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Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort (12 September 1709 – 28 October 1756) was a British
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
politician who sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
from 1731 until 1745 when he succeeded to the peerage as
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
.


Life

Somerset was the younger son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort and his second wife, Rachel Noel. He was educated at
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
and matriculated as
University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
on 19 June 1725, being awarded MA on 16 October 1727. Somerset was a
High Tory In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, High Toryism is the old traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 16th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of th ...
and 'a most determined and unwavering Jacobite.' He was returned as Member of Parliament for
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
his family's seat at a by-election on 17 May 1731. At the
1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...
, he transferred to
Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
. He adopted a traditional Tory line in Parliament, which included voting against the repeal of the
Test Act The Test Acts were a series of penal laws originating in Restoration England, passed by the Parliament of England, that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Catholics and nonconformist Prote ...
in 1736; this demonstrates the complexity of the English Jacobite movement, which was staunchly anti-Catholic, yet in theory supported a Catholic monarchy. Somerset was returned again for Monmouth at the
1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...
. The era was dominated by the Whigs under the premiership of
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 Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...
with the Tories excluded from power. In February 1742, Walpole was finally ousted by a coalition of Tories,
Patriot Whigs The Patriot Whigs, later the Patriot Party, were a group within the British Whig Party, Whig Party in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1725 to 1803. The group was formed in opposition to the government of Robert Walpole in the Britis ...
who opposed his foreign policy and members of the 'Prince's Party,' a group of younger politicians, most notably William Pitt who associated themselves with
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...
. However, to the fury of their Tory allies, the Patriot Whigs did a deal with their Whig colleagues to shut them out of the new government, while in 1744, the Tory leader the Earl of Gower joined the so-called
Broad Bottom ministry The Broad Bottom ministry was the factional coalition government of Great Britain between 1744 and 1754. It was led by the two Pelham brothers in Parliament, Prime Minister Henry Pelham in the House of Commons and Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Du ...
and Somerset assumed leadership of the party. However, the government simply ignored him and continued to treat Gower as the Tory leader when negotiating the award of offices. Somerset became
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
on the death of his brother,
Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (23 March 1707 – 26 February 1745), born Lord Henry Somerset, was an English nobleman and peer who supported Jacobitism. Life He was the elder son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort and ...
in February 1745. He vacated his seat in the House of Commons 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 ...
. His brother had been one of those who contacted the French government in late 1742 asking for their support for an invasion to restore the Stuarts. Beaufort himself also joined the project, sending assurances of support to the French in August 1745, and pressing a month later ‘for a body of troops to be landed near London.' Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, executed for his part in the 45 Rebellion later declared ‘if the Duke of Beaufort had not promised to raise £12,000, he would not have concerned himself’ but as with many aristocratic Jacobite sympathisers, the Government took no action against Beaufort. One of the complexities of 18th-century politics was the hostility between Hanoverian monarchs and their heirs; as George II supported the Whigs, his son Frederick, Prince of Wales described himself as a Tory even though many of them were in theory Jacobites. Since the Prince's 'programme' effectively amounted to ousting the current incumbents, Beaufort agreed to support him and in May 1749, Horace Walpole reported his presence at a meeting ‘between the Prince's party and the Jacobites.' In September 1750, Beaufort and Lord Westmorland jointly presided at a meeting of English Jacobites held during Charles Stuart's secret visit to London in September 1750, which effectively signalled the last flicker of the Jacobite movement. Beaufort died on 28 October 1756 and was buried in the family vault at Badminton, Gloucestershire; a contemporary described him as 'a man of sense, spirit and activity, unblameable in his morals, but questionable in his political capacity'. His wife Elizabeth died on 9 April 1799.


Family

On 1 May 1740, he married Elizabeth Berkeley, sister of
Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt ( – 15 October 1770) was a British Tory politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770, when he died in office. While serving as rector at the College o ...
. The couple had one son and five daughters: # Lady Anne Somerset (11 March 1741 – 18 May 1763), married Charles Compton, 7th Earl of Northampton on 13 September 1759 and had issue # Lady Elizabeth Somerset (12 March 1742 – 7 May 1760) #
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. He was styled the Marquess of Worcester from 1745 until 1756, when he succeeded his father as 5th Duke of Beaufort (England), ...
(1744–1803), his heir and successor # Lady Rachel Somerset (August 1746 – May 1747) # Lady Henrietta Somerset (26 April 1748 – 24 July 1770), married
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet (23 September 1749 – 24 July 1789) was a Welsh landowner, politician and patron of the arts. The Williams-Wynn baronets had been begun in 1688 by the politician Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, but ha ...
on 6 April 1769, without issue # Lady Mary Isabella Somerset (1 August 1756 – 2 September 1831), married
Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland (15 March 175424 October 1787) was a British politician and nobleman, the eldest legitimate son of John Manners, Marquess of Granby. He was styled Lord Roos from 1760 until 1770, and Marquess of Granby from ...
on 26 December 1775 and had issue


References

*''Burkes' Peerage'' (1939 edition) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaufort, Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke Of 1709 births 1756 deaths Somerset, Charles Noel, Lord Somerset, Charles Noel, Lord 104 *12 Masters of foxhounds in England Somerset, Charles Noel, Lord C English Jacobites