Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton

Charles Powlett (sometimes spelled Paulet), 3rd Duke of Bolton KG PC (3 September 1685  26 August 1754), styled Earl of Wiltshire from 1685 until 1699, and Marquess of Winchester from 1699 until 1722, was a British Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons from 1705 to 1708 and in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1717 when he was raised to the peerage as Lord Powlett and sat in the House of Lords..

Duke of Bolton, detail from William Hogarth's Beggar's Opera, 1731.


The Duke of Bolton

Portrait by James Seymour of the 3rd Duke of Bolton and 8th Marquis of Winchester. Probably in Kingsclere.
Coat of arms of Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton, KG, PC
Personal details
Born3 September 1685
Died26 August 1754 (aged 68)
Spouse(s)Lady Anne Vaughan (m. 1713, d. 1751)
Lavinia Fenton (m. 1751)

Early life

Powlett was born in 1685 at Chawton, the eldest son of Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, and his second wife Frances Ramsden, daughter of William Ramsden of Byram, Yorkshire.[1] He was educated at Enfield School although his father had to remove him in 1699 for absenteeism and unruly behavior. He travelled abroad with Anthony Ashley from 1700 to 1704. In 1705 he was a volunteer in the Portuguese campaign.[2]

Political career

Powlett was home in time to stand as Whig at a by-election for Lymington on 7 December 1705. He was returned as MP for Lymington. In 1708, he was elected MP for Hampshire in a close contest. However the church interest supported the Tories following the Sacheverell trial and he was defeated there in 1710 and 1713. In 1714 he was appointed Gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales.[2]

At the 1715 general election, Powlett was returned as MP for Carmarthenshire. Also in 1715 he was appointed Governor of Milford Haven and Vice-Admiral of South Wales. He was also appointed Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan. He was created Lord Powlett of Basing on 12 April 1717 and had to give up his seat in the House of Commons. He became Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards in 1717.

In 1722 he succeeded to his father's estates and to the Dukedom of Bolton. He became one of the largest landowners in Hampshire and had control of some parliamentary seats. Therefore, he became one of the principal electoral managers for the Whig government. He was appointed High Steward of Winchester, Warden of the New Forest and Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and Dorset in the same year. He became a Privy Councillor on 1 June 1725 and was Lord Justice for the year 1725 to 1726. In 1726 he was appointed Commissioner for surveying lands for naval docks and Governor of the Isle of Wight.[3] In 1733 Powlett voted against the government and was dismissed from all his posts.[3] In 1739, he became a founding governor of the Foundling Hospital in London, an orphanage for abandoned children. He became captain of the gentlemen pensioners in 1740. He was reconciled to Walpole and in 1742 was re-appointed to nearly all his previous posts. However he lost them all again in 1746.[3]

Family

William Hogarth's portrait of Lavinia, Duchess of Bolton.

On 21 July 1713, he married Lady Anne Vaughan, a daughter of the 3rd Earl of Carbery. The marriage was not a happy one, and there were no children. In 1728, he began a long-standing affair with the English actress, Lavinia Fenton. Lady Anne died in 1751 and the Duke married Lavinia Fenton on 20 October 1751 at Aix-en-Provence. She had already borne him three illegitimate sons: Charles, Percy, and Horatio Armand Powlett.

The third Duke of Bolton died in 1754, aged 68, at Royal Tunbridge Wells and was buried at Basing.

Hogarth's painting of The Beggar's Opera, scene VI, act III, 1731, (22.5 x 30 inches), featuring Lavinia as Polly Peacham (in white), with the Duke in the audience on the right, in blue wearing his Garter Star.

See also

The Stables and Two Famous Running Horses belonging to His Grace, the Duke of Bolton, by James Seymour, 1747

References

  1. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 45, p.155. Oxford University Press, 2004
  2. "POWLETT, Charles II, Marquess of Winchester (1685-1754), of Hackwood, nr. Basingstoke, Hants". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. "POWLETT, Charles, Mq. of Winchester (1685-1754)". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
Bay Bolton, a horse belonging to his grace the Duke of Bolton, engraved by Richard Parr, 1739.
Parliament of England
Preceded by
Thomas Dore
Paul Burrard
Member of Parliament for Lymington
1705–1707
With: Paul Burrard
Succeeded by
Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Parliament of England
Member of Parliament for Lymington
17071708
With: Paul Burrard
Succeeded by
Paul Burrard
Richard Chaundler
Preceded by
Thomas Jervoise
Richard Chaundler
Member of Parliament for Hampshire
17081710
With: Viscount Woodstock 1708–1709
Thomas Jervoise 1709–1710
Succeeded by
George Pitt
Sir Simeon Stewart, Bt
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Powell, Bt
Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire
1715–1717
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas Stepney, Bt
Military offices
Preceded by
The Duke of Argyll
Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards
1717–1733
Succeeded by
The Duke of Argyll
New regiment Colonel of The Duke of Bolton's Regiment of Foot
1745–1746
Regiment disbanded
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Carbery
Custos Rotulorum of Carmarthenshire
1714–1735
Succeeded by
Sir Nicholas Williams, Bt
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Mansel, Bt
Vice-Admiral of South Wales
1715–1754
Vacant
Preceded by
The Duke of Bolton
Lord Lieutenant of Dorset
1722–1733
Succeeded by
The Earl of Shaftesbury
Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire
1722–1733
Succeeded by
The Viscount Lymington
Preceded by
The Earl of Lincoln
Constable of the Tower of London
Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets

1725–1726
Succeeded by
The Viscount Lonsdale
Preceded by
The Earl Cadogan
Governor of the Isle of Wight
1726–1733
Succeeded by
The Duke of Montagu
Vacant
Title last held by
The Earl of Pembroke
Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan
1729–1754
Succeeded by
The Earl of Plymouth
Preceded by
The Earl of Pembroke
Custos Rotulorum of Glamorgan
1728–1754
Preceded by
The Duke of Montagu
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners
1740–1742
Succeeded by
The Lord Bathurst
Preceded by
George Trenchard
Vice-Admiral of Dorset
1742–1754
Vacant
Title next held by
The Duke of Bolton
Preceded by
The Viscount Lymington
Vice-Admiral and
Governor of the Isle of Wight

1742–1746
Succeeded by
The Earl of Portsmouth
Lord Lieutenant and
Vice-Admiral of Hampshire

1742–1754
Succeeded by
The Duke of Bolton
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Paulet
Duke of Bolton
1722–1754
Succeeded by
Harry Powlett
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