William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Goderich.

Background and education

Portland was the eldest son of Prime Minister

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig and then a Tories (British political party), Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He s ...

and Lady Dorothy, daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and Charlotte Boyle, Baroness Clifford. He was the elder brother of Lord William Bentinck and Lord Charles Bentinck. He was educated first in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

under the tutelage of Samuel Goodenough graduating in 1774, followed by

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

(1783). He attended

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

for two years but did not take a degree. The third Duke, who spared no expense for his heir, sent him to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1786 for experience working with the crown's envoy, Sir James Harris. He returned in 1789. He later received an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from Oxford in 1793. He also served as a Family Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

; in 1810, he loaned the famed Portland Vase to the museum.

Political career

Portland was Member of Parliament for Petersfield between 1790 and 1791 and for

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 ...

between 1791 and 1809. He served under his father as a Lord of the Treasury between March and September 1807. He remained out of office until April 1827 when he was appointed Lord Privy Seal by his brother-in-law George Canning. He was sworn of the Privy Council the same year. When Lord Goderich became Prime Minister in August 1827, Portland became Lord President of the Council, an office he retained until the government fell in January 1828. Over time the Duke became less of a staunch Conservative, softening to some of the more liberal stances of Canning. Portland also held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex between 1794 and 1841.

Family

Portland married Henrietta, eldest daughter and heiress of Major-General John Scott of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

and his wife Margaret (''née'' Dundas), in London on 4 August 1795. At the time of his marriage he obtained Royal Licence to take the name and arms of Scott in addition to that of Cavendish-Bentinck. They were parents of nine children: * William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield (22 October 1796 – 5 March 1824) *Lady Margaret Harriet Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (21 April 1798 – 9 April 1882) *Lady Caroline Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (6 July 1799 – 23 January 1828) * William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (12 September 1800 – 6 December 1879) * Lord William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (27 February 1802 – 21 September 1848) * Lord Henry William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (9 June 1804 – 31 December 1870) *Lady Charlotte Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (14 Jan 1806 – 30 September 1889), married Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington *Lady Lucy Joan Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (27 August 1807 – 29 July 1899), married Charles Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden *Lady Mary Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (8 July 1809 – 20 July 1874), married Sir William Topham

Death and legacy

The Duchess of Portland died on 24 April 1844. Nearly 10 years later, Portland died at the family seat of Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, in March 1854, aged 85. Two of their sons predeceased their parents; their eldest dying of a brain lesion and their third son dying of a heart attack. The duke expressed a desire to be buried in the open churchyard in Bolsover, Derbyshire, near the other family seat at Bolsover Castle. However, he was instead interred in the ancient Cavendish vault, that had previously been unopened for 138 years. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his second son (but the eldest surviving),

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. The department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham holds a number of papers relating to Portland: His personal and political papers are part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection while the Portland (London) Collection contains papers relating to his estate business. The Portland Estate Papers held at Nottinghamshire Archives also contain items relating to Portland's properties.

Arms

Titles

His full titles were ''Duke of Portland, Marquess of Titchfield, Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock'', and ''Baron Cirencester''. *''The Most Honourable'' William Cavendish-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield (1768–1795) *''The Most Honourable'' William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield (1795–1809) *''His Grace'' The Duke of Portland (1809–1854)

Ancestors

References

External links

*
Biography of the 4th Duke, with links to online catalogues, from Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of 1768 births 1854 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British racehorse owners and breeders 19th-century British landowners People from Welbeck Children of prime ministers of Great Britain Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom 104 William, 4th Duke of Portland William, 4th Duke of Portland Lord-lieutenants of Middlesex Lords Privy Seal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield, William Scott-Bentinck, Marquess of Portland, D4 Owners of Epsom Derby winners