Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth
Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth PC (pronounced "Boscowen")[1] (/bɒsˈkoʊ.ən/ bos-KOH-ən;[2] ca. 1680 – 25 October 1734) was a Cornish Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for Cornish constituencies from 1702 until 1720 when he was raised to the peerage.[3]
Origins
Boscawen was the eldest son of Edward Boscawen (1628–1685), MP and merchant, by his wife Jael Godolphin, daughter of Sir Francis Godolphin (d.1667). The Boscawens are an ancient Cornish family. His grandfather Hugh Boscawen (fl.1620) of Tregothnan was thirteenth in descent from a certain Henry de Boscawen.[4] He derived a huge income from his copper mines at Chacewater and Gwennap where he was the principal landowner.[5] The Chacewater mine, now known as Wheal Busy, was located in what was known at the time as "the richest square mile on Earth". During its life it produced over 100,000 tons of copper ore, and 27,000 tons of arsenic.[6] His uncles Hugh Boscawen (1625–1701) and Charles Boscawen (1627–1689) were also MPs in Cornwall.
Education
He matriculated as fellow-commoner at King's College, Cambridge in 1697.[7]
Career
Boscawen had absolute control of the parliamentary representation of the boroughs of Tregony and Truro, and he exercised considerable influence on the elections for Penryn. He was elected Member of Parliament for Tregony from 1702 to 1705, for the county of Cornwall from 1705 to 1710, for Truro from 1710 to 1713, and for Penryn from 1713 until June 1720. In 1720 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Boscawen and Viscount Falmouth, having been for some time discontented at the delay in his advancement to that position. Both before and after the accession of George I he spent large sums of money in support of Whig principles, and was rewarded on his party's triumph by many valuable offices.
Boscawen was a groom of the bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark, steward of the duchy of Cornwall and Lord Warden of the Stannaries in 1708, Comptroller of the Household from 1714 to 1720, and joint vice-treasurer of Ireland from 1717 until a few months before his death.
Marriage & progeny
Boscawen married on 23 April 1700 in Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, Charlotte Godfrey elder daughter and coheir of Colonel Charles Godfrey, master of the jewel office and his wife Arabella Churchill. Charlotte died on 22 March 1754, and was also buried at Penkivel. She had wanted to become a lady of the bedchamber to the wife of King George II, and tried to bribe Lady Sundon (Charlotte Clayton Sundon) into obtaining the post for her.[8] Their progeny included:
- Anne (1703/4-1749), second daughter who married Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet. Her children included: Cecil Bisshopp, 12th Baron Zouche, Harriett Lady Dunce, Anne wife of Hon. Robert Brudenell whose son was 6th Earl of Cardigan; Charlotte Lady Maynard, Frances Lady Warren Maid of honour to Queen Charlotte 1761-4, Catherine Countess of Liverpool, Baroness Hawkesbury among others.
- Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth (1707–1782), eldest son
- Edward Boscawen (1711–1761), MP, PC, Admiral, 3rd son.
- George Boscawen (1712–1775), MP, 4th son
- John Boscawen (1714–1767), MP, 5th son
Death & burial
Boscawen died suddenly at Trefusis, in Cornwall, aged 54, and was buried at St Michael Penkivel.
See also
- A. A. Hanham, ‘Boscawen, Hugh, first Viscount Falmouth (c.1680–1734)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 27 Aug 2007.
References
- ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968
- ^ Miller, G. M. (1971). BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names. Oxford University Press. p. 18.
- ^ Courtney, William Prideaux (1886). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- ^ Foster, Joseph (1882). Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of the British Empire for 1882. Vol. 1. London. p. 273.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Kain, Roger; Ravenhill, William, eds. (1999). Historical atlas of South-West England. University of Exeter Press. p. 293. ISBN 9780859894340.
- ^ "Wheal Busy (Chacewater Mine)". Cornwall in Focus. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "Boscawen, Hugh (BSCN697H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Cruickshanks, Eveline (1970). "Boscawen, Hugh (c.1680-1734)". In Sedgwick, Romney (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754. London: HMSO. ISBN 9780118800983.
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- 1680s births
- 1734 deaths
- British MPs 1707–08
- British MPs 1708–10
- British MPs 1710–13
- British MPs 1713–15
- British MPs 1715–22
- Politicians from Cornwall
- Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
- Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
- Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
- Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
- Whig (British political party) MPs
- Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain
- Ambassadors of Great Britain to Poland
- Boscawen family
- English MPs 1702–05
- English MPs 1705–07
- Alumni of King's College, Cambridge