John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (19 December 1734 – 31 October 1783), styled Viscount Spencer from 1761–5, was a British peer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Early life

Spencer was born on 19 December 1734 at Althorp, his family's home in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. He was the only son of the Hon. John Spencer and the former Georgiana Caroline Carteret. His only sibling was his sister, Diana Spencer, who died at 8 years old. After his father's alcohol-related death in 1746, his mother married, secondly,

William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper (13 August 1709 – 18 September 1764), styled Viscount Fordwich between 1718 and 1723, was an English peer and courtier. Born William Cowper, he was the eldest son of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper a ...

. His father was the youngest son 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 ( ...

, the

First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...

and

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 ...

under George I, and his second wife, Lady Anne Churchill (third daughter of the 1st Duke of Marlborough), who served as

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

to Queen Anne. Among his paternal family were uncle

Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (24 October 1701 – 15 September 1729) was a British peer from the Spencer family, the son of Whig politician Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland. His mother was Lady Anne Churchill, the daughte ...

, aunt Lady Anne Spencer (wife of 1st Viscount Bateman), Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland (who succeeded his great-aunt, Henrietta, becoming the 3rd Duke of Marlborough), and aunt Lady Diana Spencer (wife of the 4th Duke of Bedford). His mother was the third daughter and heiress of Lord President of the Council

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763 and worked closely with the ...

, and his first wife, Frances

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

(daughter of Sir Robert Worsley, 4th Baronet). Among his maternal family were aunts Louisa Carteret (wife of the 2nd Viscount Weymouth), Grace Carteret (wife of the 4th Earl of Dysart), Frances Carteret (wife of the 4th Marquess of Tweeddale), and Sophia Carteret (wife of the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne). Spencer was the principal beneficiary under the will of his great-grandmother Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough who stipulated, however, that should he at any time accept "from any King or Queen of these realms any pension, or any office or employment, civil or military" (except the Rangership of Windsor Great or Little Park), the estate would pass to the next heir "as if the same John Spencer were actually dead."

Career

After going on a Grand Tour, Spencer returned to England where, in 1754, he was too young to stand for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, but in return for James Grimston's election at

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, the Grimston family promised to support for him, or his nominee, on the next occasion. In March 1756 Spencer, standing on the Whig interest, but lost in the exceedingly expensive by-election at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

where Jarrit Smyth was elected. Nevertheless, Spencer was returned on 9 December for

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, mainly on the interest of Lord Brooke (later the 1st Earl of Warwick). Spencer represented Warwick alongside Henry Archer. On 27 November 1760, Spencer wrote to the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

, the

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 ...

, stating:

"As I am the representative of the Sunderland family, and as my particular circumstances are such (from the Duchess of Marlborough's will) that I cannot receive any favour from the King except a title, I should hope that if his Majesty thinks me worthy of a peerage he will not confer upon me a less dignity than that of a viscount... I hope your Grace has observed that ever since I sat in Parliament I have never failed in supporting the King and his ministers to the best of my ability."

Newcastle replied that the King had received the application, but that there would be no immediate creations. Therefore, he continued canvassing St Albans but toward the end of February 1761, he nominated Viscount Nuneham in his place, likely after being informed of his impending creation. On 3 April 1761, he was created ''Baron Spencer of Althorp'' and ''Viscount Spencer'' by King

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 ...

. Spencer went into Opposition with Newcastle in 1762, and when the Rockingham Government was being formed, Newcastle noted in his lists: " Viscount Spencer to be created an earl" which happened when he was created ''Viscount Althorp'' and ''Earl Spencer'' on 1 November 1765. Next, he adhered to the Chatham Administration. Lord Spencer later served as High Steward of

in 1772 and Mayor of St Albans in 1779.

Personal life

In 1754, the 20-year-old Spencer met 17-year-old Margaret Georgiana Poyntz, who was the daughter of the English diplomat and courtier Stephen Poyntz. They were instantly attracted to one another, but Spencer was uncertain if he would have his family's approval for the match and opted to spend several months travelling until his 21st birthday, when their approval would no longer be necessary. On his return, they recognised their love had persisted, and shortly after his birthday, they married in a secret ceremony on 20 December 1755 at Althorp, the Spencer family seat in

. The ceremony, held in an upper bedroom, occurred during a ball held in Spencer's honour with five hundred guests in attendance. They had five children, three of whom survived infancy: * Lady Georgiana Spencer (1757–1806), who married William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. * George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), who married Lady Lavinia Bingham, daughter of Charles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan. * Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer (1761–1821), who married

Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough (24 January 1758 – 3 February 1844), styled the Viscount Duncannon from 1758 to 1793, was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish British peerage, peer. Background Ponsonby was the eldest son of William P ...

. * Lady Charlotte Spencer (1765–1766), who died in infancy. * Lady Louisa Spencer (1769–1769), who died in infancy.

The Spencers owned many estates, but preferred to reside at Althorp. In 1764, the family moved to their newly built London residence,

Spencer House Spencer House may refer to: * Spencer House, Westminster, Greater London, England United States

* Spencer House (Hartford, Connecticut), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in Hartford County * Spencer House in Columbus, ...

. Intended to be worthy of Spencer's large collection of antiquities, the lavish residence took seven years and £50,000 to build. Spencer died aged 48 on 31 October 1783 near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He had suffered from a long illness. He was buried in the family vault at St Mary's Church, Great Brington in

. His widow lived another 30 years before her death on 18 March 1814.

Coat of arms

References

External links

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1734-1783), Politician; MP for Warwick
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, John Spencer, 1st Earl 1734 births 1783 deaths

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (19 December 1734 – 31 October 1783), styled Viscount Spencer from 1761–5, was a British peerage, British peer and politician. Early life Spencer was born on 19 December 1734 at Althorp, his family's home ...