Sewallis Shirley (19 October 1709 – 31 October 1765) was a British Member of Parliament in the latter part of the reign of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089 ...

. His marriage to the Dowager Countess of Orford ended in divorce after three years, and Shirley spent the last few years of his life as an officer of

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

's household.

Personal life

He was born the fourteenth son of

Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers PC (20 October 1650 – 25 December 1717)—known as Sir Robert Shirley, 7th Baronet, from 1669 to 1677 and Robert Shirley, 14th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, from 1677 to 1711—was an English peer and courtier. Sh ...

(and fourth son by his second wife, Selina).

Robert Shirley Sir Robert Shirley (or Sherley; c. 1581 – 13 July 1628) was an English traveller and adventurer, younger brother of Sir Anthony Shirley and Sir Thomas Shirley. He is notable for his help modernising and improving the Persian Safavid army ...

, MP was his brother. Shirley was a noted rake, including amongst his lovers the notorious Lady Vane. In 1746, he began cohabiting with his mistress, Margaret, Countess of Orford, whom he married on 25 May 1751, shortly after the death of her long-estranged husband, the 2nd Earl of Orford. After three years of close attachment, they separated in June 1754. Margaret had taken care to legally protect her own estates and

jointure Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the de ...

, so that Shirley could have no claims on her property. Shirley's persistent and aggressive demands for money ensured that the rupture would be permanent, although she ultimately settled £750 per year on him to extinguish his claims. An attempt by

Sir Horace Mann Sir Horatio (Horace) Mann, 2nd Baronet (2 February 1744 – 2 April 1814) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent cricke ...

to bring about a reconciliation between them in 1758 was unsuccessful. They had no children.

Politics

Shirley entered Parliament in 1742 at

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the in ...

, on the interest of the 1st Duke of Bridgewater, who had withdrawn his support from George Lee after the latter accepted office in the

Carteret Ministry The Carteret ministry was the Whigs (British political party), Whig government of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that held office from 1742 to 1744, following the 1742 vote of no confidence in the Walpole ministry, defeat of the Walpole ...

. He followed his patron in backing the opposition under Robert Walpole. After the death of Bridgewater in 1744 and the transfer of the Brackley interest to Sir Richard Lyttelton, who married Bridgewater's widow in 1745, Shirley conformed with Lyttelton's politics to support

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd 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 ...

's ministry. From 5 July to 14 November 1746, he was Chief Secretary for Ireland under Lord Chesterfield, then Lord Lieutenant. At the election of 1754, he was returned for Callington on his wife's interest, and was identified as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

. By the 1761 election, the two were separated, and Margaret put up one of her agents, Richard Stevens, in Shirley's place; he did not again sit in Parliament. In 1762, he was appointed comptroller of the household to

, a post which he filled until his death in 1765.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Sewallis 1709 births 1765 deaths British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Younger sons of earls Chief Secretaries for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Callington