William George Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham (29 October 1815 – 26 June 1882) was a British Liberal politician.

Early life

Chesham was born on 29 October 1815 into the

Cavendish family The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ; ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of ...

, headed by 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 was the eldest son of Charles Compton Cavendish, 1st Baron Chesham and the former Lady Catherine Susan Gordon. He had two younger sisters, Hon. Susan Sophia Cavendish (wife of Thomas Trevor, 22nd Baron Dacre) and Hon. Harriet Elizabeth Cavendish (second wife of George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford). His father was the fourth son of

George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington (31 March 1754 – 9 May 1834), styled Lord George Cavendish before 1831, was a British nobleman and politician. He built Burlington Arcade. Background Cavendish was the third son of William Cavendish, ...

(himself the third son of former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (8 May 1720 – 2 October 1764), styled Lord Cavendish before 1729, and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominal Prime Minister of ...

) and Lady Elizabeth Compton (only child of

Charles Compton, 7th Earl of Northampton Charles Compton, 7th Earl of Northampton, DL (22 July 1737 – 18 October 1763) was a British peer and diplomat. He was the eldest son of the Hon. Charles Compton, in turn youngest son of George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton, and his wi ...

). His maternal grandparents were

George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly, (28 June 1761 – 17 June 1853), styled Lord Strathavon until 1795 and Earl of Aboyne from 1795 to 1836, was a Scotland, Scottish peer and soldier. Early life George was the son of Charles Gordon, 4th Ear ...

and the former Catherine Cope (second daughter and co-heiress of Sir Charles Cope, 2nd Baronet). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Career

From 1833 to 1840, Cavendish served as an Officer in the

10th Light Dragoons The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince ...

. His father commissioned the famous architect

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

to build a new family home, known as

Latimer House Latimer House is a large country house at Latimer, Buckinghamshire. It is now branded as De Vere Latimer Estate and functions as a countryside hotel used for country house weddings and conferences. Latimer Place has a small church, St Mary Magdale ...

, which was completed in 1838. In 1847, he was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, a seat he held until 1852, and later represented

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 ...

, serving alongside

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

from 1857 to 1863, when he succeeded his father in the barony and took his seat 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 ...

.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, His father, a Member of Parliament for nearly forty years, had been created Baron Chesham of Chesham on 15 January 1858. In 1876, he served as president of the Royal Agricultural Society.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 III, page 163

Personal life

On 24 July 1849, Lord Chesham married Henrietta Frances Lascelles (1830–1884) at Kensington Church in London. She was a daughter of

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

Right Hon.

William Lascelles William Saunders Sebright Lascelles PC (29 October 1798 – 2 July 1851) was a British Whig politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household from 1847 to 1851. Background Lascelles was the third son of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Hare ...

(third son of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood) and his wife Lady Caroline Georgiana Howard (a daughter of

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle (17 September 17737 October 1848), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1827 and 1828 and in 1834 and was a member of Lord Grey's Whig government ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Charles Compton William Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham (1850–1907), who married Lady Beatrice Constance Grosvenor, second daughter of

Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

and Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (fourth daughter of

George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland, KG (8 August 178627 February 1861), styled Viscount Trentham until 1803, Earl Gower between 1803 and 1833 and Marquess of Stafford in 1833, was a British peer and Whig politic ...

). After his death, she married Maj. John Alexander Moncrieffe in 1910. * Hon. Georgiana Caroline Cavendish (1852–1937), who married, as his second wife,

Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester (26 December 1822 – 24 January 1909), known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peerage, British peer. Background Leicester was the son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (seventh ...

, in 1875. * Hon. Mary Susan Caroline Cavendish (1853–1937), who married

Charles Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham Charles George Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham (27 October 1842 – 9 June 1922), known as The Lord Lyttelton from 1876 to 1889, was a British peer and politician from the Lyttelton family. He was a Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament ...

, in 1878. * Hon. Katherine Caroline Cavendish (1857–1941), who married, as his second wife,

, in 1882. * Hon. William Edwin Cavendish (1862–1931), who married Elizabeth Janet Baillie, sister of Sir George Baillie, 3rd Baronet, in 1885. Lord Chesham died in June 1882, aged 66, at

Latimer, Buckinghamshire Latimer is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is within the civil parish of Latimer and Ley Hill (known as simply Latimer until 2013), which also includes the village of Ley Hill and the hamlet of Tyler' ...

. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

. His widow died nearly two years later on 21 May 1884.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesham, William Cavendish, 2nd Baron 1815 births 1882 deaths 2 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Cavendish, William Cavendish, William Cavendish, William Cavendish, William UK MPs who inherited peerages William Cavendish, 02nd Baron Chesham