18th-century English noble
Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath ,
KG ,
PC (13 September 1734 – 19 November 1796), of
Longleat in Wiltshire, was a
British politician who held office under King
George III . He served as
Southern Secretary ,
Northern Secretary and
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . Between 1751 and 1789, he was known as the 3rd
Viscount Weymouth . He is possibly best known for his role in the
Falklands Crisis of 1770 .
Early life
He was born on 13 September 1734, the eldest son and heir of
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth (1710–1751) by his wife
Louisa Carteret (c. 1712–1736), a daughter of
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 2nd Baron Carteret (1690–1763). On her father's side, she was a great-granddaughter of
John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), and her father's first-cousin was
William Granville, 3rd Earl of Bath (1692–1711), on whose death the
Earldom of Bath became extinct.
Family origins
The Thynnes are descended from Sir
John Thynne (c. 1515–1580), the builder of
Longleat House , the family seat in
Wiltshire , who acquired vast estates after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries . Sir John owed his wealth and position to the favour of his master, the
Lord Protector
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset .
[2] He was comptroller of the household of the future Queen
Elizabeth I of England . Another famous ancestor was
Thomas Thynne (1648–1682), called on account of his wealth "Tom of Ten Thousand" and celebrated by
Dryden as
Issachar in
Absalom and Achitophel , who was murdered in
London in February 1682.
Career
He succeeded his father as 3rd
Viscount Weymouth in January 1751 and served as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for a short time during 1765, although he never visited that country.
[3] Having become prominent in British politics, he was appointed
Secretary of State for the Northern Department in January 1768 and acted with great promptitude during the unrest caused by
John Wilkes and the
Middlesex election of 1768. He was then attacked and libeled by Wilkes, who was consequently expelled from the
House of Commons .
Falklands Crisis
Before the close of 1768, he was transferred from the Northern Department to become
Secretary of State for the Southern Department , but he resigned in December 1770 in the midst of the "
Falklands Crisis ", a dispute with
Spain over the possession of the
Falkland Islands .
American War of Independence
In November 1775, Weymouth returned to his former office of Secretary of State for the Southern Department, undertaking in addition the duties attached to the northern department for a few months in 1779, but he resigned both positions in the autumn of that year. This period covered the
American War of Independence .
Later life
He was
High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield from 1781 until his death in November 1796, having been created
Marquess of Bath in 1789. The title of
Earl of Bath that had been held by his Granville ancestor was then unavailable, as it had been recreated for a member of the Pulteney family.
Marriage and issue
In 1759, he married
Lady Elizabeth Bentinck , daughter of
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland and the art collector
Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland , with whom he had three sons and five daughters, including:
Lady Louisa Thynne (born 25 March 1760)
Lady Henrietta Thynne (born 16 November 1762)
[4]
Lady Sophia Thynne (born 18 December 1763)
[5]
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), eldest son and heir.
[6]
Lady Maria Thynne (born 1 August 1767, died March 1768)
[7]
[8]
Lady Isabella Thynne (born 1 October 1768)
[9]
George Thynne, 2nd Baron Carteret (23 January 1770 – 19 February 1838), who inherited the title
Baron Carteret by
special remainder from his paternal uncle
Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret (1735–1826) (born Henry Thynne), of
Haynes Park in Bedfordshire and of
Stowe House ,
Kilkhampton in Cornwall, the seat of his ancestor
John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), which descended via the Carteret family.
Legacy
Weymouth Street in
Marylebone is named after him. His wife's family once owned the land on which the street was later built.
[10]
References
^ 'Parliamentary history : 1529–1629', in
A History of the County of Wiltshire , vol. 5 (1957),
pp. 111–132 , accessed 7 July 2011
^ Desmond Keenan (12 November 2014).
Eighteenth Century Ireland 1703-1800 Society and History . Xlibris Corporation. p. 514.
ISBN
978-1-4990-8082-7 .
^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786 . 16 December 1762.
^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786 . 17 January 1764.
^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786 . 25 February 1765.
^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786 . 29 August 1767.
^ Buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly, on 31 March 1768. Source: The Register Book for Burials. In the Parish of St James in Westminster in the County of Middlesex. 1754-1812 . 31 March 1768.
^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786 . 5 November 1768.
^ Weinreb, Ben;
Hibbert, Christopher (1992).
The London Encyclopaedia (reprint ed.).
Macmillan . p. 979.
Attribution:
Family tree summary for the Thynnes of Longleat from about 1500
[1]
Ralph Botevile
[2]
Thomas Thynne
[2]
William Thynne
[2]
[3]
d. 1546
John Thynne of Longleat
[4]
c. 1515 –1580
Francis Thynne
[3]
c. 1544 –1608
John Thynneof Longleat
[5] 1555–1604
Charles Thynne
[6]
c. 1568 –1652
Thomas Thynne of Longleat
[7]
c. 1578 –1639
Baronet of Caus Castle , of Kempsford in the County of Gloucester, 1641
James of Longleat
[8] 1605–1670
Thomas of Richmond
[9]
d. 1669 Henry Frederick Thynne 1615–16801st Baronet of Kempsford
Baron Thynne , 1680
Viscount Weymouth , 1682
Thomas of Longleat ,
[10] 1648–1682
Thomas Thynne
[11] 1640–1714 inherited Longleat, 16821st Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 2nd Baronet of Kempsford James Thynne of Buckland
d. 1709 Henry Thynne Frederick
d. 1705
unmarried
Henry Thynne
[12] 1675–1708 Thomas Thynne
d. 1710
two daughters but no sons
Thomas Thynne
[13] 1710–17512nd Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 3rd Baronet of Kempsford
Marquess of Bath , 1789
Baron Carteret (2nd creation), 1784
Thomas Thynne
[14] 1734–17961st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 4th Baronet of Kempsford
Henry Carteret
[15] 1735–18261st Baron Carteret
Thomas Thynne
[16] 1765–18372nd Marquess of Bath, 4th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 5th Baronet of Kempsford
George Thynne 1770–18382nd Baron Carteret
John Thynne 1772–18493rd Baron Carteret
Baron Carteret extinct, 1849
Henry Thynne
[17] 1797–18373rd Marquess of Bath, 5th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 6th Baronet of Kempsford
Edward Thynne 1807–1884 Lady
Charlotte Anne Thynne 1811–1895marr. :
Walter Montagu Douglas Scott ,
Duke of Buccleuch and had issue.
John Thynne
[18] 1831–18964th Marquess of Bath, 6th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 7th Baronet of Kempsford
Henry Thynne 1832–1904
Thomas Thynne 1862–19465th Marquess of Bath, 7th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 8th Baronet of Kempsford
Ulric Oliver Thynne 1871–1957
Henry Thynne 1905–19926th Marquess of Bath, 8th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 9th Baronet of Kempsford
Thomas Timothy Thynne 1929–1930
Alexander George Thynn 1930–20207th Marquess of Bath, 9th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 10th Baronet of Kempsford Christopher John Thynne 1934–2017 Valentine Charles Thynne 1937–1979
Ceawlin Thynn
b. 1974 8th Marquess of Bath, 10th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne, 11th Baronet of Kempsford Lucien Henry Valentine Thynne
b. 1965
John Alexander Ladi Thynn
b. 2014 styled Viscount Weymouth
International National Other
Thomas
^ Burke, Sir Bernard, (1938 ed) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Shaw, London. p. 243
^
a
b
c Woodfall, H. (1768).
The Peerage of England; Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of that Kingdom Etc. Fourth Edition, Carefully Corrected, and Continued to the Present Time, Volume 6 . p. 258.
^
a
b Lee, Sidney; Edwards, A. S. G. (revised) (2004). "Thynne, William (d. 1546)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi :
10.1093/ref:odnb/27426 . (Subscription or
UK public library membership required.)
^ Girouard, Mark, Thynne, Sir John (1515–1580), estate manager and builder of Longleat in
Oxford Dictionary of Biography (
Oxford University Press , 2004)
^ Booth, Muriel.
"Thynne, John (?1550–1604), of Longleat, Wilt" . History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Lancaster, Henry; Thrush, Andrew.
"Thynne, Charles (c.1568–1652), of Cheddar, So" . History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Pugh, R. B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1957). "Parliamentary history: 1529–1629".
A History of the County of Wiltshire . Vol. 5. London: Victoria County History – via British History Online.
^ Ferris, John P.
"Thynne, Sir James (c.1605-70), of Longbridge Deverill, Wilt" . History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Helms, M. W.; Ferris, John P.
"Thynne, Sir Thomas (c.1610–c.69), of Richmond, Sur" . History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Marshall, Alan (2008) [2004]. "Thynne, Thomas [nicknamed Tom of Ten Thousand] (1647/8–1682)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi :
10.1093/ref:odnb/27423 . (Subscription or
UK public library membership required.)
^ Heath-Caldwell, J. J.
"Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth" . JJ Heath-Caldwell. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Hayton, D. W.
"Thynne, Hon. Henry (1675-1708)" . The History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Dunaway, Stewart (2013).
Lord John Carteret, Earl Granville: His Life History and the Granville Grants . Lulu. p. 33.
ISBN
9781300878070 .
^
"Bath, Thomas Thynne" . Encyclopedia Britannica 1911. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Thorne, Roland.
"Carteret [formerly Thynne], Henry Frederick" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^
"Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837)" . National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^ Escott, Margaret.
"Thynne, Lord Henry Frederick (1797-1837), of 6 Grovesnor Square, Md" . History of Parliament . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .
^
"John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896), Diplomat and landowner" . National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016 .