John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (30 September 17105 January 1771) was a British
Whig statesman and peer who served as the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
from 1757 to 1761. A leading member of the Whig party during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, he negotiated the 1763
Treaty of Paris which ended the conflict. Bedford was also an early promoter of
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 ...
and a
patron of the arts
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
who commissioned numerous works from prominent artists, most notably
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
Painter of cityscapes or ...
.
[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., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 82-84, volume VIII, page 500.][Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 2, page 1871.]
Early life
He was the fourth son of
Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey. Known as Lord John Russell, he married in October 1731
Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
, daughter of
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (23 April 167519 April 1722), known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was a British statesman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1714–1717), Lord Privy Seal ( ...
; became Duke of Bedford on his brother's death a year later.
Having lost his first wife in 1735, he married, secondly, in April 1737, to
Lady Gertrude Leveson-Gower (died 1794), daughter of
John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower
John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC (10 August 1694 – 25 December 1754) was a British Tory politician who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and again from 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower also served in the Parliament of Great Brita ...
. In 1749, John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, was made a Knight of the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
.
Early political career
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 ...
he joined the
Patriot Whig opposition hostile to the Prime Minister
Sir 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 Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prime Minister of Great Britain, ser ...
, took a fairly prominent part in public business, and earned the dislike of
George II. When
Carteret, now Earl Granville, resigned office in November 1744, Bedford became
First Lord of the Admiralty
First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
in the administration of
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who serv ...
, and was made a privy councillor. He was very successful at the admiralty, but was not equally fortunate after he became
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The secretary of state for the Southern Department was a position in the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department (Great Britain), Southern Department became the H ...
in February 1748. Pelham accused him of idleness and he was constantly at variance with his colleague
The Duke of Newcastle
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (21 July 1693 – 17 November 1768) was an English Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and whose official life extended througho ...
.
Newcastle, who had previously admired
The Earl of Sandwich, Bedford's successor as First Lord of the Admiralty, for his forthright and hardline views, had increasingly begun to distrust him and his relationship with Bedford. Newcastle engineered the dismissal of both of them, by sacking Sandwich in June 1751. Bedford resigned in protest, as Newcastle had calculated, allowing him to replace them with men he considered more loyal personally to him. During his time in the post, he was accused of spending far too much time at his country estate playing
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 ...
and shooting
pheasants
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Euras ...
.
Cricket
Bedford was very keen on cricket. The earliest surviving record of his involvement in the sport comes from 1741 when he hosted
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
v
Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire at
Woburn Park. The combined Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire team won. Bedford arranged the match with his friends
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (6 October 1716 – 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of the B ...
(Northants) and
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, Privy Council of Great Britain, PC, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British politician, statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwic ...
(Hunts).
[Maun, pp. 106–107.] A few days later, there was a return match at
Cow Meadow,
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, and the combined team won again.
[Maun, p. 106.][Waghorn, ''Cricket Scores'', p. 27.]
By 1743, Bedford had developed
Woburn Cricket Club into a leading team that was able to compete against
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 ...
. The team was prominent in 1743 and 1744 but, after that, there is no further mention of it.
Seven Years' War
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Instigated by his friends, he was active in opposition to the government, becoming the leader of a faction named after him, the
Bedford Whigs. After Newcastle's resignation in November 1756, Bedford became
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
in the new government led by
William Pitt and the
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...
. He retained this office after Newcastle,
in alliance with Pitt, returned to power in June 1757.
In Ireland, he favoured a relaxation of the
penal laws
Penal law refers to criminal law.
It may also refer to:
* Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism
* Penal laws (Ireland)
In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...
against Roman Catholics, but did not keep his promises to observe neutrality between the rival parties, and to abstain from securing pensions for his friends. His own courtly manners and generosity, and his wife's good qualities, however, seem to have gained for him some popularity, although
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 ...
says he disgusted everybody (but the word "disgusting" then had a much wider range of meanings than it has today, and at its mildest meant simply "reserved").
He oversaw the Irish response to the
threatened French invasion in 1759, and the
landing of a small French force in northern Ireland. In March 1761, he resigned from this office.
Peace negotiator
Having allied himself with the
Earl of Bute and the party anxious to bring the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
to a close, Bedford was noticed as the strongest opponent of Pitt, and became
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
under Bute after Pitt resigned in October 1761. The
cabinet of Bute was divided over the policy to be pursued with regard to the war, but the peace faction prevailed, and, in September 1762, Bedford went to France to open formal negotiations for peace.
He was considerably annoyed because some of the peace negotiations were conducted through other channels, but he signed the
Peace of Paris in February 1763. Amongst other gains Britain received
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
from France and
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
from Spain. Resigning his office as Lord Privy Seal soon afterwards, various causes of estrangement arose between Bute and Bedford, and the subsequent relations between the two men were somewhat virulent.
Grenville ministry
The duke refused to take office under
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 ...
on Bute's resignation in April 1763, and sought to induce Pitt to return to power. A report, however, that Pitt would only take office on condition that Bedford was excluded, incensed him and, smarting under this rebuff, he joined the cabinet of Grenville as
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...
in September 1763. His haughty manner, his somewhat insulting language, and his attitude with regard to the regency bill in 1765 offended
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
, who sought in vain to supplant him, and after this failure was obliged to make humiliating concessions to the ministry. In July 1765, however, he was able to dispense with the services of Bedford and his colleagues, and the duke became the leader of a political party, distinguished for rapacity, and known as the ''Bedford party'', or the ''Bloomsbury gang''.
During his term of office, he had opposed a bill to place high import duties on Italian silks. He was consequently assaulted and his London residence was attacked by a mob. He took some part in subsequent political intrigues, and although he did not return to office, his friends, with his consent, joined the ministry of the
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...
in December 1767. This proceeding led "
Junius" to write his "Letter to the Duke of Bedford," one of special violence. Bedford was hostile to
John Wilkes
John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...
, and narrowly escaped from a mob favourable to the agitator at Honiton in July 1769.
Children

Child of John Russell and his first wife
Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...
:
*John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (died at birth 6 November 1732)
Children of John Russell and his second wife
Hon. Gertrude Leveson-Gower:
*
Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (27 September 1739 – 22 March 1767)
*
Lady Caroline Russell (c. January 1743 – 26 November 1811), married
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
Death
His health had been declining for some years, and in 1770 he became partially paralysed. He died at
Woburn on 5 January 1771, and was buried in the
Bedford Chapel at
St. Michael's Church,
Chenies,
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 ...
. His sons all predeceased him, and he was succeeded in the title by his grandson,
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 ...
. Francis suffered heavy financial losses, and began the development of
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
on the old
Bedford Estate
The Bedford Estate is an estate in central London owned by the Russell family, which holds the peerage title of Duke of Bedford. The estate was originally based in Covent Garden, then stretched to include Bloomsbury in 1669.[Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...]
and
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
,
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
of the
East Devon Militia, and chancellor of the University of Dublin among others, and was a
Knight of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
. Bedford was a proud and conceited man, but possessed both ability and common sense. The important part which he took in public life, however, was due rather to his wealth and position than to his personal taste or ambition. He was neither above nor below the standard of political morality of the time, and was influenced by his duchess, who was very ambitious, and by followers who were singularly unscrupulous.
He served as the twelfth
Chancellor of the University of Dublin
Introduction
The Chancellor of the University of Dublin is the titular head of the University of Dublin, generally referred to by its sole college, Trinity College Dublin, founded in 1592. The current Chancellor is Mary McAleese, former preside ...
from 1765 to 1770.
See also
*
Elizabeth Wrottesley (niece)
References
Bibliography
* Brown, Peter Douglas. ''William Pitt, Earl of Chatham: The Great Commoner''. George Allen & Unwin, 1978.
*
*
External links
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, John Russell, 4th Duke Of
1710 births
1771 deaths
Chancellors of the University of Dublin
Diplomatic peers
404
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
Knights of the Garter
Lord high constables of England
Lord Presidents of the Council
Lord-lieutenants of Bedfordshire
Lord-lieutenants of Devon
Devon Militia officers
Lords of the Admiralty
Lords Privy Seal
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Secretaries of state for the Southern Department
J
Whig (British political party) politicians
Ambassadors of Great Britain to France
Fellows of the Royal Society
Bedfordshire cricketers
English cricketers of 1701 to 1786
English cricketers
Cricket patrons
People from Woburn, Bedfordshire
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
18th-century British philanthropists
Cricketers from Bedfordshire
Younger sons of dukes