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George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough

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For other people named George Spencer-Churchill, seeGeorge Spencer-Churchill (disambiguation).

His Grace

The Duke of Marlborough

FSA
PredecessorGeorge Spencer
SuccessorGeorge Spencer-Churchill
Born(1766-03-06)6 March 1766
Died5 March 1840(1840-03-05)(aged 73)
Blenheim Palace,
Woodstock,Oxfordshire
United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Lady Susan Stewart
Issue
FatherGeorge Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
MotherLady Caroline Russell

George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of MarlboroughFSA(6 March 1766 – 5 March 1840), styledMarquess of Blandforduntil 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books.

He was the first one to specifically use the surname "Spencer-Churchill"; Churchill was the name ofthe first Duke.

Background and education[edit]

Spencer-Churchill was the eldest son ofGeorge Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough,andLady Caroline Russell,daughter ofJohn Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.Francis Spencer, 1st Baron Churchill,was his younger brother. He was educated atEtonbetween 1776 and 1783 and atChrist Church, Oxford,between 1784 and 1786, where he graduated on 9 December 1786 as aBachelor of Arts,later proceeding automatically toMaster of Arts.He was later given the honorary degree ofDoctor of Laws(D.C.L.) from the University on 20 June 1792.[1]

Career[edit]

Lord Blandford representedOxfordshirein parliament as a Whig between 1790 and 1796[2]andTregonyas a Tory between 1802 and 1806.[3]From 1804 to 1806, he served underWilliam Pitt the Youngeras aLord of the Treasury.[1]The latter year he was summoned to theHouse of Lordsthrough awrit of accelerationin his father's barony of Spencer of Wormleighton.[4]During this time, he lived inBerkshire,atRemenhamandHurst.From 1798, he resided atWhiteknights ParkatEarley,nearReading,where he became famous for his extravagant collecting of antiquities, especially books.[5]He was invested as a Fellow of theSociety of Antiquaries(FSA) on 8 December 1803.[1]

Although the Marquess was born and baptised with the name of George Spencer, soon after succeeding to theDukedom of Marlborough,he had it legally changed on 26 May 1817 to George Spencer-Churchill.[6][1]This illustrious name did not, however, save him from his mounting debts, and his estates were seized and his collections sold. He retired toBlenheim Palace,where he lived the remainder of his life off a small annuity granted to thefirst DukebyQueen Anne.[7]

Blenheim Palace,seats of Duke of Marlborough.

The diaristHarriet Arbuthnotwrote one of her most scathing comments about the Duke following a visit to Blenheim in 1824:

The family of the great General is, however, gone sadly to decay, and are but a disgrace to the illustrious name of Churchill, which they have chosen this moment to resume. The present Duke is overloaded with debt, is very little better than a common swindler and lets everything about Blenheim. People may shoot and fish at so much per hour and it has required all the authority of aCourt of Chanceryto prevent his cutting down all the trees in the park.[8]

Family[edit]

Marlborough marriedLady Susan Stewart(1767–1841), daughter ofJohn Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway,on 15 September 1791. They had four children:

Lady Susan Stewart, Duchess of Marlborough

Winston Churchillwas the duke's great-great-grandson.

Illegitimate children:

Illegitimate children:

  • Ann Spencer (1802-1880)

Illegitimate children by Matilda Glover (1802–1876)[10]

  • Georgina Matilda (1819–1898)
  • Caroline Augusta (1821–1905)
  • Elizabeth (Ellen) (1823–1878), married novelistRobert Mackenzie Daniel(1813–1847), and became a novelist herself.[11]
  • Henry Spencer (1831–1831)
  • George (?)
  • Henry (?)

The Duke died in March 1840, aged 73, at Blenheim Palace and was buried there in the vault beneath the chapel on 13 March 1840. His eldest sonGeorge, Marquess of Blandford,succeeded in the title. The Duchess of Marlborough died atPark Lane,Mayfair,London, in April 1841, aged 73.[1]

Literature[edit]

  • Mary Soames;The Profligate Duke: George Spencer Churchill, Fifth Duke of Marlborough, and His Duchess(1987)

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefthepeerage George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
  2. ^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O" (part 1)
  3. ^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
  4. ^"No. 15899".The London Gazette.15 March 1806. p. 342.
  5. ^Lee, Stephen M. "Spencer, George".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26123.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  6. ^"No. 17256".The London Gazette.3 June 1817. p. 1277.
  7. ^The Profligate Duke
  8. ^Blenheim: The Grandest and Most Famous House in EnglandArchived28 September 2011 at theWayback Machineretrieved 15 May 2007.
  9. ^Burke, Bernard(1903). Ashworth P. Burke (ed.).A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage(65th ed.). London: Harrison and Sons. p. 1020.
  10. ^Family Tree in "The profligate duke" byMary Soames
  11. ^Elizabeth DanielAt the Circulating Library: a Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901. Retrieved 25 December 2017.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament forOxfordshire
1790–1796
With:Lord Charles Spencer 		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament forTregony
1802–1804
With:Charles Cockerell 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Marlborough
1817–1840 		Succeeded by
Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
(writ of acceleration)
1806–1840
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