James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos, PC (27 December 1731 – 29 September 1789), styled Viscount Wilton from 1731 to 1744 and Marquess of Carnarvon from 1744 to 1771, was an English politician.

Background

Chandos was the only son of Henry Brydges, 2nd Duke of Chandos, and Lady Mary Bruce, daughter of Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

from 1742 to 1749, and then at

Göttingen University Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

in 1750/1751.

Political career

Chandos was Member of Parliament for

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

from 1754 to 1761 and for

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

between 1761 and 1768.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.'', volume III, page 45 He succeeded in the dukedom upon the death of his father on 28 November 1771. He was a

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 ...

to George, Prince of Wales from 1760 to 1764, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire in 1763–64 and 1771–80, sworn to the Privy Council on 12 May 1775 and appointed

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of ...

from December 1783 to his death in 1789.

Private life

Chandos's first marriage was to Margaret Nicol (1736–1768), daughter of John Nicol of

Colney Hatch Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern ...

and Minchenden House, and his wife Winifred Keck, on 22 March 1753. They set up a London home at 39 Upper Grosvenor Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. Margaret inherited much of the great fortune acquired by her grandfather Sir Anthony Keck, and was the owner of a famous portrait of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, which came to be known as the

Chandos portrait The Chandos portrait is an oil painted portrait thought to depict William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Painted between 1600 and 1610, it may have served as the basis for the engraved portrait of Shakespeare used in the ''First Folio'' in 1623. It ...

following the marriage. A decade after the death of his first wife, and having become Duke of Chandos in 1771, he married Anne Eliza Gamon, daughter of Richard Gamon of Datchworth Bury, Datchworth, on 21 June 1777. This second marriage produced the only child to survive to adulthood, Lady Anne Elizabeth Brydges (Lady Kinloss, died 1836) who married Richard Temple-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. They were the parents of

Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

. Chandos died in September 1789, aged 57, when the Dukedom became extinct. He was buried in St Lawrence Whitchurch in Canons Park,

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 ...

. His widow was declared a lunatic and confined to their London home, Chandos House; after her death in 1813, the unexpired lease was sold. She was also made a ward of court. There was a lengthy

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

in the Irish Courts over the management of her property. In 1794 judge Richard Power, accountant-general and usher of the Court of Chancery, was accused of misappropriating some of the duchess's income and died in a presumed suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandos, James Brydges, 3rd Duke of 1731 births 1789 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London James 3 James Lord-lieutenants of Hampshire Carnarvon, James Brydges, Marquess of Carnarvon, James Brydges, Marquess of British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Grand masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Burials at the Chandos Mausoleum Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England English slave owners