View source for Earl of Godolphin

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Earldom of Godolphin
| image             = [[File:Coronet of a British Earl.svg|150px]]<br />[[File:Godolphin arms.svg|180px]]  
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           =  ''Gules, an eagle with two heads displayed between three fleurs-de-lys two and one argent''
| creation_date     = 29 December 1706 
| monarch           = [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]
| peerage           = [[Peerage of England]] 
| first_holder      = [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin]]
| last_holder       = [[Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin]] 
| remainder_to      = 
| subsidiary_titles = [[Baron Godolphin]] 
| status            = Extinct 
| extinction_date   = 17 January 1766
| family_seat       =  [[Godolphin House]]
| former_seat       = 
| motto             = ''Franc ha leal eto ge'' ("Frank and loyal thou art")
}}
[[File:Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|The 1st Earl of Godolphin, painted by [[Sir Godfrey Kneller]]]]
'''Earl of Godolphin''' was a title in the [[Peerage of England]]. It was created in 1706 for [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin]], the [[Lord High Treasurer]]. At the same time, he was created '''Viscount Rialton'''. In 1684 he had already been created '''Baron Godolphin''', of Rialton, also in the [[Peerage of England]]. He was a leading politician of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a [[Knight of the Garter]] and [[Isles of Scilly#Governors of Scilly|Governor of Scilly]]. Upon his death in 1712, his titles passed to his only child, [[Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin|Francis]].<ref name="burke">{{cite book |last1=Burke |first1=Bernard |title=A genealogical history of the dormant, abeyant, forfeited, and extinct peerages of the British empire |date=1866 |publisher=Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co. |pages=232–234 |url=https://archive.org/details/agenealogicalhi00burkgoog/page/n250/mode/2up/search/Godolphin |accessdate=15 February 2020}}</ref>

This 2nd Earl of Godolphin married [[Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough|Henrietta, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough]]. Their only son, [[William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford]], was childless and predeceased both his parents. In 1735 the 2nd Earl was created '''Baron Godolphin''', of Helston, in the [[Peerage of Great Britain]], with remainder, in default of male issue of his own, to the male issue of his deceased uncle [[Henry Godolphin]], [[Dean of St Paul's]]. When the 2nd Earl died in 1766, the Godolphin earldom, the Rialton viscounty, and the Godolphin barony of 1684 became extinct; but the [[Baron Godolphin|Godolphin barony of 1735]] devolved upon his cousin [[Francis Godolphin, 2nd Baron Godolphin]].<ref name="burke"/>

The ancestral seat of the Godolphin family was [[Godolphin Estate|Godolphin House]] near [[Helston]] in [[Cornwall]]. The family took a close interest in mining and a number of mines were founded on their land. At [[Wheal Vor]] they experimented with several new inventions (for instance, the [[Newcomen engine]] in 1715) to improve the working of their mines.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Earl
|first=Bryan
|title=Cornish Mining: The Techniques of Metal Mining in the West of England, Past and Present
|publisher=Cornish Hillside Publications
|location=St Austell
|edition=2nd
|year=1994
|page=38
|isbn=0-9519419-3-3}}</ref>

==Earls of Godolphin (1706)==
*[[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin]] (1645–1712)
*[[Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin]] (1678–1766)
**[[William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford]] (c. 1700–1731)

==Family tree==
{{Duke of Leeds family tree}}

==See also==
* [[Baron Godolphin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godolphin}}
[[Category:Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Earls of Godolphin| ]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1706]]
[[Category:Cornish nobility]]