Sir Robert Wilmot, 1st Baronet (1708–1772) was an English servant of the Crown, Secretary to successive Viceroys of Ireland from 1740 to 1772, and after 1758 Secretary to the

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 ...

.Handlist to papers of Wilmot-Horton of Osmaston and Catton
/ref> By 1750 several correspondents regarded him as "the channel through which all Irish business, especially that concerning patronage, must flow".

Life

Robert Wilmot was the elder son of Robert Wilmot (ca. 1674 - September 1738) of

Osmaston Hall Osmaston Hall was a country house built in 1696 in extensive grounds at Osmaston, Derbyshire, now an area of the city of Derby. The house was the home of the Wilmot baronets, and the Fox family before being used for a golf club and railway busine ...

, and his younger brother was the judge

John Eardley Wilmot Sir John Eardley Wilmot PC SL (16 August 17095 February 1792), was an English judge, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1766 to 1771. Family and early life Wilmot was the second son of Robert Wilmot (1669–1738), of Osmaston Hall, near ...

(1709-1792). He graduated from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1729, and studied law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

.Introduction: Wilmot Papers

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC). The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is disti ...

, November 2007 About 1730 he became private secretary to

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

. When Cavendish was appointed Viceroy of Ireland in 1737, Wilmot became the Viceroy's Deputy Resident Secretary in England. He was promoted to Resident Secretary in June 1740, serving twelve successive Viceroys until the year of his death in 1772. Wilmot acted as an intermediary for

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, (8 May 1720 – 2 October 1764), styled Lord Cavendish before 1729, and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominal 5th Prime Minis ...

in the complicated negotiations which led to Cavendish briefly serving as titular

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pri ...

in 1756–57. He was rewarded in 1758, when Devonshire patronage helped him become Deputy Secretary, and subsequently Secretary, to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. Robert Wilmot's first marriage was childless. After his wife died in 1769, he married his mistress, mother of his illegitimate children. In October 1772 he was created a baronet, Wilmot of Osmaston. He was granted a special remainder to allow his eldest son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

to succeed to the baronetcy. The papers relating to his official activities are held at

Derbyshire Record Office The Derbyshire Record Office, established in 1962, is the county record office for Derbyshire, England. It holds archives and local studies material for the County of Derbyshire and the City of Derby and Diocese of Derby. It is situated in Matl ...

, with copies at the

References

External links

* 1708 births 1772 deaths English civil servants People from Osmaston, Derby Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain {{UK-gov-bio-stub