James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Encyclopedia
James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1666–1694), until 1683 known by the courtesy title
of Viscount Cranborne, was an English peer
.
A courtier of King James II
, during the Glorious Revolution
of 1688 he commanded a regiment
in support of the king. Afterwards he was imprisoned in the Tower of London
for some twenty-two months, eventually being charged with high treason
. Although released in October 1690 following a general pardon, he died in 1694 at the age of twenty-eight.
KG, by his marriage in 1661 to Lady Margaret Manners, a daughter of John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland
. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge
, and as his father's eldest surviving son succeeded him when he died in May 1683.
On 13 July 1683, at the age of sixteen, the new Earl of Salisbury
married Frances Bennett (1670–1713), a daughter of Simon Bennett, of Buckinghamshire
. Bennett, who by the time of this marriage had died, had left two daughters, and in his will
had left them each £20,000, subject to their not marrying before the age of sixteen or without the consent of those he named, with the proviso that the legacy of a daughter doing so was to be reduced to £10,000. Frances Bennett married Salisbury before she was sixteen, but with the consent of the Executors to the will, and this later led to litigation.
Salisbury inherited from his father the position of Capital Steward of the borough of Hertford
.
After his marriage, he travelled abroad for some years, returning to England at about the beginning of 1688. That year, he was appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber
to King James II
and converted to Roman Catholicism, but his appointment was overtaken by the Glorious Revolution
of October to December 1688, during which he served the king as Colonel
of a regiment of horse
.
Salisbury was arrested in January 1688/89. On 26 October 1689 the House of Commons
impeached
him with the Earl of Peterborough
for high treason
on the grounds of "departing from their allegiance and being reconciled to the Church of Rome" and asked the House of Lords
to commit them. On the same day the Lords ordered the two men to be brought to the bar of that House. Salisbury was already imprisoned in the Tower of London
, and the Lords ordered that "his lady, friends and servants" were to have access to him. Brought to the House on 28 October, in reply to the charge Salisbury said:
Salisbury remained in the Tower without trial. On 2 October 1690, the House of Lords read his petition
, which stated "That he hath been a prisoner for a year and nine months, notwithstanding the late act of free and general pardon
, and praying to be discharged." On 30 October, the Lords found that both Salisbury and Peterborough had been pardoned by "the king
and queen
's most gracious, general and free pardon" and resolved to discharge them both without hearing the views of the House of Commons on the matter. A decade later, parliament included a provision in the Act of Settlement 1701
stating plainly that "no pardon under the Great Seal of England
be pleadable to an impeachment by the Commons in Parliament".
After his release, Salisbury pursued a case in the High Court of Chancery concerning his wife's marriage portion under her father's will
, as only £10,000 of a legacy of £20,000 had been paid. The dispute was about whether the amount should be reduced because Lady Salisbury had been under the age of sixteen when she married, a circumstance which the Executors to the will had agreed to. On 1 May 1691 the Court found in Salisbury's favour and ordered that he should receive a further £10,000, by way of a charge on his wife's sister's estate.
In March 1693/94, John Dryden
dedicated his new play Love Triumphant to Salisbury. His intention was probably to make a gesture of defiance to the new government, of which Dryden disapproved.
(1691–1728), was born on 8 June 1691. He himself died on 24 October 1694, at the age of twenty-eight, to be succeeded by his infant son. His widow survived him until 1713.
Barely a month before Salisbury's death, his wife's mother, Mrs Bennett, had been murdered by a butcher who broke into her house.
Salisbury had five sisters, all of whom lived to marry. Lady Margaret Cecil
(1672–1727) married firstly John Stawell, 2nd Baron Stawell (died 1692), and secondly Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
. Lady Catherine Cecil (died 1688) married Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet
, in 1683. Lady Frances Cecil (died 1698) married Sir William Halford, 4th Baronet
(died 1695), in 1692. Lady Mary Cecil (died 1740) married Sir William Forester
KB
(1655–1717). Another sister, Lady Mildred Cecil (died 1727), married firstly Sir Uvedale Corbet, 3rd Baronet
(1668–1701), and secondly Sir Charles Hotham, 4th Baronet
(ca. 1663–1723).
Salisbury's great grandson, another James Cecil
(1748–1823), was created the first Marquess of Salisbury
in 1789; and his grandson, the third Marquess
, was three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, between 1885 and 1902.
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
of Viscount Cranborne, was an English peer
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
.
A courtier of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688 he commanded a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
in support of the king. Afterwards he was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for some twenty-two months, eventually being charged with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. Although released in October 1690 following a general pardon, he died in 1694 at the age of twenty-eight.
Early life
Baptised on 25 September 1666, Salisbury was one of the ten children of James Cecil, 3rd Earl of SalisburyJames Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC , known as Viscount Cranborne from 1660 to 1668, was an English nobleman....
KG, by his marriage in 1661 to Lady Margaret Manners, a daughter of John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland
John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland
John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited the peerage....
. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, and as his father's eldest surviving son succeeded him when he died in May 1683.
On 13 July 1683, at the age of sixteen, the new Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a complex history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster...
married Frances Bennett (1670–1713), a daughter of Simon Bennett, of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. Bennett, who by the time of this marriage had died, had left two daughters, and in his will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
had left them each £20,000, subject to their not marrying before the age of sixteen or without the consent of those he named, with the proviso that the legacy of a daughter doing so was to be reduced to £10,000. Frances Bennett married Salisbury before she was sixteen, but with the consent of the Executors to the will, and this later led to litigation.
Career and imprisonment
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
.
After his marriage, he travelled abroad for some years, returning to England at about the beginning of 1688. That year, he was appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber
Gentleman of the Bedchamber
A Gentleman of the Bedchamber was the holder of an important office in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Description and functions:...
to King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and converted to Roman Catholicism, but his appointment was overtaken by the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of October to December 1688, during which he served the king as Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of a regiment of horse
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
Salisbury was arrested in January 1688/89. On 26 October 1689 the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
impeached
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
him with the Earl of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough, KG, PC, FRS was an English soldier, peer and courtier.-Early life:Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough...
for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
on the grounds of "departing from their allegiance and being reconciled to the Church of Rome" and asked the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to commit them. On the same day the Lords ordered the two men to be brought to the bar of that House. Salisbury was already imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, and the Lords ordered that "his lady, friends and servants" were to have access to him. Brought to the House on 28 October, in reply to the charge Salisbury said:
Salisbury remained in the Tower without trial. On 2 October 1690, the House of Lords read his petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
, which stated "That he hath been a prisoner for a year and nine months, notwithstanding the late act of free and general pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
, and praying to be discharged." On 30 October, the Lords found that both Salisbury and Peterborough had been pardoned by "the king
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
and queen
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
's most gracious, general and free pardon" and resolved to discharge them both without hearing the views of the House of Commons on the matter. A decade later, parliament included a provision in the Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
stating plainly that "no pardon under the Great Seal of England
Great Seal of the Realm
The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...
be pleadable to an impeachment by the Commons in Parliament".
After his release, Salisbury pursued a case in the High Court of Chancery concerning his wife's marriage portion under her father's will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, as only £10,000 of a legacy of £20,000 had been paid. The dispute was about whether the amount should be reduced because Lady Salisbury had been under the age of sixteen when she married, a circumstance which the Executors to the will had agreed to. On 1 May 1691 the Court found in Salisbury's favour and ordered that he should receive a further £10,000, by way of a charge on his wife's sister's estate.
In March 1693/94, John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
dedicated his new play Love Triumphant to Salisbury. His intention was probably to make a gesture of defiance to the new government, of which Dryden disapproved.
Child and family
Salisbury's son and heir, James Cecil, 5th Earl of SalisburyJames Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury
James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury , known as Viscount Cranborne from 1691 to 1694, was a British peer.Salisbury was the son of James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury, and Frances Bennett, and succeeded his father in the earldom in 1694...
(1691–1728), was born on 8 June 1691. He himself died on 24 October 1694, at the age of twenty-eight, to be succeeded by his infant son. His widow survived him until 1713.
Barely a month before Salisbury's death, his wife's mother, Mrs Bennett, had been murdered by a butcher who broke into her house.
Salisbury had five sisters, all of whom lived to marry. Lady Margaret Cecil
Margaret Cecil
Lady Margaret Cecil, Countess of Ranelagh was a British courtier.The Countess of Ranelagh was one of the "Hampton Court Beauties" painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary II.-Family:...
(1672–1727) married firstly John Stawell, 2nd Baron Stawell (died 1692), and secondly Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh PC FRS , known as The Viscount Ranelagh between 1669 and 1677, was an Irish peer, politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland.-Background:...
. Lady Catherine Cecil (died 1688) married Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet, of East Hatley was the son and heir of Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet.His father worked as Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer from 1660 until 1684. In 1680, the younger George Downing joined his father as a Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer, holding that...
, in 1683. Lady Frances Cecil (died 1698) married Sir William Halford, 4th Baronet
Halford Baronets
Three baronetcies were created for different families bearing the name of Halford, but related to one another. The first baronetcy was created in 1641 for Richard Halford in the Baronetage of England. It became extinct in 1780 with the death of the seventh and last baronet...
(died 1695), in 1692. Lady Mary Cecil (died 1740) married Sir William Forester
Sir William Forester
Sir William Forester , of Dothill in Wellington, Shropshire, was the son of Francis Forester of Dothill. He was Member of Parliament for the borough constituency of Wenlock from 1679 until his death . He was made a Knight of the Bath.He married Mary daughter of James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury...
KB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1655–1717). Another sister, Lady Mildred Cecil (died 1727), married firstly Sir Uvedale Corbet, 3rd Baronet
Corbet Baronets
There have been six Baronetcies created for members of the Corbet family, four in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. All creations are extinct...
(1668–1701), and secondly Sir Charles Hotham, 4th Baronet
Baron Hotham
Baron Hotham, of South Dalton in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1797 for the naval commander Admiral William Hotham, with remainder to the heirs male of his father. Hotham was the third son of Sir Beaumont Hotham, 7th Baronet, of Scorborough , and in...
(ca. 1663–1723).
Salisbury's great grandson, another James Cecil
James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury
James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, KG, PC , styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as 7th Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British politician.-Background:...
(1748–1823), was created the first Marquess of Salisbury
Marquess of Salisbury
Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly the 3rd Marquess, who served three times as Prime Minister...
in 1789; and his grandson, the third Marquess
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
, was three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, between 1885 and 1902.