Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington

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The Right Honourable
The Earl of Wilmington
KG KB PC
Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington.jpg
Wilmington, ca. 1710.
2nd Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office
16 February 1742 – 2 July 1743
Monarch George II
Preceded by Robert Walpole
Succeeded by Henry Pelham
Lord President of the Council
In office
31 December 1730 – 13 February 1742
Monarch George II
Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole
Preceded by Lord Trevor
Succeeded by The Earl of Harrington
Personal details
Born ca 1673
Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire, England
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St James's, Middlesex, England
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Never Married
Alma mater Trinity College, Oxford
Religion Church of England
Signature Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington's signature

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington KG KB PC (ca 1673[1] – 2 July 1743)[2] was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He served as the Prime Minister from 1742 until his death in 1743. He is considered to have been Britain's second Prime Minister, after Sir Robert Walpole, although he was largely a figurehead, with real power exercised by the Secretary of State, Lord Carteret.

Early life

Compton, the third son of the 3rd Earl of Northampton, was educated at St Paul's and at Trinity College, Oxford. Thereafter he was admitted into Middle Temple. He entered the House of Commons for the first time in 1698, representing Eye in Suffolk. Although his family were High Tories, he turned to the Whigs after a quarrel with his brother, the 4th Earl of Northampton. In Parliament he soon stood out as prominent amongst the Whigs and began a partnership with Robert Walpole that would last for over forty years.

Political career

In 1707 he became Paymaster of Pensions, a post that he retained for the next six years despite leaving Parliament in 1710 when he disagreed with his patron Lord Cornwallis and the taking of office by a Tory government in that year. It is believed that the Tories retained him as they sought to maintain the support of the Compton family. In 1713 Compton re-entered Parliament for East Grinstead and when the Whigs took power in 1715 he was hopeful that he would enter a high office.

Speaker of the Commons

Instead of the high office he had hoped for, Compton became Treasurer to the Prince of Wales (later George II), and shortly afterwards was unanimously elected as Speaker of the House of Commons. He held this post from 1715 to 1727; one year after his appointment in that capacity, he was invested a Privy Counsellor. He maintained the role despite the split in the Whigs in 1717 in which he joined the Walpole-Townshend alliance and found himself in opposition to the government of the day. He managed to maintain his position through until 1720, when the split ended.

Compton had a reputation for being a lax Speaker, once telling an MP who complained of being interrupted, "No sir, you have a right to speak, but the House have a right to judge whether they will hear you."

File:Spencer Compton 1720s.jpg
Wilmington, ca. 1722-1727.

When Walpole became the leading minister of the day in 1721 there was speculation about his future should George I pass away and be succeeded by his son, who was more favourably inclined towards Compton than Walpole and declared that he would replace the latter with the former on accession. In order to avoid this, Walpole sought to keep Compton on the margins of government, though he was appointed as Paymaster of the Forces, a very lucrative post, from 1722 until 1730. In 1725, Compton entered Walpole's government as Lord Privy Seal and was also created a Knight of the Bath.

Missed chance

In 1727, George II succeeded to the throne and sought to bring about the change in leadership he had promised. However, Compton was not perceived as a man of great ability. He was described by a contemporary as, "a plodding, heavy fellow, with great application but no talents". In particular he proved unable to compete with Walpole's proposals for an allowance for the King. At a meeting between the three, Compton declared he was not up to the task of government. He maintained a hatred of Walpole for the humiliation. With this passed his last serious chance of holding real control over policy, and his influence sharply declined as a result. He remained on very close terms with George, but the era when Kings could personally select their own ministers in defiance of parliament, was ending.

Patriot Whigs

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In order to remove him from the Commons, Walpole raised Compton to the peerage as Baron Wilmington in 1728; two years later, he was created Earl of Wilmington and Viscount Pevensey and appointed Lord President of the Council. He became increasingly associated with the Patriot Whigs, those most critical of Walpole, but in Parliament generally stuck to the official line of the ministry. However, during the Excise Crisis of 1733, he failed to carry through a threat to resign, after being bought off with the promise to make him a Knight of the Garter, which he duly was. This further weakened any following he still commanded. He served as Lord President until 1742.

He was involved in the creation of the Foundling Hospital in 1739, which was an orphanage for abandoned children. This charity became the capital's most fashionable way to prove one's philanthropic credentials and therefore had very notable board members, of whom Wilmington was one.

Prime Minister

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In January 1742 he succeeded Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury and head of the Carteret Ministry. Wilmington was a forceful Prime Minister, and grew notorious amongst his cabinet for taking measures without reaching consensus. His strong work ethic took its toll, and his health gradually deteriorated. Even in poor health, he controlled his ministers strictly, making sure they put through the reforms he planned.[3] He remained in office until his death, when he was succeeded by the Paymaster of the Forces, Henry Pelham. He died unmarried and without issue, and therefore all his titles became extinct upon his death.

Wilmington was buried at his family seat of Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire.[4]

Legacy

The cities of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, North Carolina and the towns of Wilmington, Massachusetts and Wilmington, Vermont are named in his honour. In the former, the Compton Towers housing project also bears his name.[5] He never married. His brothers both have descendants in the United States and Great Britain.

Styles from birth to death

  • The Hon. Spencer Compton (1673–1698)
  • The Hon. Spencer Compton, MP (1698–1710)
  • The Hon. Spencer Compton (1710–1713)
  • The Hon. Spencer Compton, MP (1713–1716)
  • The Rt Hon. Spencer Compton, MP (1716–1725)
  • The Rt Hon. Sir Spencer Compton, KB, MP (1725–1728)
  • The Rt Hon. The Lord Wilmington, KB, PC (1728–1730)
  • The Rt Hon. The Earl of Wilmington, KB, PC (1730–1733)
  • The Rt Hon. The Earl of Wilmington, KG, KB, PC (1733–1743)

References

  1. Website of 10 Downing Street
  2.  Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/spencer-compton-1st-earl-of-wilmington
  4. CompODNB.
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  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.); cited as CompODNB.

Bibliography

  • Browning, Reed. The Duke of Newcastle. Yale University Press, 1975.
  • Field, Ophelia. The Kit-Cat Club: Friends who Imagined a Nation. Harper Collins, 2008.
  • Pearce, Eward. The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole Pimlico, 2008.
  • Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the House of Commons
1715 – 1727
Succeeded by
Arthur Onslow
Preceded by Paymaster of the Forces
1722 – 1730
Succeeded by
Henry Pelham
Preceded by Lord Privy Seal
1730
In commission
Title next held by
The Duke of Devonshire
Lord President of the Council
1730 – 1742
Succeeded by
The Earl of Harrington
Preceded by Prime Minister of Great Britain
First Lord of the Treasury

16 February 1742 – 2 July 1743
Succeeded by
Henry Pelham
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Eye
with Sir Joseph Jekyll

1698 – 1710
Succeeded by
Thomas Maynard
Sir Joseph Jekyll
Preceded by Member of Parliament for East Grinstead
with John Conyers

1713 – 1715
Succeeded by
John Conyers
The Viscount Shannon
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Sussex
with James Butler 1715–1722
Henry Pelham 1722–1728

1715 – 1728
Succeeded by
Henry Pelham
James Butler
Preceded by Member of Parliament for East Grinstead
with John Conyers

1722
Succeeded by
John Conyers
The Viscount Shannon
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Earl of Wilmington
1730 – 1743
Extinct
Baron Wilmington
1728–1743

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