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Eighteenth Century British Prime Minister No.4

• Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle
  • Life: 21 July, 1693 – 17 November March, 1768
• Administration: 16 March, 1754 – 11 November, 1756
  • Age in office: 60-63 years old
  • Duration of administration: 2 years and 240 days
  • Political faction: Whig
  • Predecessor: Henry Pelham
  • Successor: Duke of Devonshire

Click to read Overview of ‘PMs on the Pan‘

‘PM on the Pan’ Take Aways

• Menorca: The Mediterranean island of Menorca, of great strategic importance to Britain, was lost to the French in 1756. The British navy’s Admiral Byng was blamed, Newcastle turned his back on him and joined the criticism which led to him being executed by firing squad. Few people came out looking good from this event. This brought his administration to an end. But before that…
• 1724-1754: Newcastle was foreign secretary and very good at it.
• 1754-1756: He became the fourth Prime Minister of the Eighteenth century at the age of 60, but he took the top job after the existing PM died in office – that was his younger brother, Henry Pelham.
• Reputation: Jeremy Black’s short biography of Newcastle suggests he was ambitious and neurotic.
• Nickname: The Museum of the Prime Minister says his nickname was Hubble Bubble, apparently reflecting neurotic and confused behaviour.
• Correspondence: Newcastle wrote a huge amount of letters which he didn’t destroy after he left office, so there’s a huge archive giving ginormous insight into his administration and this time.
• Administration highlight: Newcastle’s administration is remembered primarily for drifting into the Seven Years War 1756-1763 (in America, known as the French and Indian War).
• November 1756: Newcastle resigns as PM.

Check out my PMs on the Pan series of posts

Here’s the full list of Eighteenth century British Prime Ministers. Note there were 16 administrations, but 14 Prime Ministers and that’s because two of them held office twice (Newcastle and Rockingham). Two others held office twice (Portland and Pitt the Younger), but their second terms were in the Nineteenth century. The text in bold highlights the name they’re commonly known by.

1. 1721-1742: Sir Robert Walpole
2. 1742-1743: Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington
3. 1743-1754: Henry Pelham
4. 1754-1756: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (I)
5. 1756-1757: William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
6. 1757-1762: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (II)
7. 1762-1763: John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
8. 1763-1765: George Grenville
9. 1765-1766: Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham (I)
10. 1766-1768: William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham
11. 1768-1770: Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
12. 1770-1782: Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (Lord North)
13. 1782: Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham (II)
14. 1782-1783: William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
15. 1783: William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (I)
16. 1783-1801: William Pitt the Younger (I)

Sources for information about the Duke of Newcastle

The Prime Ministers, Iain Dale (2020) (article by Jeremy Black)
Wikipedia: Duke of Newcastle