Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford (13 April 1704 – 4 August 1790), of

Wroxton Abbey Wroxton Abbey is a Jacobean house in Oxfordshire, with a 1727 garden partly converted to the serpentine style between 1731 and 1751. It is west of Banbury, off the A422 road in Wroxton. It is now the English campus of Fairleigh Dickinson Univ ...

, Oxfordshire, styled as Lord Guilford between 1729 and 1752, was a British Whig 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 1727 until 1729 at which point he succeeded to the peerage as Baron Guildford. He also became the

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

of the Royal

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

. His son, Frederick North, was the famous Prime Minister of Great Britain who lost the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

under his term.

Early life

North was the son of Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford, and his wife Alice Brownlow, daughter of Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet, of Humby, Lincolnshire. He was educated 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 ...

and matriculated at

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 ...

on 25 March 1721, aged 16. He undertook a Grand Tour in about 1722.

Career

At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

, North was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament for

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

on the family interest. When he succeeded his father as third Baron Guilford on 17 October 1729, he vacated his seat in the

and entered 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 ...

. He became

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

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 ...

in October 1730. In 1734, he succeeded his cousin,

William North, 6th Baron North William North, 6th Baron North and 2nd Baron Grey (22 December 1678 – 31 October 1734), known as Lord North and Grey, was an English soldier and Jacobite, and a peer for more than forty years. He had the right to sit in the House of Lords b ...

as seventh Baron North. He was appointed governor to Prince George, later George III, in September 1750 which lasted until April 1751 and also gave up his other court position in 1751. On 8 April 1752, he was created

Earl of Guilford Earl of Guilford is a title that has been created three times in history. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1660 (as Countess of Guilford) for Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Guilford, Elizabeth Boyle. She was a ...

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 ...

. He was appointed

High Steward of Banbury The High Steward of Banbury is a ceremonial title bestowed by Banbury Town Council in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. The High steward (civic), stewardship was established by royal charter in 1554, during the reign of Mary I of England, Mary I. By ...

for life in 1766. In December 1773 he was appointed treasurer to Queen Consort for life.

Family

North married Lady Lucy Montagu of the

House of Montagu The House of Montagu (, ), also known throughout history as Montagud, Montaigu, Montague, Montacute (; ), is an British nobility, English noble family founded in Somerset after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by the Normans, Norman warrior Drogo ...

, daughter of

George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax (also spelt George Montague) (9 May 1739), of Horton, Northamptonshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1715 when he became a peer. Early life Montagu was the son of ...

, in 1728. She died in 1734, and he married as his second wife Elizabeth Kaye, daughter of Sir Arthur Kaye , in 1736. After her death in 1745, he married as his third wife Catherine Furnese, daughter of Sir Robert Furnese , in 1751. She died in 1776, aged 86. Portrait of Lady Lucy Montagu (d.1734), Countess of Guilford (Circle of John Vanderbank).jpg, Portrait of Lucy Montagu Portrait of Elizabeth, Viscountess Lewisham (d. 1745), Countess of Guilford (circle of Thomas Bardwell).jpg, Portrait of Elizabeth Kaye Portrait of Katherine Furnese (d.1766), Countess of Rockingham, later Countess Guilford (by John Vanderbank).jpg, Portrait of Katherine Furnese

Death and legacy

Lord Guilford survived his third wife by fourteen years and died in August 1790, aged 86. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage,

Frederick North, Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He ...

, who had previously served as

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

from 1770 to 1782. His stepson Lord Dartmouth also served in government. Lord Guilford is the namesake of

Guilford County, North Carolina Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat and largest community is Greensboro. Sin ...

. and Guilford, Windham County, Vermont.

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guilford, Francis North, 1st Earl of 1704 births 1790 deaths 18th-century English nobility People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British MPs 1727–1734 Earls of Guilford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Parents of prime ministers of Great Britain Barons Guilford Barons North