and politician. Background and education Finch was the son and heir of Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford b ...

, on 24 September 1782. They had fifteen children: *Hon. Frances Catherine Legge (7 September 1783 – 7 March 1789) *

William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth FRS, SA (29 November 1784 – 22 November 1853), styled The Honourable William Legge until 1801 and Viscount Lewisham between 1801 and 1810, was a British peer. Background Dartmouth was the son of George Le ...

(29 November 1784 – 22 November 1853) *Hon. George Legge (20 February 1786 – 15 October 1789) *Lady Louisa Legge (8 March 1787 – 13 August 1816), married William Bagot, 2nd Baron Bagot, and had issue. * Hon. Heneage Legge (29 February 1788 – 12 December 1844), married Mary Johnstone. *Lady Charlotte Legge (12 February 1789 – 15 June 1877), married in 1816 Very Rev. Hon.

George Neville-Grenville George Neville-Grenville (17 August 1789 – 10 June 1854), named George Neville until 1825,''Burke's Peerage 2003'', page 490 was Dean of Windsor in the mid nineteenth century. Early life Neville was born a younger son of the Hon Richard Grif ...

(Dean of Windsor), son of

Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke (3 July 1750 – 28 February 1825) was an English politician and peer. He was known as Richard Aldworth-Neville or Richard Aldworth Griffin-Neville to 1797. Early life Aldworth was born on 3 July 1750 in Duk ...

, and had issue. *Lady Harriet Legge (7 September 1790 – 11 March 1855), married in 1815 General Hon.

Sir Edward Paget General Sir Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) was a British Army officer. Career Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792. He was Member of ...

, son of

Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge (13 January 166330 August 1743), of Beaudesert, Staffordshire, and West Drayton, Middlesex, was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1695 until 171 ...

, and had issue. *Lady Barbara Maria Legge (29 Nov 1791 – 22 April 1840), married in 1820

Francis Parker Newdigate 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 Mu ...

and had issue *Hon. Catherine Charlotte Legge (2 Apr 1793 – 1793) *Lady Georgina Caroline Legge (14 May 1795 – 11 August 1885). She was a lady-in-waiting to

Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (25 April 1776 – 30 April 1857) was the eleventh child and fourth daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She married her first cous ...

. *Lady Mary Legge (3 June 1796 – 8 July 1886) *Lady Anne Legge (14 August 1797 – 24 November 1885) *Hon. Charles Legge (26 January 1799 – 1 November 1821) *General Hon. Arthur Charles Legge (25 June 1800 – 18 May 1890), married first on 1 June 1827 Lady Anne Holroyd (d. 1829), daughter of

John Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield (21 December 1735 – 30 May 1821) was an English politician who came from a Yorkshire family, a branch of which had settled in the Kingdom of Ireland. Biography His grandfather was Isaac Holroyd (164 ...

, second on 29 August 1837 Caroline Bouwens and had issue. *Hon. Henry Legge (25 Sep 1803 – 13 February 1887), vicar of Lewisham, married on 12 May 1842 Maria Rogers (d. 1890), daughter of Sir Frederick Rogers, 7th Baronet. Lord Dartmouth died on 10 November 1810, aged 55, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Lady Dartmouth died on 21 November 1838.England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915

References

;Attribution

External links

*
Legge genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dartmouth, George Legge, 3rd Earl Of 1755 births 1810 deaths People educated at Eton College Staffordshire Militia officers 3 Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Garter Lewisham, George Legge, Viscount British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Presidents of the Board of Control