George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough (27 December 1793 – 1 July 1857), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1817 and Marquess of Blandford between 1817 and 1840, was a British nobleman, politician, and peer. The great-grandfather of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, he served as

Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Oxfordshire. Deputy lieutenants A deputy lieutenant of Oxfordshire is commissioned by the Lord Lieute ...

between 1842 and 1857.

Background and education

Styled ''Earl of Sunderland'' from birth, he was born at Bill Hill,

Hurst, Berkshire Hurst is a village in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst in the English county of Berkshire. Geography The parish of St Nicholas Hurst, is about north of Wokingham and south of Twyford in the county of Berkshire. It covers about and is t ...

(an estate his father was renting at the time), the eldest son of George Spencer, Marquess of Blandford (later

George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA (6 March 1766 – 5 March 1840), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books. He was the first one to specifi ...

) and his wife, the former Lady Susan Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway. He was educated at Eton between 1805 and 1811, and later at Christ Church, Oxford. He was also given an honorary Doctorate of Civil Laws by

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 th ...

on 15 June 1841.George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough
/ref>

Political career

He became known by the courtesy title ''Marquess of Blandford'' in 1817, when his father succeeded to the dukedom. He sat as 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 ...

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 Chippenham between 1818 and 1820, and for

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

from 1826 to 1831, from 1832 to 1835 and from 1838 to 1840, when he succeeded to the dukedom and 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 ...

. In 1842, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, a post he held until his death. On 20 March 1845 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Yeomanry in which his two eldest sons also served. In parliament, Blandford became an Ultra-Tory, splitting with

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in opposition to

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. In response to the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 The Catholic Relief Act 1829, also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1829. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic emancipation throughout the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, Blandford introduced the first major

reform bill In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

in February 1830, calling for transfer of rotten borough seats to the counties and large towns, disfranchisement of non-resident voters, prevention of holders of office under the Crown from sitting in Parliament, payment of a salary to MPs, and the general franchise for men who owned property. He believed that somewhat more open elections could be relied upon to oppose Catholicism.

Cricket

He played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

as a young man and is recorded in one first-class match in 1817, totalling 4 runs with a highest score of 4.

Family

As a young man, he and Harriet Caroline Octavia Spencer (1798–1831),Marquis Ruvigny, ''Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, being a complete table of all the descendants now living of Edward III, King of England: Essex Volume'' (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1907), p.89. daughter of William Robert Spencer (youngest son of Lord Charles Spencer), went through a false ceremony of marriage with a relative of the groom posing as a cleric. A voyage to Scotland, where they lived as husband and wife, was intended by the bride and her parents to make this marriage legal under Scottish law. The sixth Duke did, however, successfully contest in a court of law that they had lived as if they had been married. Child by Harriet Caroline Octavia Spencer, who subsequently married her cousin, Count Karl Theodor von Westerholt (1795–1863), son of Count Alexander von Westerholt, in 1819: * Susan Harriett Elizabeth Churchill (1818–1887), married Aimé Timothée Cuénod (1808–1882). He married, firstly, his first cousin Lady Jane Stewart (1798–1844), daughter of

George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway, (24 March 1768 – 27 March 1834), styled Lord Garlies between 1773 and 1806, was a British naval commander and politician. Background Garlies was the eldest son of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Gall ...

, on 13 January 1819. They had four children: *Lady Louisa Spencer-Churchill (c. 1820–1882), married the Hon. Robert Spencer, son of Francis Spencer, 1st Baron Churchill, and had issue. *

John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough (2 June 18224 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and noblem ...

(1822–1883). * Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill (1824–1893), married the Hon. Harriet Gough-Calthorpe, daughter of

Frederick Gough, 4th Baron Calthorpe Frederick Gough, 4th Baron Calthorpe (14 June 1790 – 2 May 1868), known as Hon. Frederick Gough-Calthorpe until 1851, of Elvetham Hall, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was born the 4th son of Henry Go ...

, and had issue. * Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill (25 July 1825 – 18 April 1873), married Rosalind Dowker. After his first wife's death in October 1844, aged 46, he married, secondly, the Hon. Charlotte Augusta Flower (1818–1850), daughter of Henry Flower, 4th Viscount Ashbrook, on 10 June 1846. They had two children: *Lord Almeric Athelstan Spencer-Churchill (1847 – 12 December 1856), died young. *Lady Clementina Augusta Spencer-Churchill (4 May 1848 – 27 March 1886), married John Pratt, 3rd Marquess Camden, and had issue. After his second wife's death in April 1850, aged 31, he married, thirdly, his first cousin Jane Frances Clinton Stewart (1818–1897),London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 daughter of the Hon. Edward Richard Stewart and granddaughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, on 18 October 1851. They had one child: *Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 March 1853 – 5 May 1911), married Augusta Warburton, daughter of Major George Drought Warburton, and had issue. The 6th Duke of Marlborough died at Blenheim Palace on 1 July 1857, aged 63, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. The Duchess of Marlborough died at 28 Grosvenor Street in Mayfair, London, in March 1897, aged 79.

Sources

* Mary Soames; The Profligate Duke: George Spencer Churchill, Fifth Duke of Marlborough, and His Duchess (1987)

References

External links