William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) and twice as Prime Minister of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

(1783) and then of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(1807–1809). The gap of 26 years between his two terms as Prime Minister is the longest of any British Prime Minister. He was also the fourth great-grandfather of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

through his great-granddaughter Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Portland was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title for every degree of British nobility: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. He was the leader of the Portland Whigs faction, which broke with the Whig leadership of Charles James Fox and joined with

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 ...

in the wake of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

Early life and education

Lord Titchfield was the eldest son 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 Margaret Cavendish-Harley and inherited many lands from his mother and his maternal grandmother, who was the daughter of John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated MA in 1757.

Marriage and children

On 8 November 1766, Portland married Lady Dorothy Cavendish, a daughter of

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 Mini ...

and Charlotte Boyle. They were parents of six children: *

William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Go ...

(24 June 176827 March 1854). * Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839). *Lady Charlotte Cavendish-Bentinck (2 October 177528 July 1862). Married Charles Greville, and they had three sons: Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville,

Algernon Greville Algernon Frederick Greville (29 December 1798 – 15 December 1864) was an English soldier, cricketer, and officer of arms who served as private secretary to the Duke of Wellington. Life He was commissioned an ensign in the Grenadier Guards on ...

, and

Henry William Greville Henry William Greville (28 October 1801 – 12 December 1872) was an English aristocrat and diarist. He was the youngest son of Charles Greville, grandson of the fifth Lord Warwick, by Lady Charlotte Cavendish Bentinck, eldest daughter of Will ...

(1801–1872), and a daughter, Harriet (1803–1870) m.

Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, (1 January 1800 – 18 February 1857), known as Lord Francis Leveson-Gower until 1833, was a British politician, writer, traveller and patron of the arts. Ellesmere Island, a major island (10th in size am ...

. *Lady Mary Cavendish-Bentinck (13 March 17796 November 1843). *

Lord Charles Bentinck Lord William Charles Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck (20 May 178028 April 1826), known as Lord Charles Bentinck, was a British soldier and politician and a great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II. Background Bentinck was the third son of Brit ...

(20 May 178028 April 1826). Ancestor of the 6th and 7th dukes of Portland. * Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (2 November 178111 February 1828) married Lady Mary Lowther (died 1863), daughter of

William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 175719 March 1844), also known as Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Little Preston, from 1788 to 1802, and William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, from 1802 to 1807, was a British Tory po ...

, 16 September 1820; had issue:

George Cavendish-Bentinck George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (9 July 1821 – 9 April 1891), known as George Bentinck and scored in cricket as GAFC Bentinck, was a British barrister, Conservative politician, and cricketer. A member of parliament from 1859 to ...

, ancestor of the 8th and 9th dukes of Portland. *A stillborn baby, birthed at Burlington House on 20 October 1786.

Political and public offices

Portland was elected to sit in the Parliament of Great Britain for Weobley in 1761 before he entered 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 ...

after he succeeded his father as

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

the next year. He was associated with the aristocratic Whig Party of Lord Rockingham and served as

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 ...

in Rockingham's first government (1765–1766).

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Portland served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Rockingham's second ministry (April–August 1782). He faced strong demands for conciliatory measures following years of coercion and taxation brought about by the British government's engagement in the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

. Portland resolved to make concessions and, overcoming the resistance of Lord Shelburne, the Home Secretary to whom he reported, convinced Parliament to repeal the

Declaratory Act The American Colonies Act 1766 (6 Geo. III c 12), commonly known as the Declaratory Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and the amendment of the Sugar Act. Parliament repealed th ...

and to modify Poynings' Law. Following Rockingham's death, Portland resigned from Lord Shelburne's ministry along with other supporters of Charles James Fox.

First government

In April 1783, Portland was selected as the titular head of a coalition government as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, whose real leaders were Charles James Fox and

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

. He served as

First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...

in the ministry until its fall in December that same year. During his tenure, the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

was signed, which formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The government was brought down after it had lost a vote in the House of Lords on its proposed reform of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

after

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 ...

had let it be known that any peer voting for the measure would be considered his personal enemy. In 1789, Portland became one of several vice presidents of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

's Foundling Hospital. The charity had become one of the most fashionable of the time, with several notables serving on its board. At its creation, 50 years earlier, Portland's father,

, had been one of the founding governors, as listed on the charity's

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

granted by

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

. The hospital had a mission to care for the abandoned children in London, and it achieved rapid fame through its poignant mission, its art collection donated from supporting artists and the popular benefit concerts by George Frideric Handel. In 1793, Portland took over the presidency of the charity from Lord North.

Home secretary

Along with many other conservative Whigs such as

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...

, Portland was deeply uncomfortable with the

; he broke with Fox over that issue and joined Pitt's government as

Secretary of State for the Home Department The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

in 1794. In that role he oversaw the administration of patronage and financial inducements, which were often secret, to secure the passage of the Act of Union 1800. He continued to serve in the cabinet until Pitt's death in 1806, from 1801 to 1805 as Lord President of the Council and then as a Minister without Portfolio.

Second government

In March 1807, after the collapse of the Ministry of all the Talents, Pitt's supporters returned to power, and Portland was once again an acceptable figurehead for a fractious group of ministers that included George Canning,

Lord Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...

Lord Hawkesbury Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secret ...

and

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

. Portland's second government saw the United Kingdom's complete isolation on the continent but also the beginning of its recovery with the start of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. In late 1809, with Portland's health poor and the ministry rocked by the scandalous duel between Canning and Castlereagh, Portland resigned and died shortly thereafter. He was Recorder of Nottingham until his death.

Death and burial

He died on 30 October 1809 at Burlington House, Piccadilly, after an operation for the

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, and was buried at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Ox ...

, London. He had lived expensively: with an income of £17,000 a year (worth £577,000 in 2005),
National Archives currency converter. he had debts at his death computed at £52,000 (£1.76 million in 2005), which were paid off by his succeeding son by selling off some property, including Bulstrode Park. Along with

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, Lord Aberdeen, Benjamin Disraeli,

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Bonar Law and Neville Chamberlain, he was the first of eight British prime ministers to die while his direct successor was in office.

Legacy

The

Portland Vase The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated to between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain ...

of Roman glass was given its name because it was owned by Portland at his family residence at Bulstrode Park. Portland Parish, in Jamaica, was named after him. The Titchfield School, founded in 1786, is in the parish and is also named in his honour. The school's crest is derived from the his personal crest. Two major streets in Marylebone are named after him: Portland Place and

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

. Both were built on land that he once owned. North Bentinck Arm and South Bentinck Arm were named for the Bentinck family by George Vancouver in 1793, along with other names on the British Columbia Coast, such as

Portland Canal , image = Hyder Alaska IMG 0276 (22495379342).jpg , alt = , caption = Portland Canal from Hyder, Alaska , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Alaska and British Columbia , group = , coordinates ...

and Portland Channel. Portland Bay in Victoria, Australia was named in 1800 by the British navigator James Grant. The city of Portland is located on the bay. The department of

Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections is part of Libraries, Research and Learning Resources at the University of Nottingham. It is based at King's Meadow Campus in Nottingham in England. The university has been collecting manuscripts since the earl ...

holds a number of papers relating to him. His personal and political papers (Pw F) are part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection, and the Portland (London) Collection (Pl) contains his correspondence and official papers, especially in series Pl C. The Portland Estate Papers held at Nottinghamshire Archives also contain items relating to the 3rd Duke's properties. The Portland Collection of fine and decorative art includes pieces owned and commissioned by him, including paintings by George Stubbs.

Arms

Cabinets as Prime Minister

First Ministry, April – December 1783

*The Duke of Portland—

* Lord Stormont— Lord President of the Council * Lord Carlisle— Lord Privy Seal *

—

* Charles James Fox—

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

* The Viscount Keppel—

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

* Lord John Cavendish— Chancellor of the Exchequer * The Viscount Townshend— Master-General of the Ordnance * Lord Northington—

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 King ...

*The Great Seal is in Commission

Second Ministry, March 1807October 1809

*The Duke of Portland—

Lord Eldon Earl of Eldon, in the County Palatine of Durham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for the lawyer and politician John Scott, 1st Baron Eldon, Lord Chancellor from 1801 to 1806 and again from 1807 to 1827. ...

—

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

* Lord Camden— Lord President of the Council * Lord Westmorland— Lord Privy Seal *

, after 1808, Lord Liverpool –

* George Canning—

—

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Hi ...

Lord Mulgrave Marquess of Normanby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in 1694 in the Peerage of England in favour of John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Bucki ...

—

— Chancellor of the Exchequer and of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

* Lord Chatham— Master-General of the Ordnance * Lord Bathurst— President of the Board of Trade ;Changes *July 1809— Lord Harrowby, the President of the Board of Control, and Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, the

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

, enter the Cabinet

Ancestry

References

External links

William Bentinck, Duke of Portland
profile on the 10 Downing Street website
Biography of the 3rd Duke, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of 1738 births 1809 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of the United Kingdom People from Nottinghamshire People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 18th-century heads of government 19th-century heads of government British MPs 1761–1768 British Secretaries of State Chancellors of the University of Oxford 103 William, 3rd Duke of Portland Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Nottinghamshire Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society Portland, Victoria Prime Ministers of Great Britain British landowners Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Burials at St Marylebone Parish Church Leaders of the House of Lords