George Rice (1724 – 3 August 1779) was a Welsh politician and courtier. He became Vice-Admiral of Carmarthen,

Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire. After 1762, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Carmarthenshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed ...

, and Lord Commissioner of the board of trade under the Duke of Newcastle. Newton House - geograph

Life

He was the only son of Edward Rice of Newton House, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, M.P. for the county in 1722, by Lucy, daughter of John Morley Trevor of

Glynde Glynde is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, United Kingdom. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He matriculated at

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 ...

on 26 January 1742, at the age of 17, but took no degree. He succeeded his grandfather Griffith Rice, MP in 1728, his father having previously died in 1727, inheriting Newton House and the Dynefwr Estate near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire. Rice devoted himself to politics and local affairs. A Whig, he associated himself with the group led by Griffith Philipps of Cwmgwili. At the general election of 1754 he was returned for

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

after a warm contest with Sir Thomas Stepney, 7th Baronet, and retained his seat, over a period of twenty-five years, until his death, being re-elected four times without opposition. He was made Vice-Admiral of Carmarthen in April 1755,

in May 1755 (reappointed 23 June 1761), and, when the Carmarthenshire Militia was embodied (7 December 1759), he was nominated

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 ...

of the regiment. Rice became Chamberlain of Brecon and of

Breconshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, and

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

in 1765, and was sworn in as Mayor of Carmarthen on 5 June 1767. By his marriage, on 16 August 1756, with Cecil (1733–1793), daughter of

William Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot of Hensol William Talbot, Earl Talbot, PC (16 May 1710 – 27 April 1782), known as the Lord Talbot from 1737 to 1761, was a British politician. Talbot was a notable figure among opposition Whig politicians during the reign of King George II before later ...

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 ...

, he increased his political influence, and on 21 March 1761 he accepted office under the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

as a Lord Commissioner of the board of trade and foreign plantations, with a salary of £1,000 a year. This post he held in successive ministries until April 1770, when

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

selected him for the court appointment of

Treasurer of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of the ...

, and he was sworn a member of the Privy Council on 4 May following. In the late 1700s, George Rice and his wife Cecil began the construction of a landscape garden at Newton House, hiring eminent architect

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

in 1775 to assume responsibility for the development. He also added turrets and battlements between 1760 and 1780 to give the property a more romantic appearance. Rice died in office, on 3 August 1779, at the age of 55, and was succeeded by his son

George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor George Talbot Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor (Dinefwr) (8 October 1765 – 9 April 1852) was a British peer and politician. He was the son of Cecil de Cardonnel, 2nd Baroness Dynevor and George Rice (or Rhys). He was educated at Westminster School ...

Family

Rice's widow

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...

became a peeress in her own right as Baroness Dynevor on her father's death on 27 April 1782, and died 14 March 1793, leaving two daughters and two sons:

(1765–1852); and Edward Rice (died 1867), Dean of Gloucester, whose son was Francis William Rice, 5th Baron Dynevor.

References

* ;Attribution 1gb {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, George 1724 births 1779 deaths People from Carmarthenshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

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 ...

Mayors of places in Wales Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Lord-Lieutenants of Carmarthenshire Carmarthen Militia officers Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain