Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Clinton ( – 3 May 1751) was an English peer and landowner. He built the Palladian

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

of Castle Hill, which survives to this day.

Origins

He was the eldest surviving son and heir of Hugh Fortescue, MP (1665–1719) of Filleigh, Weare Giffard and Ebrington, by his first wife Bridget Boscawen (d. 1708), daughter and sole heiress of Hugh Boscawen, MP (1625–1701), of Tregothnan in Cornwall (whose mother was a Rolle), by his wife Lady Margaret Clinton (d. 1688), the youngest daughter and eventual co-heiress of Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, 12th Baron Clinton (1600–1667). Bridget Boscawen's first cousin was

Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth (pronounced "Boscowen") ( ; ca. 1680 – 25 October 1734), was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for Cornish constituencies from 1702 until 1720 when he was raised to the peerage ...

(c. 1680-1734),

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

and

Vice-Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

, raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

in 1720. From the Boscawens the Fortescue family inherited various estates in Cornwall including antimony mines at Treore and also possessed Trewether and the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

s at Port Gaverne and Port Isaac.

14th Baron Clinton

On the death of his mother's childless first cousin Edward Clinton, 5th Earl of Lincoln, 13th Baron Clinton (d.1692) (grandson and heir of Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, 12th Baron Clinton (1600–1667)), the title Baron Clinton went into abeyance until it was terminated in 1721 in favour of Hugh Fortescue, who thus became 14th Baron Clinton. He also inherited

Tattershall Castle Tattershall Castle is a castle in Tattershall, Lincolnshire, England, about 12 miles (19 km) north east of Sleaford. Since 1925 it has been in the care of the National Trust. History Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a sto ...

in Lincolnshire, the Clinton seat, which was retained by the Fortescue family until 1910.

Career

On 16 March 1721 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 ...

Baron Clinton Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. Created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, it is the seventh-oldest barony in England. Creation and early history The title was granted in 1298 to Sir John de Clinton, a knight who had served ...

and in the same year was appointed by King

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Depu ...

. In 1723 he was appointed a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

(the future King George II). In 1725 he was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

also by King

. Having previously been a supporter of Prime Minister Walpole, in 1733 he voted against his

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

, which having faced substantial opposition failed to pass, and was dismissed from his royal posts as

to King George II and

, as were also dismissed from their posts two dukes, four earls and two barons who had similarly defied Walpole. Following Walpole's resignation in 1742, Fortescue's career recovered and on 5 July 1746 he was elevated to the peerage as

Baron Fortescue Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of Castle Hill (with

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 ...

) and

Earl Clinton Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. Created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, it is the seventh-oldest barony in England. Creation and early history The title was granted in 1298 to Sir John de Clinton, a knight who had served ...

Estates

He consolidated his estates by selling most of his holdings in Somerset and Wiltshire and reinvesting the proceeds of £22,000 in purchasing more land in the vicinity of his North Devon manor of Filleigh, inherited from his father, where he demolished the ancient manor house and built in its place the surviving Palladian stately home which he named Castle Hill.

Personal life

He died unmarried on 3 May 1751, aged 55, although he had fathered a daughter by a mistress, for whom he built a house on his Filleigh estate. The illegitimate daughter married one of his cousins.

Succession

As he died without legitimate issue, the Earldom of Clinton became extinct and the Barony of Fortescue descended to his younger half-brother,

Matthew Fortescue, 2nd Baron Fortescue Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

(1719–1785) in accordance with the

. The ancient barony of Clinton, which had been created by writ in 1298, went into abeyance until 1760 between his childless sister Margaret Fortescue (1693-1760), who styled herself "Baroness Clinton",Lauder, p.67 and their second cousin Margaret Rolle (1709–1781), who in 1760 became 15th Baroness Clinton, the daughter of Col. Samuel Rolle (1646-1719), the son of Robert Rolle (d. 1660), MP, of

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned succ ...

, Devon, by his wife Lady Arabella Clinton, the younger daughter of Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, 12th Baron Clinton (1600–1667). Margaret Rolle was then the widow of

Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, KB (1701 – 31 March 1751), was a British peer and politician, styled Lord Walpole from 1723 to 1745. Origins He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the King's First Minister, now re ...

(d. 1751) (son of the Prime Minister

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 Leader ...

) and the wife of Sewallis Shirley, son of

Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers PC (20 October 1650 – 25 December 1717)—known as Sir Robert Shirley, 7th Baronet, from 1669 to 1677 and Robert Shirley, 14th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, from 1677 to 1711—was an English peer and courtier. Sh ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Peers of Great Britain created by George II Barons Clinton Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-Lieutenants of Devon 1696 births 1751 deaths