Spencer, Charles, 1674-1722

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Spencer, Charles, 1674-1722

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1674-1722

History

SPENCER, CHARLES, 3RD EARL OF SUNDERLAND, second son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, and Lady Anne Digby, youngest dau. of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol; b. 1674; at school under Busby (HMC Report, xii, Appendix v, 190); MP Tiverton 1695- 28 Sep 1702; succ. father as 3rd Earl of Sunderland 28 Sep 1702; an active Whig politician; one of the Whig junto; LLD Cambridge 17 Apr 1705; Envoy Extraordinary to Vienna Jun – Dec 1705; a Commissioner for the Union with Scotland 10 Apr 1706; Privy Councillor 3 Dec 1706; Secretary of State, Southern Dept., 3 Dec 1706 – 14 Jun 1710, when dismissed by Queen Anne at the persuasion of Harley and the High Church Tories; in constant communication with the Elector of Hannover during the latter years of Anne’s reign, but excluded from the list of Lord Justices at her death; a favourite at Court after the accession of George I; Lord Lieut., Ireland 22 Sep 1714 – Aug 1715, but did not go over to Ireland; Lord Privy Seal 28 Aug 1715 – Apr 1717; Vice-Treasurer, Ireland, for life, from 6 Jul 1716; intrigued against Walpole and Townshend; Secretary of State, Northern Dept., 15 Apr 1717 – Mar 1718; Lord President of the Council 16 Mar 1718 – 6 Feb 1719; First Lord of the Treasury 20 Mar 1718 – 1 Apr 1721; Groom of the Stole and First Gentleman of the Bedchamber from 7 Feb 1719; KG 21 Nov 1719; a bill introduced by his government in 1719 to limit the royal prerogative to create peers was defeated in the House of Commons; carried through the scheme for paying off part of the National Debt by means of the South Sea Company 1720, in spite of Walpole’s opposition; forced to resign as First Lord of the Treasury in Apr 1721 owing to the general feeling that he was responsible for this scheme’s fiasco, but retained his Household post and continued to exercise great influence with George I; a celebrated book collector who formed the Sunderland Library, inherited by the Dukes of Marlborough; m. 1st, 12 Jan 1694/5 Lady Arabella Cavendish, fifth dau. of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle; m. 2nd, Jan 1699/1700 Lady Anne Churchill, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Anne, second dau. of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough KG, Captain-Gen. of the Forces; m. 3rd, 5 Dec 1717 Judith, dau. of Benjamin Tichborne, Tichborne, Hampshire; d. 19 Apr 1722. DNB.

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Authority record identifier

GB-2014-WSA-16085

Institution identifier

GB 2014

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International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition

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Final

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Full

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Prepared for import into AtoM by Westminster School Archive staff, 2019-2020

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Users should note that the information recorded here that is not to be found in the first two volumes of the Record of Old Westminsters and its first Supplement has been assembled from various published and manuscript sources by Hugh Edmund Pagan MA FSA, and all new resulting text is his copyright, © 2014.

The Record of Old Westminsters: A biographical list of all those who are known to have been educated at Westminster School from the earliest times to 1927, Volumes 1 & 2, compiled by G. F. Russell Barker and Alan H. Stenning, London, 1928.

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