Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, KG, PC (13 September 173419 November 1796), of

Longleat Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquess of Bath, Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of War ...

in Wiltshire, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician who held office under King

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 ...

. He served as

Southern Secretary The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

Northern Secretary The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of S ...

and

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

. Between 1751 and 1789, he was known as the 3rd Viscount Weymouth. He is possibly best known for his role in the

Falklands Crisis of 1770 The Falklands Crisis of 1770 was a diplomatic standoff between Great Britain and Spain over possession of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. These events were nearly the cause of a war between Britain and Spain – backed by Franc ...

Early life

He was born on 13 September 1734, the eldest son and heir of

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth (21 May 1710 – 1751) of Longleat House in Wiltshire was an English peer, descended from Sir John Thynne (c.1515-1580) builder of Longleat. Origins He was born on 21 May 1710, the son of Thomas Thynne (d.17 ...

(1710–1751) by his wife Louisa Carteret (c. 1712–1736), a daughter of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 2nd Baron Carteret (1690–1763). On her father's side, she was a great-granddaughter of

John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath PC, 29 August 1628 – 22 August 1701, was an English landowner who served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was rewarded for his services after the 1660 Stuart Restoration with a title ...

(1628–1701), and her father's first-cousin was William Granville, 3rd Earl of Bath (1692–1711), on whose death the Earldom of Bath became extinct.

Family origins

The Thynnes are descended from Sir

John Thynne Sir John Thynne (c. 1515 – 21 May 1580) was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1506 – 1552), and a member of parliament. He was the builder of Longleat House, and his descendants became Marquess of Bath, Marquesses of ...

(c. 1515–1580), the builder of

Longleat House Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire, ...

, the family seat in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, who acquired vast estates after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Sir John owed his wealth and position to the favour of his master, the

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

.'Parliamentary history : 1529–1629', in ''

A History of the County of Wiltshire The Wiltshire Victoria County History, properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire, is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Vic ...

'', vol. 5 (1957)
pp. 111–132
accessed 7 July 2011 He was comptroller of the household of the future Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

. Another famous ancestor was Thomas Thynne (1648–1682), called on account of his wealth "Tom of Ten Thousand" and celebrated by

Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the peri ...

Issachar Issachar () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fifth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's ninth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor providing ...

in ''

Absalom and Achitophel ''Absalom and Achitophel'' is a celebrated satirical poem by John Dryden, written in heroic couplets and first published in 1681. The poem tells the Biblical tale of the rebellion of Absalom against King David; in this context it is an all ...

'', who was murdered in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in February 1682.

Career

He succeeded his father as 3rd Viscount Weymouth in January 1751 and served as

for a short time during 1765, although he never visited that country. Having become prominent in British politics, he was appointed

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

in January 1768 and acted with great promptitude during the unrest caused by

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fo ...

and the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

election of 1768. He was then attacked and libeled by Wilkes, who was consequently expelled from 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. ...

Falklands Crisis

Before the close of 1768, he was transferred from the Northern Department to become

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

, but he resigned in December 1770 in the midst of the " Falklands Crisis", a dispute with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

over the possession of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

American War of Independence

In November 1775, Weymouth returned to his former office of Secretary of State for the Southern Department, undertaking in addition the duties attached to the northern department for a few months in 1779, but he resigned both positions in the autumn of that year. This period covered the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Later life

He was

High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield The High Steward of Sutton Coldfield was an office relating to the government of the town of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England. History Prior to the Royal Charter of 1528 Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley held the office of High S ...

from 1781 until his death in November 1796, having been created

Marquess of Bath Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron Thynne, of Warminster in the County of Wiltshire, and Viscount Weymouth ...

in 1789. The title of

Earl of Bath Earl of Bath was a title that was created five times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now extinct. Earls of Bath; First cre ...

that had been held by his Granville ancestor was then unavailable, as it had been recreated for a member of the Pulteney family.

Marriage and issue

In 1759, he married Lady Elizabeth Bentinck, daughter of

William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1 March 1709 – 1 May 1762), styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1716 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1716 to 1726, was a British peer and politician. Portland was the son of Henry Bentinck, 1s ...

and the art collector

Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (11 February 1715 – 17 July 1785) was a British aristocrat, styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her husband's death in 1761, and Dowager Duchess of Por ...

, with whom he had three sons and four daughters, including: * Lady Henrietta Thynne (born 16 November 1762) *Lady Sophia Thynne (born 18 December 1763) *

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath KG (25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), styled Viscount Weymouth from 1789 until 1796, was a British peer. Life Early life Thynne was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and Lady Elizab ...

(25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), eldest son and heir. * Lady Maria Thynne (born 1 August 1767, died March 1768) *Lady Isabella Thynne (born 1 October 1768) *

George Thynne, 2nd Baron Carteret George Thynne, 2nd Baron Carteret PC (23 January 1770 – 19 February 1838), styled Lord George Thynne between 1789 and 1826, was a British Tory politician. Background and education Carteret was the second son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of ...

(23 January 1770 – 19 February 1838), who inherited the title

Baron Carteret Baron Carteret is a title that has been created twice in British history, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came into the Peerage of England in 1681 when the fourteen-year-old Sir George ...

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...

from his paternal uncle

Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret Henry Frederick Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret PC (1735–1826), of Haynes, Bedfordshire (known until 1776 as the Honourable Henry Frederick Thynne), was Member of Parliament for Staffordshire (1757–1761), for Weobley in Herefordshire (1761� ...

(1735–1826) (born Henry Thynne), of

Haynes Park Haynes Park is a Georgian country house which stands in parkland at Haynes Church End, Bedfordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. Originally known as Hawnes Park it was built c.1725 for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, a promine ...

in Bedfordshire and of

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton ( kw, Kylgh) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 road#Atlantic Highway, A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilk ...

in Cornwall, the seat of his ancestor

(1628–1701), which descended via the Carteret family.

Legacy

Weymouth Street Weymouth Street lies in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster and connects Marylebone High Street with Great Portland Street. The area was developed in the late 18th century by Henrietta Cavendish Holles and her husband Edward Ha ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

is named after him. His wife's family once owned the land on which the street was later built.

References

Attribution: *

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath, Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of 1734 births 1796 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British Secretaries of State Grooms of the Stool Knights of the Garter Lords Lieutenant of Ireland 1 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Leaders of the House of Lords Court of George III of the United Kingdom