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Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne (29 January 1745 – 22 July 1828), known as Sir Peniston Lamb, 2nd Baronet, from 1768 to 1770, was a British 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. T ...
from 1768 to 1793. He was the father of Prime Minister
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first prem ...
.


Early life

Lamb was the son of
Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet (1705 – 6 November 1768) was a British barrister and politician. He was the grandfather of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Lamb was the son of Matthew Lamb, of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, and ...
, and his wife Charlotte (née Coke). He was educated at
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
from 1755 to 1762 and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1769. He succeeded in the baronetcy on his father's death on 6 November 1768 and inherited
Melbourne Hall Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now the seat of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr and is open to th ...
in Derbyshire. He married Elizabeth Milbanke (1751–1818), daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, 5th Baronet, on 13 April 1769. She was a young woman of great beauty, intelligence and strong character, who quickly came to dominate her husband completely, and steered them into the centre of polite society. In 1770 he began, as Melbourne House, what is now
The Albany The Albany, or simply Albany, is an apartment complex in Piccadilly, London. The three-storey mansion was built in the 1770s and divided into apartments in 1802. Building The Albany was built in 1771–1776 by Sir William Chambers for the ne ...
in London.


Political career

At the 1768 general election Lamb was returned unopposed as
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 Ludgershall. In 1770 he was raised to the
Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...
as Lord Melbourne, Baron of Kilmore, in the County of Cavan, but as it was an Irish peerage he was allowed to remain in the House of Commons. He was returned unopposed again as MP for Ludgershall at the elections in 1774 and 1780. In 1781 he was created Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales in 1783 and held the position until 1796. At the 1784 general election he stood for
Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
and was again returned unopposed. He switched again in 1790 and was returned unopposed at
Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the na ...
. He resigned his seat in 1793 for his son Peniston.


Later life

Lord Melbourne became Lord of the Bedchamber in 1812. In 1815 he was even further honoured when he was made Baron Melbourne, of Melbourne in the County of Derby, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in 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 died on 22 July 1828, aged 83 and was succeeded in his titles by his son
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.


Family

Melbourne and his wife had seven children. * Hon. Peniston Lamb (3 May 1770 – 24 January 1805) * Elizabeth Lamb (born 25 October 1777) * William Lamb (15 March 1779 – 24 November 1848), 2nd Viscount Melbourne * Frederick James Lamb (17 April 1782 – 29 January 1853), 3rd Viscount Melbourne * Hon. George Lamb (11 July 1784 – 2 January 1834) *
Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston (née Lamb, later Clavering-Cowper; 1787–1869), styled The Honourable Emily Lamb from 1787 to 1805 and Countess Cowper from 1805 to 1839, was a leading figure of the Almack's social set, sister to Prime M ...
(1787–1869) * Harriet Lamb (1789-1803) Only the first-born son can be definitively attributed to Lord Melbourne due to his wife's many affairs.
Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...
''Melbourne'' Pan Books Edition 1965 p.20
George is reputed to be the son of
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
, with William and Emily allegedly fathered by Lord Egremont.Cecil p.20 Whether Melbourne was made unhappy by his wife's affairs is unclear: he was a mild, easygoing and rather stupid man who avoided trouble, and invariably deferred to his wife, who was by far the stronger and more intelligent partner in the marriage. Their one serious quarrel was caused by the death of their eldest son Pen (who was undoubtedly Melbourne's child); he angrily refused to make the same allowance to William (who was almost certainly not Melbourne's child) as he had given Pen, suggesting that he felt some degree of resentment of his wife's conduct. Lady Melbourne, on her side, tolerated his affair with the courtesan
Sophia Baddeley Sophia Baddeley born Sophia Snow (1745 – July 1786) was an English actress, singer and courtesan. Early life, musical career She was born in London, the daughter of Mary and Valentine Snow, who was the sergeant-trumpeter to George II. ...
. Nathaniel Wraxall wrote of Melbourne that he was "principally known by the distinguished place that he occupies in the annals of meretricious pleasure, the memoirs of Mrs. Bellamy or Mrs. Baddeley, the sirens and courtesans of a former age". Melbourne's children regarded him with what has been described as "kindly contempt": his daughter Emily said that he was always going wrong and they were always having to put him right, and that although he was not a heavy drinker, he always ''seemed'' drunk.


References


Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount 1745 births 1828 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of Lincoln's Inn British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Viscounts Melbourne Peers of Ireland created by George III Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III Parents of prime ministers of the United Kingdom