Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole "of Wolterton", (8 December 16785 February 1757), English diplomatist, was a younger son of Col.

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...

(1650–1700) of

Houghton Hall Houghton Hall ( ) is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was commissioned by the ''de facto'' first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Wa ...

in Norfolk, and was a younger brother of

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leade ...

(1676–1745) the first Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Family

The Walpoles owned land in Norfolk in the 12th century and took their name from Walpole, a village in the county. An early member of the family was Ralph de Walpole,

bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

from 1288 to 1299, and

bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nor ...

from 1299 until his death on 20 March 1302. Among its later members were three brothers,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

(1560–1637), Richard (1564–1607) and Michael (1570–1624), all members of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. Another Jesuit in the family was

Henry Walpole Henry Walpole (1558 – 7 April 1595) was an English Jesuit martyr, executed at York for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. Early life Walpole was born at Docking, Norfolk, in 1558, the eldest son of Christopher Walpole, by Margery, heires ...

(1558–1595), who wrote ''An Epitaph of the life and death of the most famous clerk and virtuous priest

Edmund Campion Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was h ...

'' and was tortured and put to death on 17 April 1595.

Political career

Born at Houghton and educated at Eton and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, Horatio Walpole became a fellow of King's. He entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1702, remaining a member for fifty-four years. In 1715, when his brother, Sir Robert, became first

lord of the treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

, he was made Secretary to the Treasury, and in 1716, having already had some experience of the kind, he went on a diplomatic mission to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. He left office with his brother in 1717, but he was soon in harness again, becoming secretary to the

lord-lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

in 1720 and Secretary to the Treasury a second time in 1721. In 1722 he was again at

, and in 1723 he went to Paris, where in the following year he was appointed

envoy extraordinary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

and

minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

. He got on intimate terms with Fleury and seconded his brother in his efforts to maintain friendly relations with France; he represented Great Britain at the

congress of Soissons {{short description, Peace negotiations between Great Britain and Spain The Congress of Soissons was a diplomatic conference held between a number of European powers, principally Great Britain and Spain, between 14 June 1728 and July 1729 in the Fr ...

and helped to conclude the

treaty of Seville The Treaty of Seville was signed on 9 November, 1729 between Britain, France, and Spain, formally ending the 1727–1729 Anglo-Spanish War; the Dutch Republic joined the Treaty on 29 November. However, the Treaty failed to resolve underlying t ...

(November 1729). He left Paris in 1730 and in 1734 went to represent his country at The Hague, where he remained until 1740, using all his influence in the cause of European peace. He was nonetheless able to stay involved in the affairs of the capital. He served, for example, in 1739, as a founding governor for London's most fashionable charity of the time, the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

After the fall of Sir Robert Walpole in 1742, Horatio defended his conduct 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. T ...

and also in a pamphlet, "The Interest of Great Britain steadily pursued". Later he wrote an "Apology", dealing with his own conduct from 1715 to 1739, and an "Answer to the latter part of

Lord Bolingbroke Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically des ...

's letters on the study of history" (printed 1763). In 1724 he engaged Thomas Ripley to design him a new house at Wolterton in Norfolk to replace one that had burnt down. The house called Wolterton Hall was completed in 1742. In 1756 he was created

Baron Walpole Baron Walpole of Walpole in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. Since 1797 holders also hold the title of Baron Walpole of Wolterton. Past holders have also held the titles Baron Walpole of Houghton in the Count ...

, of Wolterton and he died 5February 1757 at his house in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

Personal life

By his wife, Mary Magdalen Lombard, whom he married on 21 July 1720, he had nine children: * Horatio Walpole, 2nd Baron Walpole (1723–1809), created

Earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was c ...

in 1806 *The Hon. Mary Walpole (born 25 February 1726), who married

Maurice Suckling Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until ...

. *The Hon.

Thomas Walpole Thomas Walpole (6 October 1727 – March 1803), styled from 1756 The Hon. Thomas Walpole, was a British MP and banker in Paris. Life Thomas Walpole was born into a political family. The second son of the 1st Baron Walpole and his wife Telisha, ...

(6 October 1727 – March 1803), who married Elizabeth Vanneck (died 9 June 1760) on 14 November 1753, and had issue. *The Hon.

Richard Walpole Richard Walpole (1728–1798) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1784. Walpole was born on 5 December 1728, the son of Horatio Walpole of Wolterton Hall and his wife Mary Magdalen Lombard. He was captain of an ...

(5 December 1728 – 18 August 1798), who married Margaret Vanneck (before 1742 – 9 May 1818) on 22 November 1758, and had issue. *Susan Walpole (3 May 1730 – 29 April 1732) *The Hon. Henrietta Louisa Walpole (28 November 1731 – June 1824) *The Hon. Anne Walpole (12 July 1733 – 25 November 1797) *Caroline Walpole (22 November 1734 – 11 January 1737) *The Hon.

(1736–1810)

References

External links

Horatio Walpole , National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walpole, Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron 1678 births 1757 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George II Diplomatic peers English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Robert Walpole

Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman ''gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is '' Orazio'', the modern Spanish form '' Horacio''. It ap ...

Ambassadors of Great Britain to France Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Netherlands Chief Secretaries for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bere Alston People from Houghton, Norfolk