![1stMarquessOfBute1783](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1stMarquessOfBute1783.jpg)
John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
PC,
FRS (30 June 1744 – 16 November 1814), styled Lord Mount Stuart until 1792 and known as The Earl of Bute between 1792 and 1794, was a British nobleman, coalfield owner, diplomat and 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 1766 to 1776.
Early life
![1stMarquessOfBute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/1stMarquessOfBute.jpg)
Stuart was born at
Mount Stuart House
Mount Stuart House, on the east coast of the Isle of Bute, Scotland, is a country house built in the Gothic Revival style and the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute. It was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson for the 3rd Marquess in ...
on the
Isle of Bute
The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Formerly a constituent isl ...
, the son of prime minister
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...
, and his wife
Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, who later served a ...
. He was educated at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
and
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
. He went to the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where he had private tuition from James Bladen. The degree of D.C.L., awarded to him by the university in 1793, was honorary.
Around 1757 Stuart began to be tutored by the philosopher
Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Ferguson was sympathet ...
.
Political career
Lord Mount Stuart was returned as
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Bossiney at a by-election in 1766. He was returned in the general elections of
1768
Events
January–March
* January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.
* February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...
and
1774
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I.
* January 27
** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...
. On 2 November 1775 he announced in the House of Commons his intention to introduce a bill to establish a militia in Scotland, and during the next few months
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
assisted in seeking support for the bill in Scotland. In March 1776 the bill was debated, but ultimately failed to pass. He left the House of Commons in 1776 when he was elevated to the
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...
in his own right as Baron Cardiff, of
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...
in the
County of Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
. Though this title was also used, he continued to be known by his courtesy title of Lord Mount Stuart. (He ranked higher in the
order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...
as the heir to an earldom than he did as a substantive baron.) He served as
Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan. After 1729, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of Glamorgan. The post was abolished on 31 March 1974.
Lord Lieutenants of Glamorgan to 1974
*Henry Herbert, 2nd Ear ...
from 1772 to 1793 and from 1794 to his death, taking command of the
Glamorgan Militia as
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. ...
Commandant when it was embodied on 26 March 1778.
In 1779 Lord Mount Stuart 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 ...
and was sent as an envoy to the court of Turin. He was ambassador to Spain in 1783. He held the sinecure of
Auditor of the imprests Auditor of the Imprests was a profitable office of the Exchequer, responsible for auditing the accounts of officers of the English crown to whom money was issued for government expenditure, from 1559 to 1785.
Foundation
Prior to 1559 this duty was ...
from 1781 until the abolition of the office in 1785, upon which he was paid £7000 compensation. He was the first
Lord Lieutenant of Buteshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Buteshire. The post was established in 1794 and abolished in 1975, being replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute and the Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran.
* John Stua ...
from 1794 until his death.
Lord Mount Stuart succeeded his father in the earldom in 1792. In 1794 he was created Viscount Mountjoy, in the Isle of Wight, Earl of Windsor and Marquess of Bute. (The Mountjoy and Windsor titles recognised the Barony of Mountjoy and Viscountcy of Windsor previously held by his father-in-law, the
2nd Viscount Windsor, which had both become extinct on Lord Windsor's death in 1758.) Lord Bute was inducted as 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 12 December 1799.
Family
![Portrait of Charlotte Jane Stuart, Marchioness of Bute (4672034)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Portrait_of_Charlotte_Jane_Stuart%2C_Marchioness_of_Bute_%284672034%29.jpg)
Lord Mount Stuart married an heiress, the Honourable Charlotte Hickman-Windsor (1746–1800), daughter of
Herbert Hickman-Windsor, 2nd Viscount Windsor, on 12 November 1766. They had seven sons and two daughters.
Those included:
*
John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuart
{{Infobox noble
, type =
, name = John Stuart
, title = Lord Mount Stuart
, image = John, Lord Mountstuart MP (1767 - 1794 )by Thomas Lawrence.jpg
, caption = John Stuart (study for ...
(25 September 1767 – 22 January 1794), whose son succeeded as 2nd Marquess
*
Lord Evelyn Stuart (1773–1842), a colonel in the army
*Lady Charlotte Stuart (c. 1775 – 5 September 1847), married
Sir William Homan, 1st Baronet
*Lord Henry Stuart (7 June 1777 – 19 August 1809), father of
Henry Villiers-Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Decies
Henry Villiers-Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Decies PC (8 June 1803 – 23 January 1874), was a British politician.
Background and education
Born Henry Crichton-Stuart, in London, he was the eldest son of Lord Henry Crichton-Stuart, third son of ...
*Captain
Lord William Stuart
Captain Lord William Stuart (18 November 1778 – 25 July 1814), was a British naval commander and Tory politician.
Early life
Stuart was the fifth son of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, son of Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute ...
(18 November 1778 – 28 July 1814)
*Rear-Admiral
Lord George Stuart
Lord George Stuart, Order of the Bath, CB (1 Mar 1780 – 19 February 1841 at Balls Park, Hertfordshire) was a Rear-Admiral of the Blue in the Royal Navy.
Origin
He was from a side-branch of the Stuart family, descended from the Scottish King ...
(1 March 1780 – 19 February 1841)
Charlotte died on 28 January 1800. He then married Frances Coutts, daughter of
Thomas Coutts
Thomas Coutts (7 September 1735 – 24 February 1822) was a British banker. He was a founder of the banking house Coutts & Co.
Early life
Coutts was the fourth son of Jean (née Steuart) Coutts and John Coutts (1699–1751), whose business in ...
, on 17 September 1800. They had two children:
*Lady Frances Stuart (d. 29 March 1859) -
Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby
*
Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart (11 January 1803 – 17 November 1854)
His second wife outlived him, and died on 12 November 1832.
In 1799 he (or his immediate family benefit trust) was estimated the second-wealthiest small family unit in Britain owning £4.2M (), notably as to coal-bearing and agricultural land.
Footnotes
References
*Paola Bianchi, ''Nella specola dell'ambasciatore. Torino agli occhi di John Stuart, lord Mountstuart e marchese di Bute (1779-1783)'', in ''Architettura e città negli Stati sabaudi'', a cura di E. Piccoli e F. De Pieri, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2012, pp. 135–160
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bute, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of
1744 births
1814 deaths
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of the University of Oxford
British MPs 1761–1768
British MPs 1768–1774
British MPs 1774–1780
Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
Diplomatic peers
Peers of Great Britain created by George III
Fellows of the Royal Society
Lord-Lieutenants of Buteshire
Lord-Lieutenants of Glamorgan
Glamorgan Militia officers
Mount Stuart, John Stuart, Lord
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Mount Stuart, John Stuart, Lord
1
Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain
People educated at Harrow School