James Cholmondeley
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James Cholmondeley (18 April 1708 – 13 October 1775) was a British Army officer and
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 o ...
between 1731 and 1747. He fought at Fontenoy and during the 1745 Rising commanded a brigade at the Battle of Falkirk, where he suffered severe exposure. He retired from politics in 1747 and ceased his active military service in 1750, although promoted
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
in 1770. His marriage ended in divorce in 1737 and he had no children; he died in 1775 and was buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.


Life

James Cholmondeley was born in April 1708, third son of George, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley (1666-1733) and Anna Elizabeth van Ruytenburgh (ca 1672–1722). His eldest brother, also named James, died young and George, Viscount Malpas (1703-1770) became heir; he had three sisters, Henrietta (1701-1769), Elizabeth (1705-1762) and Mary (1714-1783). In 1726, he married Lady Penelope Barry (1708-1783), only child of the Earl of Barrymore and Elizabeth Savage. She was also heiress to
Earl Rivers Earl Rivers was an English title, which has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was held in succession by the families of Woodville (or Wydeville), Darcy and Savage. History The first creation was made for Richard Woodville, 1s ...
, who owned extensive estates near the Cholmondeley lands in Cheshire. The marriage was not successful and when they divorced in 1737, one of the conditions was neither would remarry; this meant that after Penelope died in 1783, the Rivers possessions passed into the Cholmondeley family. He died childless in 1775 and his property was inherited by his nephew, George, later Marquess Cholmondeley.


Career

His father benefitted from backing William III in 1688 and
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in 1714, being rewarded with titles and offices, including command of the 3rd Troop of Horse Guards. In April 1725, James was commissioned into his father's troop, which was normally based in London, allowing its officers to combine a military career and political office. His elder brother
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married the daughter of
Sir 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 Leade ...
, who was Whig Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742. He held a number of government positions, although his brother-in-law Horace Walpole (1717-1797) later described him as "a vain and empty man", promoted beyond his ability by his father-in-law. This connection led to James becoming
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 o ...
for the government-controlled
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...
of Bossiney in 1731, then
Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed ...
in the
1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...
. In 1739, commercial tensions with Spain resulted in the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...
; the military had been allowed to decay during the long period of peace since 1715 and early setbacks damaged Walpole's popularity. Cholmondeley was appointed colonel of the
48th Foot The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. History Early ...
, a new regiment raised in January 1741 for the war. A few months later, he was returned as MP for Montgomery in the 1741 General Election but the government lost over 40 seats. While he continued to support the government, in February 1742 Walpole was removed from office and replaced by
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. Britain now became involved in the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...
and Cholmondeley transferred to the 34th Foot in December 1742. He campaigned in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
from 1743 to 1745, under the
Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...
and fought at Fontenoy in May 1745. While this was an Allied defeat, his unit was part of the rearguard action that enabled their forces to retreat in good order. Promoted Brigadier-General in July, his regiment was among the reinforcements sent to Britain in November during the 1745 Rising and served in Scotland under Henry Hawley. In early January 1746, the Jacobites besieged Stirling Castle; on 13th, Hawley ordered 4,000 men under Cholmondeley and John Huske north to Falkirk to relieve it, following himself with another 3,000 men. The Battle of Falkirk began late in the afternoon of 17 January in failing light and was marked by confusion and command failures on both sides. A violent snow storm broke out as the regiments deployed, making co-ordination extremely difficult; the government left was routed but Cholmondeley's brigade on the right held their ground and prevented a major Jacobite success. He fell seriously ill as a result of the extreme weather conditions and was not present with his regiment at Culloden in April. This ended his active military career, although he remained Colonel of the 6th Dragoons until his death. He was promoted general in 1770 but in the 18th century, this simply meant the holder was eligible for command; there were far more generals than positions available and many never held an active post. He retired from Parliament in 1747 and little is known of his life after this, although Dutch author
Isabelle de Charrière Isabelle de Charrière (20 October 174027 December 1805), known as Belle van Zuylen in the Netherlands, née Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken, and adameIsabelle de Charrière (married name) elsewhere, was a Dutch and ...
records meeting him during her visit to London in 1766. When his brother George died in 1770, he replaced him as
Governor of Chester The Governor of Chester was a military officer responsible for the garrison at Chester Castle. The equivalent or related role from the 11th to 14th centuries was Constable of Chester. Governors * 1399: John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury * 1643: ...
but normally resided at Carrington House, in Mayfair. He died on 13 October 1775 and was buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
, near his uncles Robert and Richard, who died in 1678 and 1680 while pupils at
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
.


References


Sources

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External links

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cholmondeley, James 1708 births 1775 deaths Younger sons of earls British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British Army generals British Life Guards officers Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers 34th Regiment of Foot officers 48th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 Burials at Westminster Abbey Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons officers 12th Royal Lancers officers