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 George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Uni ...

and

Lord Goderich Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known between 1827 and 1833 as The Viscount Goderich (pronounced ), the name by which he is best known to ...

Background and education

Portland was the eldest son of Prime Minister

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) ...

and Lady Dorothy, 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, Baroness Clifford. He was the elder brother of

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...

and

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 ...

. He was educated first in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

under the tutelage of

Samuel Goodenough Samuel Goodenough ( – 12 August 1827) was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1808 until his death in 1827, and an amateur botanist and collector. He is honoured in the scientific names of the plant genus ''Goodenia'' and the red-capped robin (''Petroi ...

graduating in 1774, followed by

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 ...

(1783). He attended

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

for two years but did not take a degree. The third Duke, who spared no expense for his heir, sent him to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in 1786 for experience working with the crown's envoy, Sir James Harris. He returned in 1789. He later received an honorary degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

from Oxford in 1793. He also served as a Family Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

; in 1810, he loaned the famed

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 ...

to the museum.

Political career

William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland

Portland was Member of Parliament for

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

between 1790 and 1791 and for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

between 1791 and 1809. He served under his father as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

between March and September 1807. He remained out of office until April 1827 when he was appointed

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. Originally, ...

by his brother-in-law

. He was sworn of 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 ...

the same year. When

became Prime Minister in August 1827, Portland became

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

, an office he retained until the government fell in January 1828. Over time the Duke became less of a staunch Conservative, softening to some of the more liberal stances of Canning. Portland also held the honorary post of

Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex. From 1794 to 1965, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex. The office was abolished on 1 April 1965, with the creation of Greater London and the post of L ...

between 1794 and 1841.

Family

Portland married

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

, eldest daughter and heiress of Major-General John Scott of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

and his wife Margaret (''née'' Dundas), in London on 4 August 1795. At the time of his marriage he obtained Royal Licence to take the name and arms of Scott in addition to that of Cavendish-Bentinck. They were parents of nine children: * William Henry, Marquess of Titchfield (22 October 1796 – 5 March 1824) *Lady Margaret Harriet (21 April 1798 – 9 April 1882) *Lady Caroline (6 July 1799 – 23 January 1828) * William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (12 September 1800 – 6 December 1879) * Lord George Frederick (27 February 1802 – 21 September 1848) * Lord Henry William Bentinck (9 June 1804 – 31 December 1870) *Lady Charlotte (14 Jan 1806 – 30 September 1889); married

John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington, PC (27 January 1800 – 7 March 1873) was a British statesman who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1857 to 1872. He is the eponym of Speaker Denison's rule. Background and education D ...

*Lady Lucy Joan (27 August 1807 – 29 July 1899); married

Charles Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden Charles Augustus Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden and 2nd Baron Seaford (5 June 1799 – 29 August 1868), was a British diplomat and politician. Lineage Ellis was the son of Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford and his wife, the Honourable Elizabe ...

*Lady Mary (8 July 1809 – 20 July 1874); married Sir William Topham

Death and legacy

The Duchess of Portland died on 24 April 1844. Nearly 10 years later, Portland died at the family seat of

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is o ...

, Nottinghamshire, in March 1854, aged 85. Two of their sons predeceased their parents; their eldest dying of a brain lesion and their third son dying of a heart attack. The duke expressed a desire to be buried in the open churchyard in

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district. The civil parish for th ...

, Derbyshire, near the other family seat at

Bolsover Castle Bolsover Castle is in the town of Bolsover (), in the north-east of the English county of Derbyshire. Built in the early 17th century, the present castle lies on the earthworks and ruins of the 12th-century medieval castle; the first structure o ...

. However, he was instead interred in the ancient Cavendish vault, that had previously been unopened for 138 years. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his second son (but the eldest surviving),

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. 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 Portland: His personal and political papers are part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection while the Portland (London) Collection contains papers relating to his estate business. The Portland Estate Papers held at Nottinghamshire Archives also contain items relating to Portland's properties.

Arms

Titles

His full titles were ''Duke of Portland, Marquess of Titchfield, Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock'', and ''Baron Cirencester''. *''The Most Honourable'' William Cavendish-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield (1768–1795) *''The Most Honourable'' William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield (1795–1809) *''His Grace'' The Duke of Portland (1809–1854)

Ancestors

References

External links

*
Biography of the 4th Duke, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of 1768 births 1854 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British racehorse owners and breeders British landowners People from Welbeck Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

104 104 may refer to: *104 (number), a natural number *AD 104, a year in the 2nd century AD * 104 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 104 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * Hundred and Four (or Council of 104), a Carthagin ...

William, 4th Duke of Portland William, 4th Duke of Portland Lord-Lieutenants of Middlesex Lords Privy Seal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Portland, D4 Owners of Epsom Derby winners