George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley

Lieutenant-General The Right Honourable
The Earl of Cholmondeley
KB PC
The Cholmondeley Family, William Hogarth (1732)
Member of the British House of Commons
In office
1724–1733
Preceded byJohn Smith
Succeeded bySidney Beauclerk
Constituency
Personal details
Born2 January 1703
Died10 June 1770(1770-06-10) (aged 67)
Spouse
Lady Mary Walpole
​
(m. 1723)​
ChildrenGeorge, Viscount Malpas and Robert
Parent(s)George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley
Elizabeth van Ruyterburgh
Military service
AllegianceGreat Britain
Years of service
1733–1760

Lieutenant-General George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley, KB, PC (/ˈtʃʌmli/ CHUM-lee; 2 January 1703 – 10 June 1770), styled as Viscount Malpas from 1725 to 1733, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who represented East Looe and Windsor in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1724 to 1733.

Life

Cholmondeley was the son of George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley, and Elizabeth van Ruyterburgh (or Ruttenburg). He was elected to the House of Commons for East Looe in 1724, a seat he held until 1727, and then represented Windsor between 1727 and 1733, when he succeeded his father as third Earl of Cholmondeley and entered the House of Lords. He held office under his father-in-law Sir Robert Walpole as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1727 to 1729, as a Lord of the Treasury from 1735 to 1736 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1736 to 1743 (from 1742 to 1743 under the premiership of The Earl of Wilmington). From 1743 to 1744 he also served as Lord Privy Seal under Henry Pelham and was Joint Vice-Treasurer of Ireland between 1744 and 1757. In 1736, he was admitted to the Privy Council.[1]

Cholmondeley's extravagance outran the income of his offices, and by the end of 1746, he was forced to render up all his property to settle his debts.[1] Horace Walpole described him as "a vain and empty man, shoved up so high by his father-in-law, Sir Robert Walpole, and fallen into contempt and obscurity by his own extravagance and insufficiency."[1] Apart from his political career, Lord Cholmondeley was also Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and South Wales (less Denbighshire) from 1733 to 1760. He was promoted to colonel in 1745 (raising the 73rd Foot in Chester during the Jacobite rising of 1745), major-general in 1755, and lieutenant-general in 1759. He was also involved in the charitable effort to create a home for foundlings in London, which was hoped would alleviate the problem of child abandonment. The home became known as the Foundling Hospital and Cholmondeley sat on its board as a founding Governor.

Private life

Lord Cholmondeley married Lady Mary Walpole, daughter of Prime Minister Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, in 1723. They had three sons and a daughter:[2]

  • George Cholmondeley, Viscount Malpas (1724–1764)
  • Hon. Robert Cholmondeley (1727–1804)
  • Hon. Frederick Cholmondeley (d. 29 April 1734), died in infancy
  • a daughter, died shortly after birth

Lady Mary died on 21 February 1731/2, at Aix.[2]

Lord Cholmondeley died on 10 June 1770, aged 67. His eldest son George Cholmondeley, Viscount Malpas, predeceased him and he was succeeded in his titles by his grandson George, who was created Marquess of Cholmondeley in 1815. His second son Robert (1727–1804) began his career as a lieutenant in the 3rd Foot Guards but resigned after the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747 and became a minister.[3] Robert was married to the socialite Mary Woffington.[4]

The actress Maria Nossiter was the daughter of Lord Cholmondeley's "favourite" housekeeper. Maria was educated, had money and enjoyed a successful, but brief, career. It is supposed that she was his daughter.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cruickshanks, Eveline (1970). "CHOLMONDELEY, Hon. George (1703-70)". In Sedgwick, Romney (ed.). The House of Commons 1715–1754. The History of Parliament Trust.
  2. 1 2 Ormerod, George; Helsby, Thomas (1882). The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). George Routledge and Sons. p. 638. OCLC 223243317.
  3. ↑ Boswell, James (1950). London Journal 1762-1763 (2010 ed.). Entry for 17 December, note 10: Penguin. ISBN 978-0140436501. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ↑ Highfill, Philip H.; Burnim, Kalman A.; Langhans, Edward A. (1993). A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Vol. 16. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-8093-1803-2.
  5. ↑ "Nossiter, Maria Isabella (1735–1759), actress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64355. Retrieved 2 November 2020. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
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