James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury

For other people named James Cecil, see James Cecil (disambiguation).

James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, KG PC (4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as the Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British nobleman and politician.

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury KG PC
Lord Chamberlain
In office 1783–1804
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger Henry Addington
Preceded by	The Earl of Hertford
Succeeded by	The Earl of Dartmouth
Postmaster General
In office 1816–1823 Serving with The Earl of Chichester
Monarchs	George III George IV
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	The Earl of Chichester The Earl of Clancarty
Succeeded by	The Earl of Chichester
Personal details
Born	4 September 1748 (1748-09-04)
Died	13 June 1823(1823-06-13) (aged 74)
Nationality	British
Spouse	Lady Emily Hill ​ (m. 1773)​
Children	4, including Emily and James
Parent	James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury (father)

Coat of arms of James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, KG, PC

Background

Salisbury was the son of James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Keat.^[1]

Political career

Lord Salisbury (in the front) with George III and Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Salisbury was returned to Parliament for Great Bedwyn in 1774, a seat he held until 1780, and briefly represented Launceston and Plympton Erle in 1780. In the latter year, he succeeded his father in the earldom of Salisbury and entered the House of Lords. He served under Lord North as Treasurer of the Household between 1780 and 1782 and under William Pitt the Younger and then Henry Addington as Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1783 and 1804. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1780^[2] and created Marquess of Salisbury, in the County of Wiltshire, in 1789.^[3] He later served as Joint Postmaster General under Lord Liverpool from 1816 to 1823. He also held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire between 1771 and 1823. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1793.

Militia career

He served as Colonel of the Hertfordshire Militia in home defence during the War of American Independence. To help his discharged men re-enter civilian life at the end of the war, he employed 200 of them on the improvements he was making to his Hatfield estate.^[4][5] He was still in command of the regiment when it was called out again in 1793.^[6]

Family

Lord Salisbury married Lady Emily Mary, daughter of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, on 2 December 1773. She became known as a sportswoman and influential society hostess. The couple had four children:

• Lady Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Cecil (1786–1860), married Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
• Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil (1789–1858), married George Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath and had issue
• Caroline Cecil, died young
• James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury (1791–1868)

Lord Salisbury died in June 1823, aged 74, and was succeeded by his only son, James. The Marchioness of Salisbury died in a fire at Hatfield House in November 1835.^[7]

Notes

1. Lundy, Darryl. "thepeerage.com James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}
2. "No. 12122". The London Gazette. 26 September 1780. p. 1.
3. "No. 13123". The London Gazette. 15 August 1789. p. 550.
4. Brig Charles Herbert, 'Coxheath Camp, 1778–1779', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 45, No 183 (Autumn 1967), pp. 129–48.
5. J.R. Western, The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660–1802, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965, pp. 286–7, 379.
6. Maj J.H. Busby, 'Local Military Forces in Hertfordshire 1793–1814', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 31, No 125 (Spring 1953), pp. 15–24.
7. Lundy, Darryl. "thepeerage.com James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}

References

• The Gentleman's Magazine: and Historical Chronicle From January To June 1823, Vol. XCIII (London: John Nichols and Son, 1823). Obituary Section, p. 563. googlebooks.com Retrieved 28 October 2007

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by The Earl of Courtown Paul Methuen	Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn 1774 – 1780 With: Paul Methuen	Succeeded by Paul Methuen Merrick Burrell
Preceded by Humphry Morice John Buller	Member of Parliament for Launceston 1780 With: Thomas Bowlby	Succeeded by Thomas Bowlby Charles Perceval
Preceded by John Durand William Fullarton	Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle 1780 With: Sir Ralph Payne	Succeeded by Sir Ralph Payne James Archibald Stuart
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Onslow	Treasurer of the Household 1780 – 1782	Succeeded by The Earl of Effingham
Preceded by The Earl of Hertford	Lord Chamberlain 1783 – 1804	Succeeded by The Earl of Dartmouth
Preceded by The Earl of Chichester The Earl of Clancarty	Postmaster-General 1816 – 1823 With: The Earl of Chichester	Succeeded by The Earl of Chichester
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Essex	Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire 1771 – 1823	Succeeded by The Earl of Verulam
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation	Marquess of Salisbury 1789 – 1823	Succeeded by James Gascoyne-Cecil
Peerage of England
Preceded by James Cecil	Earl of Salisbury 1780 – 1823	Succeeded by James Gascoyne-Cecil