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Eighteenth Century British Prime Minister No.13

• Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
  • Life: 13 May, 1730 – 1 July, 1782 (d. 52)
• Administration (II): 27 March, 1782 – 1 July, 1782
  • Age in office: 51-52 years old
  • Duration of administration: 96 days
  • Political faction: Whig
  • Predecessor: Lord North
  • Successor: Earl of Shelburne

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‘PM on the Pan’ Take Aways

• Mad for horse racing: Rockingham was a horse racing fan. During his parliamentary career some thought he was more interested in his horse breeding activities than the business of the house. He was obsessed.
  • Whistlejacket: Rockingham’s beloved stallion Whistlejacket was the subject of a groundbreaking portrait by artist George Stubbs (1724-1806) who painted it against a plain background, with no rider or gear.
  • Stubbs patron: He commissioned at least a dozen paintings of horses by Stubbs, effectively becoming his patron and helping elevate him to become the most popular equine artist of the Eighteenth century.
  • Grandest stables: The stables at his gigantic home in Yorkshire, Wentworth Woodhouse, were also gigantic, said to be the grandest in England, capable of housing 200 horses!
  • St Ledger Stakes: Rockingham was a co-founder of the St Ledger Stakes, one of the five Classic flat races in Britain.
• Sixteen years in opposition: After he resigned his PM-ship in 1766, Rockingham went into a sort of Whig opposition – there was no formal ‘opposition’ as we understand it today – for the next decade and a half, with a following labelled the Rockingham Whigs (or Rockinghamites). They had aristocratic leanings (Rockingham was most certainly aristocratic) and their major objectives included monitoring the balance of power and influence between the Crown and Parliament – terms set out following the Glorious Revolution of 1689, and making peace with the newly-declared United States of America. (The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) ended on 3 September with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.)
• How he got the PM gig…again!: Rockingham succeeded Lord North, who finally left office after losing favour over his handling of the war with the American colonies. King George III brought him in to manage the peace negotiations.
• Second time Prime Minister: This was Rockingham’s second turn as Prime Minister (his first turn was from 13 July 1765 – 30 July 1766). He was 51 years of age.
• Northern and Southern Secretaries: His government dismantled the offices of Northern and Southern Secretaries and replaced them with the Foreign Office and Home Office. The Northern Secretary oversaw diplomatic relations with northern states (incl. Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire, Prussia…and Scotland) and the Southern Secretary with southern states (incl. France, Spain, Italy, American Colonies, Ireland and Ottoman empire). The Southern Secretary was the more senior of the two offices.
• Died in office (How did he leave office…): Rockingham was the third British Prime Minister to die in office (it was influenza that killed him). He was married with no children. (The other PMs who died in office were the Earl of Wilmington (70), 1743, and Henry Pelham (59), 1754).

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 Marquess of Rockingham

The Prime Ministers, Iain Dale (2020) (Rockingham article by Jesse Norman)
Marquess of Rockingham episode of Iain Dale’s Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs and Dictators podcast
UK Govt Past Prime Ministers: Marquess of Rockingham
British Prime Ministers of the 18th Century, FJC Hearnshaw (1928)
Museum of the Prime Minister
Wikipedia: Marquess of Rockingham