Harley's Dozen

Harley's Dozen were twelve new peerages created in December 1711 by the British Tory government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated House of Lords.[1] This came at a time when the government were negotiating peace terms to end the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession, which were unlikely to pass the Lords where opposition Whigs and some Tories had joined together to block them under the slogan "No Peace Without Spain".

Robert Harley in 1711.

Two of the men, Lord Bruce and Lord Compton, were heirs to existing earldoms and were advanced to the house in their own right using their father's baronies. Others included Harley's son-in-law George Hay, George Granville, Thomas Mansel, Thomas Trevor, Thomas Foley all of whom were close political allies of the First Minister.[2] Most controversial was that of Samuel Masham, the husband of Queen Anne's favourite Abigail Hill, a cousin and ally of Harley. While Bruce's letters patent were dated 31 December 1711, the other creations all took place on the subsequent day 1 January 1712. When Parliament resumed on 2 January they took their seats. Because their numbers resembled that of a jury, the Whig Lord Wharton mockingly asked if they were going to speak individually or elect a foreman to do so.

Despite the controversy Harley was able to subsequently pass the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. However, the narrow Tory majority in the Lords disappeared in 1714 following the Hanoverian Succession when the Tory government was replaced by George I.[3] Harley's alleged abuse of royal power and the violation of the constitution were part of the articles of impeachment against him in 1715.[4]

In 1719 partly in a response to Harley's earlier creations, the Whig government of James Stanhope proposed a Peerage Bill which would have largely limited further expansion of the House of Lords. However, this was defeated and the size of the Lords continued to grow during the eighteenth century.