Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall (13 June 1739 – 5 January 1799), known as Arthur Chichester until 1757 and as The Earl of Donegall between 1757 and 1791, was an English nobleman and politician in Ireland.

Early life

Chichester was born on 13 June 1739. He was the son of Hon. John Chichester and Elizabeth Newdigate (1703–1769), eldest daughter of Sir Richard Newdigate, 3rd Baronet. His paternal grandparents were Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall, and Lady Catherine Forbes (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Granard), in 1726. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

in 1748 and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, matriculating in 1757, before succeeding his uncle in 1757 as fifth Earl of Donegall.

Career

After taking his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

in 1765, Donegall served at

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as Member of Parliament for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

(1768–1774) by his friend Lord Suffolk, first following Suffolk and the Grenville group. Reportedly, he never spoke in the House, and did not stand for reelection in 1774. As a means of securing his support for the Government in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

, he was in 1790 created Baron Fisherwick, of Fisherwick in the

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, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. The following year he was also created Earl of Belfast and Marquess of Donegall in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

Personal life

Lord Donegall married three times. On 11 September 1761, he married Lady Anne Hamilton, daughter of

James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton and 2nd Duke of Brandon (5 January 1703 – 2 March 1743), was a Scottish peer, the son of the 4th Duke of Hamilton. Hamilton attended Winchester College from 1716 to 1717. He matriculated at Christ Church ...

. Before her death on 11 November 1780, they had seven children: * Lady Charlotte Anne Chichester (b. 1762), who died in infancy. * Lady Henrietta Chichester (b. 1765), who died in infancy. * George Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall (1769–1844), who married Anna May, daughter of Sir Edward May, 2nd Baronet, in 1795. * Hon. Arthur Chichester (1771–1788), who died young. * Lord Spencer Stanley Chichester (1775–1819), MP for

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

who married Lady Anne Harriet Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, in 1795. * Lady Elizabeth Juliana Chichester (d. 1787) * Lady Amelia Chichester, who died in infancy. On 24 October 1788 he married Charlotte Moore (née Spencer), daughter of Conway Spencer, and widow of Thomas Moore. She died, without issue, on 19 September 1789. In October 1790, he married Barbara Godfrey, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Luke Godfrey, Rector of

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Lord Donegall held on lease a country residence at Butley Priory, Suffolk. He died on 5 January 1799, aged 59, at his London home in St James's Square,

. His widow, the dowager Marchioness of Donegall, died on 28 December 1829.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, 3 volumes.

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 1160.

Notes

References

External links

Arthur Chichester (1739–1799), 1st Marquess of Donegall
at ArtUK
CHICHESTER, Arthur, 5th Earl of Donegall (I) (1739-99)
at the

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donegall, Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess Of 1739 births 1799 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of Ireland British MPs 1768–1774

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies 1 Peers of Great Britain created by George III