Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple, 2nd Viscountess Cobham (''née'' Temple; bapt. 7 May 1684 – 6 October 1752) was an English noblewoman. She was the mother and grandmother of the Prime Ministers

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the young George III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solv ...

and

William Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of the N ...

Life and family

She was the daughter (and eventual co-heir) of Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Bt. (1634–1697), of Stowe, Buckinghamshire, and his wife, Mary Knapp. Hester married

Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville ( – ), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently participated in the plantat ...

of Wotton in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

on 25 November 1710, and became the mother of five sons, all of whom served as members of parliament: *

Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, KG, PC (26 September 1711 – 12 September 1779) was a British politician and peer who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1757 to 1761. He is best known for his association with his brother-in-law Willia ...

(1711–1779), MP. *

(1712–1770), MP; was

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 1763 to 1765. He married Elizabeth Wyndham and had children. (George's son,

William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs (British political party), ...

, also became prime minister.) * James Grenville (1715–1783), MP; served as a minister under his brother-in-law

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

. He married Mary Smyth and had children. * Henry Grenville (1717–1784), MP; married Margaret Eleanor Banks and had children. * Thomas Grenville (1719–1747), MP; a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, who died at sea, aged 28, unmarried. Her daughter, Hester (1720–1803), was the wife of

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pitt the Elder" to distinguish him from his son ...

and mother of

, who both became prime minister. Hester was the sister of

Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham Field Marshal Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, (24 October 1675 – 14 September 1749) was a British army officer and Whig politician. After serving as a junior officer under William III during the Williamite War in Ireland and during th ...

, whose title she inherited under a special

remainder In mathematics, the remainder is the amount "left over" after performing some computation. In arithmetic, the remainder is the integer "left over" after dividing one integer by another to produce an integer quotient ( integer division). In a ...

in 1749; on 18 October of the same year, her husband being long dead, she was created 1st Countess Temple. Lord Cobham had excluded from succession his nephews Temple West and Gilbert West (who were sons of his elder sister Maria and Richard West), and also his other sister Penelope.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple, Hester Grenville, 1st Countess 1684 births 1752 deaths People from Aylesbury Vale Earls Temple 2 Cobham British countesses Hereditary peeresses created by George II Daughters of baronets Hester Grenville Parents of prime ministers of Great Britain