Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet PC
(29 September 1732 – 3 August 1804) was an Irish
politician noted for his extensive recording of parliamentary debates in the late 1760s and early 1770s.
and elder brother of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
(the ancestor of the Dukes of Devonshire
).
for Lismore
from 1766 to 1768, from 1776 to 1791 and from 1798 to the Act of Union
in 1801. He represented Killybegs
from 1791 to 1797 and served as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and as Receiver-General in Ireland. In 1779 he was admitted to the Irish Privy Council. Cavendish was also member of the British House of Commons
for Lostwithiel
between 1768 and 1774.
. The 1768 to 1774 Parliament has otherwise been termed the unreported Parliament, making Cavendish's notes an important historical source. During this time the reporting of parliamentary debates was forbidden. The notes, which include speeches by Edmund Burke
, George Grenville
, Lord North and Charles James Fox
, are now stored in the British Museum
.
Cavendish's original notebooks have gone missing but they were all transcribed by a clerk and fifty longhand manuscripts are in the British Library
. They have 15,700 pages with nearly 3,000,000 words. There are gaps in these volumes, where the clerk could not decipher Cavendish's hand. Cavendish only managed to fill in the gaps for twelve volumes out of fifty. Selections from these volumes were published in two volumes in 139 and 1841. The debates on American affairs were published by R. C. Simmons and P. D. G. Thomas in the twentieth century.
Cavendish also kept a record of the Irish House of Commons between 1776 and 1789 (currently in the Library of Congress
). These amount to thirty-seven longhand volumes (containing more than 2,000,000 words) and forty-five of originally fifty-four shorthand journals.
According to P. D. G. Thomas, "The fullness and accuracy of both diaries, in so far as that can be established by comparison with other sources, is remarkable...fewer than 100 omissions have been detected among the 12,000 speeches he noted at Westminster, and he seems to have captured much of the debating verbatim".
as Baroness Waterpark, in the County of Dublin, in honour of her husband. Cavendish died in August 1804, aged 71, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Richard. Lady Waterpark died in August 1807, aged 67.
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...
(29 September 1732 – 3 August 1804) 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 noted for his extensive recording of parliamentary debates in the late 1760s and early 1770s.
Early life
Cavendish was the son of Sir Henry Cavendish, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (née Pyne). This branch of the Cavendish family descended from Henry Cavendish, illegitimate son of Henry Cavendish of Tutbury Prior, eldest son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of HardwickBess of Hardwick
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...
and elder brother of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire was an English politician and courtier.-Life:The second son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick, he was educated with the children of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, whom his mother married after his father's death. She made him a rich...
(the ancestor of the Dukes of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
).
Member of Parliament
He sat in the Irish House of CommonsIrish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
for Lismore
Lismore (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Lismore was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
from 1766 to 1768, from 1776 to 1791 and from 1798 to the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
in 1801. He represented Killybegs
Killybegs (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Killybegs was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Killybegs was not represented.-1689–1801:...
from 1791 to 1797 and served as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and as Receiver-General in Ireland. In 1779 he was admitted to the Irish Privy Council. Cavendish was also member of the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (UK Parliament constituency)
Lostwithiel was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
between 1768 and 1774.
Parliamentary diarist
He is chiefly remembered for the enormous amounts of notes he took of the debates in this session of Parliament using Gurney's system of shorthandShorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
. The 1768 to 1774 Parliament has otherwise been termed the unreported Parliament, making Cavendish's notes an important historical source. During this time the reporting of parliamentary debates was forbidden. The notes, which include speeches by Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, George Grenville
George Grenville
George Grenville was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham...
, Lord North and Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
, are now stored in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Cavendish's original notebooks have gone missing but they were all transcribed by a clerk and fifty longhand manuscripts are in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. They have 15,700 pages with nearly 3,000,000 words. There are gaps in these volumes, where the clerk could not decipher Cavendish's hand. Cavendish only managed to fill in the gaps for twelve volumes out of fifty. Selections from these volumes were published in two volumes in 139 and 1841. The debates on American affairs were published by R. C. Simmons and P. D. G. Thomas in the twentieth century.
Cavendish also kept a record of the Irish House of Commons between 1776 and 1789 (currently in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
). These amount to thirty-seven longhand volumes (containing more than 2,000,000 words) and forty-five of originally fifty-four shorthand journals.
According to P. D. G. Thomas, "The fullness and accuracy of both diaries, in so far as that can be established by comparison with other sources, is remarkable...fewer than 100 omissions have been detected among the 12,000 speeches he noted at Westminster, and he seems to have captured much of the debating verbatim".
Personal life
Cavendish married Sarah, the daughter of Richard Bradshaw, in 1757. In 1792 she was raised to the Peerage of IrelandPeerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
as Baroness Waterpark, in the County of Dublin, in honour of her husband. Cavendish died in August 1804, aged 71, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Richard. Lady Waterpark died in August 1807, aged 67.