James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury KG PC
Lord Chamberlain
In office 1783–1804
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	Hon. 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
Monarch	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(s)	Lady Emily Hill (1750-1835)

Shield of arms of James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, KG, PC
Arms: Barry of ten argent and azure over all six escutcheons sable three, two, and one, each charged with a lion rampant of the first.

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.

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.

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 (d. 1860), married Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
• Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil (d. 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.^[4]

Styles of address

• 1748–1774: Viscount Cranborne
• 1774–1780: Viscount Cranborne MP
• 1780: The Right Honourable The Earl of Salisbury
• 1780–1789: The Right Honourable The Earl of Salisbury PC
• 1789–1793: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury PC
• 1793–1823: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury KG PC

Notes

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 Accessed 28 October 2007