James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP PC (Ire) (18 August 1728 – 4 August 1799) was an Irish

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Life

Early life

The son of James Caulfeild, 3rd Viscount Charlemont, he was born in Dublin, and succeeded his father as 4th Viscount in 1734. His mother was Elizabeth Bernard, daughter of Francis Bernard, MP and judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

and Alice Ludlow. After his father's death, she remarried

Thomas Adderley Thomas Adderley was an Irish politician. Adderley was educated at Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris te ...

, and died in childbirth in 1743 at the age of 40, after the birth of her daughter Elizabeth, who later married Major David Ross. The title of Charlemont descended from Sir Toby Caulfeild (1565–1627) of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England, who was given lands in Ireland, and created Baron Charlemont (the name of a fort on the Blackwater), for his services to King James I in 1620. The 1st Viscount was the 5th Baron (d. 1671), who was advanced in the peerage by Charles II.

Art and culture

Lord Charlemont was well known for his love of Classical art and culture and spent nine years on the Grand Tour in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. He returned to Dublin and employed the Scottish architect Sir William Chambers to remodel his main residence

Marino House Marino House and gardens was a Georgian house and estate in Marino in the northern suburbs of Dublin, Ireland constructed sometime around 1755 and later remodeled by William Chambers for James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont. Chambers later al ...

and the unique Neo-Classical garden pavilion building adjacent, the Casino at Marino, as well as to design his townhouse Charlemont House. His former townhouse at 14 Jervis Street was gifted to the then fledgling Jervis Street Hospital and opened in 1796.

Politics

Lord Charlemont is historically interesting for his political connection with Henry Flood and Henry Grattan; he was a cultivated man with literary and artistic tastes, and both in Dublin and in London he had considerable social influence. He was the first President of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and was a member of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

. He was appointed Custos Rotulorum of County Armagh for life in 1760. For various early services in Ireland, he was made an earl in 1763, but he disregarded court favours and cordially joined Grattan in 1780 in the assertion of Irish independence. In 1783 he was made a founding Knight of the Order of St Patrick. He was president of the volunteer convention in Dublin in November 1783, having taken a leading part in the formation of the Irish Volunteers; and he was a strong opponent of the proposals for the Union. His eldest son, who succeeded him, was subsequently (1837) created an English Baron.

Personal life

In 1768 Charlemont married Mary Hickman, daughter of Thomas Hickman of Brickhill, County Clare. The marriage is said to have been a very happy one. They had two sons, James and Henry. His half-sister, Elizabeth Adderley (born 23 May 1743), was the mother of Major-General Robert Ross. The somewhat inaccurate ''Memoirs of the Political and Private Life of James Caulfield, Earl of Charlemont, Knight of St. Patrick'', by

Francis Hardy Francis Hardy may refer to: * Francis Hardy (Irish politician) * Francis Hardy (French politician) Francis Hardy (14 December 1923 – 11 March 2021) was a French politician. Biography Prior to his political career, Hardy played rugby for US C ...

, appeared in 1810.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlemont, James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of 1728 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Irish people Caulfeild, James Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Knights of St Patrick Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Royal Irish Academy Fellows of the Royal Society Viscounts Charlemont