Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield KG, PC, FRS, FSA (10 November 1755 – 29 August 1815), known as Philip Stanhope until 1773, was a British politician and diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Spain between 1784 and 1787,

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

between 1789 and 1790, Joint Postmaster General between 1790 and 1798 and

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

between 1798 and 1804.

Background and education

Stanhope was the son of Arthur Charles Stanhope, of

Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a settlement about north of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers Maun and Meden.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): Founded before the Rom ...

, and Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Charles Headlam, of Kerby Hall,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

,thepeerage.com Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield
/ref> and cousin, godson and, later, adopted son of

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Ches ...

(whose titles he inherited at his death in 1773). He was a great-great-great-grandson of

Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584 – 12 September 1656) was an English nobleman, aristocrat and royalist, who was created the first Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I in 1628. Biography Stanhope was the only son of Sir John Sta ...

. His adoptive father directed his early education and his tutors included the poet

Cuthbert Shaw Cuthbert Shaw (1738/9–1771) was an English poet and actor. Life Shaw was born in Ravensworth in the North Riding of Yorkshire; his father Cuthbert Shaw was a shoemaker. He attended the local grammar school at Kirby Hill where he paid his wa ...

and

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...

's friend the Swiss

Jacques Georges Deyverdun Jacques Georges Deyverdun (8 May 1734, in Lausanne – 4 July 1789, in Aix-les-Bains) was a Swiss classical scholar and translator. He translated Goethe's ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' into French. Deyverdun met Edward Gibbon in Lausanne an ...

, as well as

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 ...

, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and the forger Dr William Dodd. He was later educated at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, Saxony. During his service in Germany he became a member of the

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

''Minerva zu den drei Palmen''

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in 1773.

Political and diplomatic career

Lord Chesterfield became a favourite of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

.Lot Notes for the auction at Christie's of ''Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1755–1815) by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788)''
/ref> In 1784 he 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 appointed Ambassador to Spain, a post he held until 1787, although he never went to Spain. He later held office 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 ...

between 1789 and 1790 and as joint

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

between 1790 and 1798 and under Pitt and Henry Addington as

between 1798 and 1804. Lord Chesterfield was also

Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire There has been a Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire almost continuously since the position was created by King Henry VIII in 1535. The only exception to this was the English Civil War and English Interregnum between 1643 and 1660 when there wa ...

between 1781 and 1782. He was elected a Fellow of both the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and the Society of Antiquaries in 1776. In 1805 he was appointed 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 ...

Family

Lord Chesterfield married firstly, Anne, daughter of Reverend Robert Thistlewayte, on 20 August 1777. They had one child: *Lady Harriet Stanhope (d. 1803), died unmarried. After his first wife's death in October 1798 he married secondly, Lady Henrietta Thynne, daughter of

Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, KG, PC (13 September 173419 November 1796), of Longleat in Wiltshire, was a British politician who held office under King George III. He served as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieuten ...

, on 2 May 1799. They had two children: *Lady Georgiana Stanhope (d. 1824), married Frederick Richard West, a grandson of

John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr (9 May 1729 – 22 November 1777) was a British peer, politician and army officer. Early life Born The Honourable John West, he was the son of John West, 7th Baron De La Warr and his first wife, the former Lady Cha ...

. The marriage was childless. *

George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield, PC (23 May 1805 – 1 June 1866), styled Lord Stanhope until 1815, was a British Tory politician, courtier and race horse owner. He served as Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Melbourne from 1834 to 1 ...

(1805–1866). The Countess of Chesterfield died at Chesterfield House,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, London, in May 1813, aged 50. Lord Chesterfield survived her by two years and died at

Bretby Bretby is a village and civil parish in the south of Derbyshire, England, north of Swadlincote and east of Burton upon Trent, on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 893. T ...

, Derbyshire, in August 1815, aged 59. He was succeeded in the earldom by his only son, George.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of 1755 births 1815 deaths Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Masters of the Mint Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Earls of Chesterfield People from Mansfield Woodhouse