Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers

Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC (ca. 1654 – 18 August 1712) was the second son of Thomas, 3rd Earl; and after the death about 1680 of his elder brother Thomas, styled Viscount Colchester, he was designated by that title until he succeeded to the peerage.

Early in life Richard Savage acquired notoriety by his dare-devilry and dissipation, and he was, too, one of the most conspicuous rakes in the society of the period. After becoming Lord Colchester on his brother's death he entered Parliament as member for Wigan in 1681 and procured a commission in the Horseguards under Sarsfield in 1686. He was the first nobleman and one of the first persons who joined the Prince of Orange on his landing in England, and he accompanied William to London.

Obtaining promotion in the army, he served with distinction in the Williamite war in Ireland and in the Netherlands. and was made Major-General in 1698 and Lieutenant-General in 1702. In 1694 he succeeded his father as 4th Earl Rivers. He served abroad in 1702 under Marlborough, who formed a high opinion of his military capacity and who recommended him for the command of a force for an invasion of France in 1706. The expedition was eventually diverted to Portugal, and Rivers, finding himself superseded before anything was accomplished, returned to England, where Marlborough procured for him a command in the cavalry.

The favour shown him by Marlborough did not deter Rivers from paying court to the Tories when it became evident that the Whig ascendancy was waning, and his appointment as constable of the Tower in 1710 on the recommendation of Harley and without Marlborough's knowledge was the first unmistakable intimation to the Whigs of their impending fall. Rivers now met with marked favour at court, being entrusted with a delicate mission to the Elector of Hanover in 1710, which was followed by his appointment in 1711 as Master-General of the Ordnance, a post hitherto held by Marlborough himself.

Swift, who was intimate with him, speaks of him as an arrant knave; but the dean may have been disappointed at being unmentioned in Rivers's will, for he made a fierce comment on the earl's bequests to his mistresses and his neglect of his friends. In June 1712 Rivers was promoted to the rank of general, and became commander-in-chief in England; he died a few weeks later, on 18 August 1712.

He married in 1679 Penelope, daughter of Roger Downes, by whom he had a daughter Elizabeth, who married the 4th Earl of Barrymore. He also left several illegitimate children, two of whom were by Anne, countess of Macclesfield. Rivers' intrigue with Lady Macclesfield was the cause of that lady's divorce from her husband in 1701. Richard Savage, the poet, claimed identity with Lady Macclesfield's son by Lord Rivers, but though his story was accepted by Dr Johnson and was generally believed, the evidence in its support is faulty in several respects. As Rivers left no legitimate son the earldom passed on his death to his cousin, John Savage, grandson of the 2nd earl, and a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, on whose death, about 1735, all the family titles became extinct.

See also

List of deserters from James II to William of Orange

References

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Parliament of England
Preceded by
The Earl of Ancram
William Banks
Member of Parliament for Wigan
16811685
With: The Earl of Ancram
Succeeded by
The Earl of Ancram
Lord Charles Murray
Preceded by
Sir Richard Atherton
Thomas Legh
Member of Parliament for Liverpool
16891694
With: Thomas Norris
Succeeded by
Thomas Norris
Thomas Brotherton
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir John Fenwick, Bt
Colonel of Viscount Colchester's Regiment of Horse
16881692
Succeeded by
The Lord Berkeley of Stratton
Preceded by
The Duke of Marlborough
Captain and Colonel of the
3rd Troop of Horse Guards

16921703
Succeeded by
The Earl of Arran
Preceded by
The Duke of Marlborough
Master-General of the Ordnance
1712
Succeeded by
The Duke of Hamilton
Preceded by
The Duke of Northumberland
Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards
1712
Succeeded by
The Earl of Peterborough
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Warrington
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire
16951703
Succeeded by
The Viscount Cholmondeley
Preceded by
The Earl of Macclesfield
Vice-Admiral of Cheshire
17021703
Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire
1702
Succeeded by
The 9th Earl of Derby
Vice-Admiral of Lancashire
1702
Succeeded by
The 10th Earl of Derby
Preceded by
The Lord Guilford
Lord Lieutenant of Essex
17051712
Succeeded by
The Viscount Bolingbroke
Preceded by
Sir Charles Barrington, Bt
Vice-Admiral of Essex
17051712
Succeeded by
Sir Charles Barrington, Bt
Preceded by
The Earl of Essex
Constable of the Tower
Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets

17101712
Succeeded by
The Earl of Northampton
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Thomas Savage
Earl Rivers
16941712
Succeeded by
John Savage
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