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 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 parliament. ...

from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom.

Life

Cavendish was the son of

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Counc ...

, and his wife, the Hon. Rachel Russell, and was known as Marquis of Hartington. Like his father, Lord Hartington was active in public life. He was returned unopposed as

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) 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 c ...

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

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

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

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

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 (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

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. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

. 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 Kingdo ...

. He sold the

Old Devonshire House Old Devonshire House at 48 Boswell Street, was located between Theobald's Road in Bloomsbury, and Queen Square, London. William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire had the house built in 1668 for his son, also called William Cavendish, who was M ...

at 48 Boswell Street, Theobald's Road, in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, 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, but ...

to build a new Cavendish House in fashionable

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, 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 that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

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

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

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, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

the Duke raised a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit in support of the King known as

the Derbyshire Blues The Derbyshire Blues were a militia regiment raised in Derby by the Duke of Devonshire in response to the invasion by Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie') in 1745. As Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, the Duke had responsibility for rais ...

, 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 William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough (1704 – 11 March 1793) was a British politician and public servant. He was an Irish and English peer and member of the House of Lords (styled Hon. William Ponsonby from 1723 to 1739 and Viscount Dunca ...

, 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 5th Prime Mini ...

(1720 – 2 October 1764) *

Lord George Augustus Cavendish Lord George Augustus Cavendish ( – 2 May 1794) was a British nobleman, politician, and a member of the House of Cavendish. Cavendish was born in London, the second son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire and his wife, the former ...

(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 Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (12 June 1723 – 24 February 1809)L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page ...

. * Field Marshal Lord Frederick Cavendish (c. 1729 – 21 October 1803), died unmarried. *

Lord John Cavendish Lord John Cavendish (22 October 1732 – 18 December 1796) was a British nobleman and politician. Background Cavendish was the youngest son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Hoskins. Prime ...

(c. 1734–1796)

References

External links

thePeerage.com
{{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 the United Kingdom