Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, KG (171123 September 1773) was an English nobleman and landowner, a member of 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 ...

Early life

He was the only son of William Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull (1692–1713) and his wife, Rachel Bayntun (1695–1722). His paternal grandparents were Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and his wife Mary Feilding, a daughter of

William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh, 2nd Earl of Desmond (29 December 1640 – 23 August 1685) was an English nobleman. He was the son of George Feilding, 1st Earl of Desmond, and his wife, the former Bridget Stanhope, daughter of Sir Michae ...

, while his maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Willoughby and her husband Thomas Bayntun of Little Chalfield, Wiltshire, or else her lover John Hall of

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

. He succeeded his grandfather in 1726, inheriting the Thoresby estate in Nottinghamshire.

Career

Pierrepont studied at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in 1725, and the following year went on the Grand Tour, spending ten years on the Continent and becoming known for gambling and loose living. In 1736 he returned to England with his mistress, Marie-Thérèse de Fontaine de la Touche, who became a British subject, and who remained with him until 1750. The duke had little interest in politics and did not take any part in governmental affairs.

Military career

When the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

broke out he raised a regiment called "Kingston's Light Horse", which distinguished itself at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

. The duke attained the rank of general in the army. He was described by

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

as "a very weak man, of the greatest beauty and finest person in England". Pierrepont was the subject of the earliest extant reference to

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

in Nottinghamshire. A letter dated 1751 comments that: "the Duke of Kingston at Thoresby Hall is spending all his time practising cricket because he is to play for Eton v All England in three matches".

Personal life

On 8 March 1769, Pierrepont married Elizabeth Hervey at Keith's Chapel in the parish of

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, although their marriage was later judged to have been

bigamous In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mari ...

. She had secretly married

Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol Vice admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (19 May 1724 – 23 December 1779) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He commanded the sixth-rate HMS Phoenix at the Battle of Mi ...

in 1744. Lord Kingston died in 1773 without issue, and his titles became extinct. On the death of the bigamous Duchess in 1788, the Pierrepont estates passed to Charles Medows, who was the son of the 2nd Duke's sister, Lady Frances Medows. Charles Medows changed his name to Pierrepont in 1796 and, in 1806, he was created the first

Earl Manvers Earl Manvers was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for Charles Medows Pierrepont, 1st Viscount Newark. He had already been created Baron Pierrepont, of Holme Pierrepont in the County of Nottingham, and Viscoun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston-upon-Hull, Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of 1711 births 1773 deaths British Army generals

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Nottinghamshire English cricketers People educated at Eton College Evelyn Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England