Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
politician, styled Viscount Rialton between 1706 and 1712.
Biography
Godolphin, only child of Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of GodolphinSidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, KG, PC was a leading English politician of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
, was born in Whitehall, London, on 3 September 1678, and baptised the same day. His mother, Margaret Godolphin, dying on 9 September. John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
, who had been her most intimate acquaintance, transferred his friendship to her infant son, took charge of the general superintendence of his education, and continued to take an interest in his welfare after he had grown to man's estate.
Francis Godolphin was educated at Eton, and at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he took his M.A. degree in 1705. His first public appointment was that of joint registrar of the court of chancery on 29 June 1698, which he held to 20 January 1727, holding also the place of one of the tellers of the exchequer from 1699 to 1704. He was chosen representative for East Looe in Cornwall on 1 December 1701, but on 4 February 1701–2 elected to serve for Helston, and sat for that constituency till 21 September 1710. As cofferer of the household he was in office from 1704 to 1711, and acted as lord warden of the stannaries, high steward of the duchy of Cornwall, and rider and master forester of Dartmoor from 1705 to 1708. He was known under the courtesy title of Viscount Rialton from 29 December 1706 till 1712. He sat for the county of Oxford from 1708 to 1710, and for Tregony in Cornwall from the latter date until he was elevated to the upper house as second Earl of Godolphin on the death of his father on 15 September 1712.
He was again cofferer of the household 1714–23, lord-lieutenant of the county of Oxford 1715–1735, lord of the bedchamber to George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
1716, high steward of Banbury 1718, and a privy councillor 26 May 1723. To George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
he was groom of the stole, and first lord of the bedchamber 1727–35. He was named high steward of Woodstock 18 March 1728, and the same day appointed Governor of the Scilly Islands.
On 23 January 1735 he was created Baron Godolphin
Baron Godolphin
Baron Godolphin is a title that was created three times: first in the Peerage of England, then in the Peerage of Great Britain, and lastly in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
of Helston in Cornwall, with special remainder, in default of his own issue, to the heirs male of his deceased uncle, Dr. Henry Godolphin
Henry Godolphin
Henry Godolphin was an English Provost of Eton College and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, a position in which he clashed with Sir Christopher Wren in the period when the new cathedral had reached the finishing touches.-Life:...
, dean of St. Paul's. During the king's absence from Great Britain in 1723, 1725, and 1727 he acted as one of the lords justices of the United Kingdom. Finally, as lord privy seal, he was in office from 14 May 1735 to 25 April 1740. The pocket borough of Helston, not far from his ancestral home, Godolphin House, was under his patronage for many years, and sent his nominees to parliament. In return for this complaisance he rebuilt Helston Church in 1763, at an expense of £6,000, and it was also his custom to pay the rates and taxes for all the electors in the borough. It is said that he only read two works, Burnet's ‘History of my own Time’ and Colley Cibber's ‘Apology.’ When he had perused them throughout he began them again. He died on 17 January 1766, and was buried in Kensington Church on 25 January, when the earldom of Godolphin, viscounty of Rialton, and barony of Godolphin of Rialton became extinct; but the barony of Godolphin of Helston devolved upon his cousin Francis Godolphin, 2nd Baron Godolphin of Helston.
Godolphin married, in March 1698, Lady Henrietta Churchill, eldest daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Sarah Jennings. She was born 20 July, and baptised at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London, 29 July 1681. On the death of her father, 16 June 1722, she became Duchess of Marlborough, and dying 24 October 1733 was buried in Westminster Abbey on 9 November. She acquired much notoriety by her attachment to William Congreve
William Congreve
William Congreve was an English playwright and poet.-Early life:Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England . His parents were William Congreve and his wife, Mary ; a sister was buried in London in 1672...
, the dramatist.
Godolphin was one of the founding Governors of the charity called the Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...
, created in 1739. The charity aimed to tackle the problem of child abandonment
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by providing an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
where parents could leave babies they considered themselves incapable of raising.
Issue
- William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford (c. 1700 – 1731), married Maria Catherina de Jong.
- Lord Henry Godolphin (born c. 1700)
- Lady Margaret Godolphin (born c. 1703)
- Lady Henrietta GodolphinHenrietta Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-TyneHarriet Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was the wife of the British statesman and Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was the granddaughter of Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin and the granddaughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of...
(d. 1776), married the 1st Duke of NewcastleThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
. - Lady Mary GodolphinMary Osborne, Duchess of LeedsMary Osborne, Duchess of Leeds , daughter of Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough and Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin...
(1723–1764), married the 4th Duke of LeedsThomas Osborne, 4th Duke of LeedsThomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds KG, PC, DL, FRS , styled Earl of Danby from birth until 1729 and subsequently Marquess of Carmarthen until 1731, was a British peer, politician and judge.-Background:...
.