Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire

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His Grace
The Duke of Devonshire
KG MC PC DL
11th Duke of Devonshire Allan Warren.jpg
Portrait by Allan Warren
Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations
In office
1962–1964
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by Lord Alport
Succeeded by Cledwyn Hughes
Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
In office
1960–1962
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Preceded by Richard Thompson
Succeeded by John Tilney
Personal details
Born 2 January 1920
London, England
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Political party UKIP[1] (2001–2004)
None (1987–2001)
Social Democratic (1981–87)
Conservative (1950–81)
National Liberal (1940s)

Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, KG, MC, PC, DL, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (2 January 1920 – 3 May 2004), styled Lord Andrew Cavendish until 1944 and Marquess of Hartington from 1944 to 1950, was a British Conservative and later Social Democratic Party politician. He was a minister in the government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (who was married to his aunt), but is best known for opening Chatsworth House to the public.

Early life

Cavendish was born to Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire and Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, the former Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career

Military service

Cavendish served in the British Army during World War II. Having attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit, he was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards as a second lieutenant on 2 November 1940.[2] On 7 December 1944, while holding the rank of acting captain, he was awarded the Military Cross 'in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy'.[3] The action took place on 27 July 1944 when his company was cut off for 36 hours in heavy combat near Strada, Italy. He held the rank of major at the end of the war.

In later life, he took on a number of honorary positions within the military. On 2 December 1953, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of a Territorial Army unit of the Royal Regiment of Artillery.[4] On 2 October 1981, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Manchester and Salford Universities Officers' Training Corps.[5] He relinquished this appointment on 2 January 1985.[6]

Political career

File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-82-11.jpg
Andrew Cavendish at a reception given by the Agent-General for Northern Nigeria

Cavendish ran unsuccessfully as a National Liberal candidate for Chesterfield in the 1945 general election and as a Conservative for the same seat in 1950. He was Mayor of Buxton from 1952 to 1954. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations from 1960 to 1962, Minister of State at the Commonwealth Relations Office from 1962 to 1963, and for Colonial Affairs from 1963 to 1964. He once said that these appointments by his uncle, Harold Macmillan, the then-prime minister, were "the greatest act of nepotism ever".[7][8]

He joined the Social Democratic Party shortly after its foundation in 1981, but left the party when David Owen resigned as the party's leader in 1987, describing Owen as "the best of them".[9] He then sat as a crossbencher during his rare appearances in the House of Lords.[10][11]

Other pursuits

The duke followed the family tradition of owning racehorses, the most famous of which was Park Top, the subject of the duke's first published book, A Romance of The Turf: Park Top, which was published in 1976. His autobiography, Accidents of Fortune, was published just before his death in 2004. The duke had many disputes over the years with the ramblers who used the paths near Chatsworth. Eventually though, in 1991, he signed an agreement with the Peak National Park Authority opening 1,300 acres (5 km²) of his estate to walkers. He said that everyone was "welcome in my back garden". The duke's real estate holdings were vast. In addition to Chatsworth he also owned Lismore Castle in Ireland and Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire. He also owned the bookshop Heywood Hill and the gentleman's club Pratt's.

He was a major collector of contemporary British art, known especially for his patronage of Lucian Freud. He was one of the founders, and the chief patron of, the Next Century Foundation, in which capacity he hosted the private Chatsworth talks between representatives of the governments of the Arab World and Israel. The duke was listed at number 73 in the Sunday Times Sunday Times Rich List of the richest people in Great Britain in 2004.

Family

File:St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire.JPG
St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire KG, MC, PC, DL (1920–2004)

In 1941 he married the Hon. Deborah Mitford (31 March 1920 – 24 September 2014), one of the Mitford sisters. The marriage was not without some bumps. Three of the couple's seven children died soon after birth, and the Duke's extramarital affairs became public after he appeared as a witness at a burglary trial and was forced to admit, under oath, that he was on holiday with one of a series of younger women when the crime occurred at his London home. The Duke, however, claimed that much of his marriage's success was due to the Duchess's tolerance and broadmindedness. The Duchess, as chatelaine, is largely responsible for the success of Chatsworth as a commercial endeavour.[citation needed]

He and his wife had seven children, four of whom died in infancy.[12] The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire had three surviving children: a son, Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, and two daughters, Lady Emma Cavendish and Lady Sophia Topley. Among their grandchildren is the fashion model Stella Tennant. The Duke is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's Church, Edensor - in the grounds of Chatsworth.[citation needed]

  • Mark Cavendish (born and died 14 November 1941)
  • Emma Cavendish (born 26 March 1943, styled Lady Emma Cavendish from 1944)
  • Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire (born 27 April 1944)
  • An unnamed child (miscarried December 1946, he or she was a twin of Victor Cavendish, born in 1947)[13]
  • Lord Victor Cavendish (born and died 22 May 1947)
  • Lady Mary Cavendish (born and died 5 April 1953)
  • Lady Sophia Louise Sydney Cavendish (born 18 March 1957)

His older brother William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, who would have inherited the dukedom, was killed in combat near the end of the war. With William's death, Andrew became heir and received the courtesy title of Marquess of Hartington, which he held from 1944 until 1950.

His uncle, Lord Charles Cavendish, died aged 38 as a result of alcoholism.[14] Lord Charles's will bequeathed Lismore Castle to Andrew upon the remarriage of Charles's wife, Adele Astaire, in 1947.[14]

The 10th Duke died of a heart attack while visiting Eastbourne in November 1950 and Cavendish inherited the title, though he was in Australia at the time.[7] The Duke died while being attended by suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was his doctor when visiting Eastbourne. No proper police investigation was ever conducted into the death but Cavendish later said "it should perhaps be noted that this doctor was not appointed to look after the health of my two younger sisters, who were then in their teens";[7] Adams had a reputation for grooming older patients to extract bequests.

Cavendish inherited the estate but also an inheritance tax bill of £7 million (£NaN in 2024) nearly 80 per cent of the value of the estate.[15][16] To meet this, the Duke had to sell off many art objects and antiques, including several Rembrandts, Van Dycks and Raffaello Santis, as well as thousands of acres of land.[16]

Honours

In 1996 he was made a Knight of the Garter.

Other

He once told an interviewer:

"Wonderful things have happened in my life — it's time my son had his turn. When I was young I used to like casinos, fast women and God knows what. Now my idea of Heaven, apart from being at Chatsworth, is to sit in the hall of Brooks's, having tea."

Ancestry

Family of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Edward Cavendish
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Blanche Georgiana Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. William Lascelles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Emma Lascelles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Caroline Georgiana Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Maud Evelyn Hamilton
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Louisa Jane Russell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Frances Mary Gascoyne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Edward Hall Alderson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Georgina Alderson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Georgina Drewe
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Philip Gore, 4th Earl of Arran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Elizabeth Marianne Napier
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Cicely Gore
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Edith Elizabeth Henrietta Jocelyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Frances Elizabeth Cowper
 
 
 
 
 
 

Patrilineal descent

Bibliography

  • writing as The Duke of Devonshire: A Romance of the Turf: Park Top (2000 edition ISBN 0-7195-5482-9)
  • writing as Andrew Devonshire: Accidents of Fortune [Autobiography] (2004) ISBN 0-85955-286-1

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34995. p. 6621. 15 November 1940. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36828. pp. 5609–5610. 5 December 1944. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  4. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40064. p. 152. 1 January 1954. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48776. p. 13608. 26 October 1981. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50026. p. 1621. 4 February 1985. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Pamela V. Cullen A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams, London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  8. Graham Stewart Nepotism on a majestic scale, The Times, 2 February 2008. Accessed 27 March 2008.
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  12. Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, Wait for Me! (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010), pages 128–132
  13. Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, Wait for Me! (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010), pages 130
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External links

Political offices
Preceded by Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
jointly with Bernard Braine 1961–1962
John Tilney 1962

1960–1962
Succeeded by
John Tilney
Preceded by Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations
1962–1964
Succeeded by
Cledwyn Hughes
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Devonshire
1950-2004
Succeeded by
Peregrine Cavendish