John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough

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His Grace
The Duke of Marlborough
KG PC
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
11 December 1876 – 21 April 1880
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterBenjamin Disraeli
Preceded byThe Duke of Abercorn
Succeeded byThe Earl Cowper
Lord President of the Council
In office
8 March 1867 – 9 December 1868
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterBenjamin Disraeli
Preceded byThe Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
Succeeded byThe Earl de Grey and Ripon
Member of the House of Lords
as Duke of Marlborough
In office
1 July 1857 – 4 July 1883
Preceded byGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough
Succeeded byGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough
Personal details
Born(1822-06-02)2 June 1822
Garboldisham Hall, Garboldisham, Norfolk, England
Died4 July 1883(1883-07-04) (aged 61)
Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1843)​
Children
Parents
Alma materOriel College, Oxford

John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC (2 June 1822 – 4 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and nobleman. He was the paternal grandfather of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

Background and education[edit]

John Spencer-Churchill was born at Garboldisham Hall, Norfolk, the eldest son of George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough, and Lady Jane Stewart, daughter of Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway. He was educated at Eton College and Oriel College, Oxford.

He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Yeomanry in 1842[1] and was promoted to captain on 22 April 1847. His father and younger brother also served in the regiment.[2]

He held 23,000 acres, mostly in Oxfordshire.[3]

Political career[edit]

Spencer-Churchill was Member of Parliament for Woodstock from 1844 to 1845 and again from 1847 to 1857. He was responsible for the "Blandford Act" of 1856, enabling populous parishes to be divided for purposes of Church work.[4] In 1857, he succeeded his father in the dukedom and entered the House of Lords.

He served under Lord Derby as Lord Steward of the Household from 1866 to 1867, and under Derby and later Benjamin Disraeli as Lord President of the Council—with a seat in the cabinet—from 1867 to 1868.He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1866, and made a Knight of the Garter in 1868. On the formation of Disraeli's second cabinet in 1874, he was offered, but declined, the Viceroyalty of Ireland.[1] He again held office under Disraeli as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1876 to 1880.[5]

Spencer-Churchill was president of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society for many years. He died suddenly of angina pectoris at 29 Berkeley Square, London, on 4 July 1883. After lying in state at Blenheim Palace, he was buried in the private chapel on 10 July.[1]

Family[edit]

On 12 July 1843, Spencer-Churchill married Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane (15 April 1822 – 16 April 1899), eldest daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane-Tempest. They had eleven children:

Marlborough died on 4 July 1883, aged 61, and was succeeded in the title by his eldest son, George. His wife died sixteen years later, on 16 April 1899, aged 77.

Portrayals in film and television[edit]

Marlborough was portrayed by Cyril Luckham in the 1974 Thames Television mini-series Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill.

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Boase 1887.
  2. ^ Arthur Sleigh, The Royal Militia and Yeomanry Cavalry Army List, April 1850, London: British Army Despatch Press, 1850/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 1991, ISBN 978-1-84342-410-9, p. 27.
  3. ^ The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
  4. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marlborough, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 737.
  5. ^ Chisholm 1911.
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Boase, George Clement (1887). "Churchill, John Winston Spencer". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 10. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links[edit]

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Woodstock
1844–1845 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Woodstock
1847–1857 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lord Steward
1866–1867 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
1867–1868 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1876–1880 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
1857–1883 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Marlborough
1857–1883 		Succeeded by
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