Admiral Philip Cavendish (died 1743) of Westbury, Hampshire, was a Royal Navy officer 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. T ...

between 1721 and 1743. He went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

Biography

Cavendish was the illegitimate son of

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, (25 January 164018 August 1707) was an English soldier, nobleman, and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1684 when he inherited his father's peerage as Earl of Devonshire. ...

M.P . He joined the navy and was a lieutenant RN in 1694 and captain in 1701. From 1705, he was porter of St James's Palace. He married Anne Carteret, daughter of Edward Carteret. In 1719, he led a British squadron at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Cavendish was put forward to succeed his father-in-law, Edward Carteret, 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 o ...

for

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the river ...

on the Hobart interest. He was elected at a by-election on 29 April 1721 but was unseated on petition on 6 June 1721. He was returned unopposed as MP for St. Germans on the Government interest at the 1722 general election. He did not obtain a seat at the 1727 general election although his father-in-law tried to put him forward for Harwich. In 1728 he became a rear-admiral, and in 1732 a vice-admiral. At the 1734 election, Cavendish was returned unopposed with Sir Charles Wager as MP for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on the Admiralty interest. He voted consistently with the Government. In 1736 he was promoted to Admiral and was also promoted to serjeant-porter of St James's Palace, holding the office for the rest of his life. At the 1741 general election he was elected in a contest as MP for Portsmouth. After Walpole's fall he was appointed a

Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

as a naval member of Board of Admiralty in March 1742 and was classed as ‘for Pelham’ in October 1742. Cavendish died without issue on 14 July 1743.

Flag rank appointments

Included: * 1727–1728, Rear-Admiral of the Blue * 1728–1729, Rear-Admiral of the White * 1729–1732, Rear-Admiral of the Red * 1732–1733 Vice-Admiral of the Blue * 1733–1735 Vice-Admiral of the Red * 1735–1743 Admiral of the Blue

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, Philip 1743 deaths Royal Navy admirals British military personnel of the War of the Quadruple Alliance Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bere Alston Lords of the Admiralty