James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, (4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as The Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British nobleman and politician.

Background

Salisbury was the son of

James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury (20 October 1713 – 19 September 1780) was a British nobleman, politician, and peer. He was the son of James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Anne Cecil, Countess of Salisbury. He was known for his i ...

, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Keat.

Political career

Salisbury was returned to Parliament for

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

in 1774, a seat he held until 1780, and briefly represented Launceston and

Plympton Erle Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Pl ...

in 1780. In the latter year, he succeeded his father in the earldom of Salisbury and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He served under

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 ...

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Mar ...

between 1780 and 1782 and under

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

and then Henry Addington as

Lord Chamberlain of the Household Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

between 1783 and 1804. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1780 and created Marquess of Salisbury, in the County of Wiltshire, in 1789. He later served as Joint Postmaster General under

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secret ...

from 1816 to 1823. He also held the honorary post of

Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. From 1660 the office holder was also Custos Rotulorum of Hertfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1553 – * Sir Ralph Sadleir 1570–? *He ...

between 1771 and 1823. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1793.

Militia career

He served as

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 o ...

of the

Hertfordshire Militia The Hertfordshire Militia was an auxiliary military force in Hertfordshire in South East England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 and their service in the English Civil War, the Militia of Hertfordshire served during time ...

in home defence during the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. To help his discharged men re-enter civilian life at the end of the war, he employed 200 of them on the improvements he was making to his Hatfield estate. He was still in command of the regiment when it was called out again in 1793.

Family

Lord Salisbury married Lady Emily Mary, daughter of

Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, (30 May 1718 – 7 October 1793), known as The 2nd Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as The 1st Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era. Best known ...

, on 2 December 1773. She became known as a sportswoman and influential society hostess. The couple had four children: *Lady Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Cecil (1786-1860), married

Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat and politician. He was the younger brother of the soldier and politician the first Duke of Wellington. He is known particularly for his servic ...

* Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil (1789-1858), married

George Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath George Thomas John Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath (17 July 1785 – 5 May 1871), styled Lord Delvin between 1792 and 1814 and known as The Earl of Westmeath between 1814 and 1821, was an Anglo-Irish peer. Background Nugent was born in Cl ...

and had issue *Caroline Cecil, died young *

James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, (17 April 1791 – 12 April 1868), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1823, was a British Conservative politician. He held office under The Earl of Derby as Lord Privy Seal in 18 ...

(1791–1868) Lord Salisbury died in June 1823, aged 74, and was succeeded by his only son, James. The Marchioness of Salisbury died in a fire at

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Cec ...

in November 1835.

Notes

References

* ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine ...

: and Historical Chronicle From January To June 1823'', Vol. XCIII (London: John Nichols and Son, 1823). Obituary Section, p. 563.
googlebooks.com
Retrieved 28 October 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, James Cecil, 1st Marquess Of 1748 births 1823 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 James, Salisbury 1 Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Salisbury1

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Cranborne, James Cecil, Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Treasurers of the Household United Kingdom Postmasters General Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Fellows of the Royal Society Members of Parliament for Great Bedwyn