William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom.

Life

Cavendish was the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire, and his wife, the Hon. Rachel Russell, and was known as Marquess of Hartington. Like his father, Lord Hartington was active in public life. He was returned unopposed as member of parliament for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

at a by-election in 1721. At the 1722 general election he was returned unopposed as MP for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

. He was also unopposed when he was returned as MP for

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

at the 1727 general election. He surrendered the seat in 1729 when his father's death sent him to the House of Lords. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1731. He served as

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 ...

from 1731 to 1733, when he was invested as 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 ...

. He later served for seven years as

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 ...

. He sold the Old Devonshire House at 48 Boswell Street, Theobald's Road, in

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 ...

, and in 1734 engaged the architect

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, b ...

to build a new Cavendish House in fashionable

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. In 1739, he was enlisted as a founding governor of a new children's charity, the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

in Bloomsbury, London, which aimed to alleviate the problem of infants being abandoned by destitute mothers and which later became a centre for art and music. During the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

the Duke raised a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

unit in support of the King known as the Derbyshire Blues, which mustered at the George Inn, Derby, on 3 December 1745.

Marriage and issue

On 27 March 1718, he married Catherine Hoskins (1700–1777), daughter of John Hoskins of Oxted (1640–1717) and Catherine Hale (1673–1703). The Duke and Duchess had seven children: * Lady Caroline Cavendish (22 May 1719 – 20 January 1760), who married William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough, and had issue. *

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 ...

(1720 – 2 October 1764) * Lord George Augustus Cavendish (died 2 May 1794), died unmarried. * Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (born before 1727 – died 1796), married John Ponsonby and had issue. *Lady Rachel Cavendish (7 June 1727 – 8 May 1805), who married Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford. * Field Marshal Lord Frederick Cavendish (c. 1729 – 21 October 1803), died unmarried. * Lord John Cavendish (c. 1734–1796)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devonshire, William Cavendish, 3rd Duke Of 1698 births 1755 deaths People from Derbyshire Hartington, William Cavendish, Marquess of Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Whig (British political party) MPs British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 103 William Cavendish, 03rd Duke of Devonshire Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Derbyshire Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Lords Privy Seal Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Cavendish, William Parents of prime ministers of Great Britain