Henry Pelham

The Right Honourable Henry Pelham
3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office 27 August 1743 – 6 March 1754
Monarch	George II
Preceded by	The Earl of Wilmington
Succeeded by	The Duke of Newcastle
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 12 December 1743 – 6 March 1754
Monarch	George II
Preceded by	Samuel Sandys
Succeeded by	William Lee
Personal details
Born	25 September 1694 Laughton, Sussex, England
Died	6 March 1754 (aged 59) St James's, Middlesex, England
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Catherine
Children	4
Alma mater	Hart Hall, Oxford[1]
Religion	Church of England

Henry Pelham PC (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, the Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, who succeeded Henry as Prime Minister. He is generally considered to have been Britain's third Prime Minister after Sir Robert Walpole and the Earl of Wilmington.

Career

For the first year of Pelham's premiership, real power was held by the Secretary of State for the Northern Department, Lord Carteret, who headed the Carteret Ministry (Pelham was First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons). Thereafter, he shared power with his brother, the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This period was relatively uneventful in terms of domestic affairs (Great Britain fought in several wars, however). Upon his death, his brother took full control of the ministry.

Early life

Pelham, Newcastle's younger brother, was a younger son of the Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham and his wife, the former Lady Grace Holles, daughter of Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare and Grace Pierrepont. He was educated at Westminster School and Hart Hall, Oxford. Hertford College Oxford, the present-day incarnation of Hart Hall, still honours him in the title of its most prestigious drinking club, the Sir Henry Pelham Gentlemen's Sporting Society. As a volunteer he served in Dormer's regiment at the Battle of Preston in 1715, spent some time on the Continent, and in 1717 entered Parliament for Seaford in Sussex which he represented until 1722.

Pelham, c. 1720

Government

Through strong family influence, and the recommendation of Robert Walpole, he was chosen in 1721 as Lord of the Treasury. The following year he was returned for Sussex county. In 1724 he entered the ministry as Secretary at War, but this office he exchanged in 1730 for the more lucrative one of Paymaster of the Forces. He made himself conspicuous by his support of Walpole on the question of the excise. He, Newcastle, and the Prime Minister would often meet at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, where they would draw up much of the country's policy. These meetings became known as the Norfolk Congress. With Walpole, he served as a founding governor of the popular charity the Foundling Hospital when it opened its doors in 1739.

Prime minister

In 1742 a union of parties resulted in the formation of an administration in which Pelham became Prime Minister the following year, with the offices of First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons. The following year Lord Carteret, who with responsibility for foreign affairs was close to King George II, was forced out of the ministry and Pelham was regarded as the leading figure, but rank and influence made his brother very powerful in the Cabinet. In spite of a genuine attachment, there were occasional disputes between them, which led to further difficulties until finally in November 1744 Pelham bluntly told the king that either Carteret step down, or the Pelhamites would, leaving His Majesty without a government.

The Broad Bottomed Administration

Being strongly in favour of peace, Pelham carried on the War of the Austrian Succession with languor and indifferent success, but the country, wearied of the interminable struggle, was disposed to acquiesce in his foreign policy almost without a murmur. King George II, thwarted in his own favourite schemes, made overtures in February 1746 to Lord Bath, but his purpose was upset by the resignation of the two Pelhams (Henry and Newcastle), who, after a two-day hiatus in which Bath and Carteret (now earl Granville) proved unable to form a ministry, resumed office at the king's request. One of their terms was to insist that the king should have 'total confidence' in a ministry; rather than partial grudging acceptance of the Whigs.

Pelham's brother the Duke of Newcastle with whom he enjoyed a prodigious political partnership, despite their occasional personal disagreements. Newcastle ultimately succeeded him as Prime Minister in 1754.

The Augustan era was essential to the development of prime ministerial power as being entirely dependant on a Commons majority, rather than royal prerogative interventions. While the king struggled with his headstrong son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, his son's uncertain constitutional position was high in the Leicester House party set. In 1748 Frederick, a Tory, planned to bring down the Pelhamites at a general election due the following year. Prime Minister called an early poll in 1748 by asking the king to dissolve parliament in 1747. The prince and his father, the king grew to hate one another with unspeakable animosity. But one consequence was a closer relationship between Henry Pelham and the Sovereign. When he finally died in 1754, the King remarked "Now I shall have no more peace." Peace had been signed in 1748 leading inexorably to a number of cost-cutting budgetary measures.

The Army and Navy spending shrunk from £12 m to £7 million per annum. Pelham promised to reduce interest rates through introduction of a balancing act measure from 4% to 3% by 1757. He also assisted a fund to reduce the National Debt. In 1749, the Consolidation Act was passed, reorganising the Royal Navy. On 20 March 1751, the British calendar was reorganised as well (New Year's Day became 1 January); Britain would adopt the Gregorian calendar one year later. In 1752 he was able to reduce the land tax from 4 s. to 2 s in the pound (an effective reduction from 20% to 10%).

One social consequence of the press gangs going to sea in an expansive navy fleet was to the growth of industrial processes necessary for warfare. In the ports the fermentation of gin demonstrated clearly by engravers such as Hogarth in "Gin Lane" the deparavity issuing forth from the demon drink. Preachers "fire and brimsone" in favour of temperance, and drunken soldiers and sailors persuaded the administration to introduce the Gin Acts. The 1751 act was the last of four that had largely failed to prevent serious social unrest, including riots in London, reduced the number licensed dealers and sellers of liquor. By restricting supply the consumption dropped and price fell helping to manage the problem.^[2]

Two of Pelham's final acts were the Jew Act of 1753, which allowed Jews to become naturalized by application to Parliament, and the Marriage Act of 1753, which enumerated the minimum age of consent for marriage. Upon his death, his brother (the aforementioned Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne) took over government.

Achievements

His very defects were among the chief elements of Pelham's success, for one with a strong personality, moderate amount self-respect, or haughty conceptions of statesmanship could not have restrained the discordant elements of the cabinet for any length of time the way he did. Moreover, he possessed tact and a thorough acquaintance with the forms of the House of Commons. Whatever quarrels or insubordination might have existed within the cabinet, they never broke out into open revolt. His financial policy was worthy of praise, especially his plans for the reduction of the national debt and the simplification and consolidation of different government branches related to this debt.

Personal life

Pelham had married Lady Catherine Manners, daughter of the John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland, in 1726. They had four daughters:

• Catherine (1727–1760), married 1744 Henry Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln, who by this marriage subsequently became the 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
• Frances (1728–1824), died unmarried
• Grace (1735–1777), married 1752 the Hon. Lewis Watson, who in 1760 was created Baron Sondes
• Mary (1739–1???), died unmarried

When Pelham was elevated to Prime Minister, he began construction of a house located at 22 Arlington Street in St. James's, a district of the City of Westminster in central London. He hired the architect William Kent to build the structure in two phases.^[3] Kent died in 1748^[4] and the work was completed by completed by Stephen Wright^[5] in 1754.^[3]

Pelham was buried in All Saints' Church, Laughton, East Sussex.^[6]

Pelham's personal papers were inherited by his son-in-law and now form part of the Newcastle (Clumber) Collection held at the department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham. Pelham was the first British Prime Minister who never acceded to the peerage in his lifetime.

Titles from birth to death

• Mr. Henry Pelham (1694–1706)
• The Hon. Henry Pelham (1706–1717)
• The Hon. Henry Pelham, MP (1717–1725)
• The Rt. Hon. Henry Pelham, MP (1725–1754)

In popular culture

Pelham was portrayed by actor Roger Allam in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

References

1. Famous Oxonians: British Prime Ministers
2. Brumwell, p.159
3. "About this project". Architecture. London, England: The Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
4. "William Kent". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. England: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
5. "Location Wimbourne House, 22, Arlington Street SW1". Historic England. London. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
6. PelODNB.

Bibliography

• Wilkes, John (1964). A Whig in Power: The Political Career of Henry Pelham. London.
• Some material has been adapted from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Kulisheck, A. J. "Pelham, Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21789. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.); cited as PelODNB.

External links

• More about Henry Pelham on the Downing Street website.
• Biography of Henry Pelham, with links to online catalogues, on the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham
•  "Pelham, Henry (1695?-1754)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.