Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent
Encyclopedia
Robert Craggs-Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent PC (1702 – October 13, 1788) was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

.

Background

The son of Michael Nugent and Mary, daughter of Robert Barnewall, 9th Baron Trimlestown, he was born at Carlanstown, County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...

. He succeeded his father in the Carlanstown property on 13 May 1739.

Political career

His wife's property included the borough of St Mawes
St Mawes (UK Parliament constituency)
St Mawes was a rotten borough in Cornwall. It returned two Members of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of England from 1562 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until it was abolished by the Great Reform Act in...

 in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, and Nugent sat for that constituency from 1741 to 1754, after which date he represented Bristol
Bristol (UK Parliament constituency)
Bristol was a two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England , Great Britain and the United Kingdom . The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.-Boundaries:The historic port city of Bristol, is...

 until 1774, when he returned to St Mawes. In 1747 he succeeded Lord Doneraile as Comptroller of the Household to the Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

. Nugent lent the Prince large sums of money, which were never repaid; the appointments and peerages he received later in life have been attributed to the wish of the Prince of Wales's son, George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

, to compensate Nugent.

Robert Craggs-Nugent, as he then was, served as a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...

 from 1754 to 1759, and was made a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 in 15 December 1759. He was Vice-Treasurer of Ireland from 1759 to 1765, First Lord of Trade from 1766 to 1768, and Vice-Treasurer of Ireland again from 1768 to 1782. In 1768 he was made a member of the Irish Privy Council
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

. His support of the ministry was so useful that he was created in 1767 Baron Nugent and Viscount Clare, and in 1776 Earl Nugent
Earl Nugent
Earl Nugent was a title the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 21 July 1776 for Robert Craggs-Nugent, 1st Viscount Clare, with remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his son-in-law George Grenville and the heirs male of his body...

, all Irish peerages.

Apart from his political career Lord Nugent was also the author of some poetical productions, several of which are preserved in the second volume of Dodsley
Robert Dodsley
Robert Dodsley was an English bookseller and miscellaneous writer.-Life:He was born near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where his father was master of the free school....

's Collections (1748).

Family

Lord Nugent married firstly, on 14 July 1730, Emilia (died in childbirth 16 August 1731), daughter of the fourth Earl of Fingall. They had one son, Edmund, who became a Lieutenant-Colonel and the father of two illegitimate sons (later Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

) Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet, and Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....

 Sir Charles Edmund Nugent
Charles Edmund Nugent
Sir Charles Edmund Nugent was a British admiral. Joining the Navy in 1771, he rose through the ranks during the American War of Independence, primarily active against Spain in the West Indies. He saw action at the 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island and the 1779 Battle of San Fernando de Omoa...

) before dying in 1771. Nugent married secondly, on 23 March 1736, Anna (died 22 November 1756), daughter of James Craggs
James Craggs the Elder
James Craggs the Elder was an English politician and the father of James Craggs the Younger.A son of Anthony Craggs of Holbeck, Durham, he was baptized on 10 June 1657...

 and sister of the Right Honourable James Craggs
James Craggs the Younger
James Craggs the Younger , son of James Craggs the Elder, was born at Westminster. Part of his early life was spent abroad, where he made the acquaintance of George Louis, Elector of Hanover, afterwards King George I...

, the secretary of state, whereupon Robert Nugent adopted the surname of Craggs-Nugent. She had already been twice given in marriage, but Robert, who was born a Roman Catholic, had abandoned his Church very early in life. (He was tersely described by Richard Glover as a jovial and voluptuous Irishman who had left popery for the Protestant religion, money and widows.) He married in 2 January 1757 Elizabeth (died 29 January 1792), widow of the fourth Earl of Berkeley
Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley
Lt.-Col. Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley KT was the son of Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley and Lady Louisa Lennox....

, who brought him a large fortune.

The earldom descended by special remainder to the earl's son-in-law, George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham, KG, PC was a British statesman. He was the second son of George Grenville and a brother of the 1st Baron Grenville.-Career:...

, and so to his successors, the dukes of Buckingham and Chandos
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...

.
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