Benjamin Mildmay, 1st Earl FitzWalter (27 December 167229 February 1756), styled The Honourable Benjamin Mildmay until 1728 and known as The Lord FitzWalter between 1728 and 1730, was a British politician. He served as

First Lord of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

between 1735 and 1737 and as

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief ...

between 1737 and 1755.

Background

Mildmay was a younger son of Benjamin Mildmay, 17th Baron FitzWalter, by the Honourable Catherine, daughter of William Fairfax, 3rd Viscount Fairfax of Emley. He was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, Bononcini and others.

Political career

Mildmay served as Commissioner of Excise between 1720 and 1728. The latter year he succeeded his elder brother in the barony of FitzWalter and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. In 1730, he was created Viscount Harwich, in the County of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and Earl FitzWalter. In 1735, he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed

under

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prime Minister of Great Britain, ser ...

, a post he held until 1737, and then served as

between 1736 and 1755. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of Essex from 1741 to 1756.

Personal life

Lord FitzWalter married Lady Frederica Susanna, daughter of Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg and widow of Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness, in 1724. They had no children. She died in August 1751. Lord FitzWalter died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in February 1756, aged 83. The viscountcy and earldom died with him, while the barony fell into

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

. The barony of FitzWalter was brought out of abeyance for the descendants of his sister Mary; once for Henry FitzWalter Plumptre, son of John Bridges Plumptre and Elizabeth Wright in 1924; and again, in 1953, for his nephew, Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzWalter, Benjamin Mildmay, 1st Earl 1672 births 1756 deaths 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English nobility 18th-century British politicians Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of Essex Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Treasurers of the Household Presidents of the Board of Trade Barons FitzWalter