James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos PC (27 December 1731 – 29 September 1789), styled Viscount Wilton from birth until 1744 and Marquess of Carnarvon from 1744 to 1771, was a British peer and politician.

Background

Chandos was the only son of Henry Brydges, 2nd Duke of Chandos, and Lady Mary Bruce, daughter of

Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury (later styled Aylesbury) and 4th Earl of Elgin (29 May 1682 – 10 February 1747), of Ampthill, Bedfordshire and Savernake Park, Wiltshire, styled Viscount Bruce of Ampthill from 1685 to 1741, was a British ...

. 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 ...

from 1742 to 1749, and then at

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

in 1750/1751.

Political career

Chandos was

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

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

from 1754 to 1761 and for

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

between 1761 and 1768.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.'', volume III, page 45 He succeeded in the dukedom upon the death of his father on 28 November 1771. He was a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

to George, Prince of Wales from 1760 to 1764, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire in 1763–64 and 1771–80, sworn to 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 mo ...

on 12 May 1775 and appointed Lord Steward of the Household from December 1783 to his death in 1789.

Private life

Chandos's first marriage was to Margaret Nicol (1736–1768), daughter of John Nicol of

Colney Hatch Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Frier ...

and Minchenden House, and his wife Winifred Keck, on 22 March 1753. They set up a London home at 39

Upper Grosvenor Street Upper Grosvenor Street is a one-way Georgian street in Mayfair, London, United Kingdom. It runs from the north side of the Grosvenor House Hotel (fronting Park Lane) to the south side of the London Chancery Building (fronting Grosvenor Squar ...

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 ...

. Margaret inherited much of the great fortune acquired by her grandfather Sir

Anthony Keck Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales. Life Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726 He designed in the "austere ...

, and was the owner of a famous portrait of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, which came to be known as the

Chandos portrait Chandos may refer to: Titles * Duke of Chandos, and Baron Chandos, three English titles, all extinct * Viscount Chandos, a modern title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Businesses * Chandos Records * Chandos Publishing Other uses * Chando ...

following the marriage. A decade after the death of his first wife, and having become Duke of Chandos in 1771, he married

Anne Eliza Gamon Anna Eliza Brydges ( Gamon, formerly Elletson) was an English aristocrat and plantation owner. She married James Brydges, the third Duke of Chandos. Early life Anna came from Datchworth, Hertfordshire. She was the daughter of Richard Gamon and ...

, daughter of Richard Gamon of Datchworth Bury, Datchworth, on 21 June 1777. This second marriage produced the only child to survive to adulthood, Lady Anne Elizabeth Brydges (Lady Kinloss, died 1836) who married Richard Temple-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. They were the parents of Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Chandos died in September 1789, aged 57, when the Dukedom became extinct. He was buried in St Lawrence Whitchurch in Canons Park,

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 ...

. His widow was declared a lunatic and confined to their London home,

Chandos House Chandos House is a Grade I listed building at N° 2 Queen Anne Street, Marylebone, in central London. It was designed by Robert Adam, the most prominent architect in Georgian Britain, and built by William Adam and Company. It is seen as the fir ...

; she was also made a ward of court. After her death in 1813, the unexpired lease was sold. A lengthy

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

in the Irish Courts over the management of her property ended dramatically in 1794 with the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

of the presiding judge,

Richard Power Richard, Richie or Dick Power may refer to: Peers and politicians * Richard Power, 1st Baron Power (c.1482–1539), Irish peer ( Earl of Tyrone#Barons Power (13 September 1535)) * Richard Power, 4th Baron Power (c.1553–1607), Irish peer ( Earl ...

, who was accused of wrongfully withholding the funds the subject matter of the lawsuit, which had been lodged in Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandos, James Brydges, 3rd Duke of 1731 births 1789 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London James 3 James Lord-Lieutenants of Hampshire Carnarvon, James Brydges, Marquess of Carnarvon, James Brydges, Marquess of British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Grand Masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Burials at the Chandos Mausoleum Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England British slave owners