Lord Charles Spencer

The Right Honourable
Lord Charles Spencer
PC
The Right Honourable Lord Charles Spencer PC
	Portrait of Lord Charles Spencer, by Joshua Reynolds
Joint Postmaster General
	In office; 1801–1806 Serving with The Lord Auckland (1801–1804); The Duke of Montrose (1804–1806);
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	Henry Addington; William Pitt the Younger;
Preceded by	The Lord Auckland; Earl Gower;
Succeeded by	The Earl of Carysfort; The Earl of Buckinghamshire;
Master of the Mint
	In office; 1806–1806
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Earl Bathurst
Succeeded by	Charles Bathurst
Personal details
Born	31 March 1740
Died	16 June 1820 (aged 80)
Nationality	British
Spouse	Mary Beauclerk (m. 1762; died 1812)
Children	Robert Spencer; John Spencer; William Robert Spencer
Parent(s)	Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough; Hon. Elizabeth Trevor

Lord Charles Spencer PC (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820) was a British courtier and politician from the Spencer family who sat in the House of Commons between 1761 and 1801.

Early life

Spencer was born on 31 March 1740. He was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, and the Hon. Elizabeth Trevor, daughter of Thomas Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor. George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, was his elder brother.^[1]

Career

Spencer sat as Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire from 1761 to 1790 and 1796 to 1801^[2] and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1763.^[3]

He served as Comptroller of the Household from 1763 to 1765, as a Junior Lord of the Admiralty from 1768 to 1779 and as Treasurer of the Chamber from 1779 to 1782, when that sinecure post was abolished. He was later Postmaster General from 1801 to 1806 and Master of the Mint in 1806. From 1806 until his death, he was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to George III.^[4]

Personal life

Portrait of Lady Charles Spencer by Sir Joshua Reynolds

On 2 October 1762, Spencer was married to Lady Mary Beauclerk (1743–1812), a daughter of Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere and the sister of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans.^[5] Together, they had three sons:^[6]

Robert Spencer (1764–1831), who married Henrietta (née Fawkener) Bouverie, a daughter of Sir Everard Fawkener,^[7] and widow of Hon. Edward Bouverie, in 1811.^[8]
John Spencer (1767–1831), MP for Wilton who married his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Spencer, a daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough.^[9]
William Robert Spencer (1769–1834), who married Countess Susan von Jenison-Walworth.^[10]

Lady Spencer died in January 1812 aged 68. Charles survived her by eight years and died in June 1820, aged 80.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Cannon, John (2010) [2004]. "Spencer, Charles". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26118. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "SPENCER, Lord Charles (1740–1820), of Wheatfield, Oxon." History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^ "No. 10306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1763. p. 1.
^ "Gentlemen of the Bedchamber 1660–1702, 1714–1837". British History Online. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Burkes Peerage (1939 edition), s.v Marlborough, Duke
^ "SPENCER, Lord Charles (1740–1820), of Wheatfield, Oxon." History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^ Stephens, Frederic George (1884). English Children, as Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds: An Essay on Some of the Characteristics of Reynolds as a Painter, with Especial Reference to His Portraiture of Children. Seeley, Jackson and Halliday. p. 19. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
^ Troide, Lars E. (1 February 1991). Early Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney, Volume 2. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-7735-8510-2. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
^ "SPENCER, John (1767-1831), of Wheatfield, Oxon". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
^ Hicks, Carola (19 August 2014). Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of an Earlier Lady Diana Spencer. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4668-7864-8. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Viscount Parker Sir Edward Turner, Bt	Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire 1761–1790 With: Sir James Dashwood, Bt 1761–1768 The Viscount Wenman 1768–1790	Succeeded by The Marquess of Blandford The Viscount Wenman
Preceded by The Marquess of Blandford The Viscount Wenman	Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire 1796–1801 With: John Fane	Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain	Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire 1801 With: John Fane	Succeeded by Lord Francis Spencer John Fane
Political offices
Preceded by George Onslow	Out-Ranger of Windsor Forest 1763	Succeeded by Benjamin Bathurst
Preceded by George Onslow	Surveyor of Gardens and Waters 1763	Succeeded by John Marshe Dickinson
Preceded by Humphry Morice	Comptroller of the Household 1763–1765	Succeeded by Thomas Pelham
Preceded by George Rice	Treasurer of the Chamber 1779–1782	Office abolished
Preceded by The Lord Auckland Earl Gower	Postmaster General 1801–1806 With: The Lord Auckland 1801–1804 The Duke of Montrose 1804–1806	Succeeded by The Earl of Carysfort The Earl of Buckinghamshire
Preceded by The Earl Bathurst	Master of the Mint 1806	Succeeded by Charles Bathurst
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Duke of Marlborough	Senior Privy Counsellor 1817–1820	Succeeded by The Lord Carteret

[ODNB-1] Cannon, John (2010) [2004]. "Spencer, Charles". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26118. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[HOP-2] "SPENCER, Lord Charles (1740–1820), of Wheatfield, Oxon." History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.

[3] "No. 10306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1763. p. 1.

[4] "Gentlemen of the Bedchamber 1660–1702, 1714–1837". British History Online. Retrieved 29 November 2017.

[5] Burkes Peerage (1939 edition), s.v Marlborough, Duke

[LCSHOP-6] "SPENCER, Lord Charles (1740–1820), of Wheatfield, Oxon." History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.

[Stephens1884-7] Stephens, Frederic George (1884). English Children, as Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds: An Essay on Some of the Characteristics of Reynolds as a Painter, with Especial Reference to His Portraiture of Children. Seeley, Jackson and Halliday. p. 19. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

[Troide1991-8] Troide, Lars E. (1 February 1991). Early Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney, Volume 2. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-7735-8510-2. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

[JShop-9] "SPENCER, John (1767-1831), of Wheatfield, Oxon". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

[Hicks2014-10] Hicks, Carola (19 August 2014). Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of an Earlier Lady Diana Spencer. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4668-7864-8. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

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Houses of Lancaster and York (1399–1485)	Richard Garner (1411–1414) Sir Lewis John (1413–1414) Sir Lewis John (1418–1420) Bartholomew Goldbeter (1421–1432) John Paddesley (1435–1446) Robert Manfield (1446–1459) Sir Richard Tonstall (1459–1461) William Hastings (1461–April 1483) Sir Robert Brackenbury (April–June 1483) Sir Robert Brackenbury (June 1483–1485)
House of Tudor (1485–1603)	Sir Giles Daubeney (1485–1490) Sir Bartholomew Reed and Robert Fenrother (1492–1498) 4th Baron Mountjoy (1509–1534) Ralph Rowlet/Sir Martin Bowes (1543) Sir Martin Bowes (1544) Sir John York (1547–1553) Thomas Egerton (1553–1555) Sir Thomas Stanley (1560–1571) John Lonyson (1571–1582) Sir Richard Martin (1582–1603)
House of Stuart (1603–1649)	Sir Richard Martin (1603–1609) Sir Edward Villiers (1617–1623) Sir Randal Cranfield (1623–1626) Sir Robert Harley (1626–1635) Sir Ralph Freeman/Sir Thomas Aylesbury (1635–1643) Sir Robert Harley (1643–1649)
Interregnum (1649–1660)	Aaron Guerdon (1649–1653)
House of Stuart (1660–1714)	Sir Ralph Freeman (1660–1662) Sir Ralph Freeman/Henry Slingsby (1662–1667) Henry Slingsby (1667–1680) Sir John Buckworth/Charles Duncombe/James Hoare (1680–1684) Thomas Neale/Charles Duncombe/James Hoare (1684–1686) Thomas Neale (1686–1699) Sir Isaac Newton (1700–1714)
House of Hanover (1714–1901)	Sir Isaac Newton (1714–1727) John Conduitt (1727–1737) Hon. Richard Arundell (1737–1745) 3rd Viscount Chetwynd (1745–1769) 1st Earl Cadogan (1769–1784) 3rd Earl of Effingham (1784–1789) 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1789–1790) 2nd Marquess Townshend (1790–1794) Sir George Yonge (1794–1799) 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1799–1801) 2nd Baron Arden (1801–1802) John Smyth (1802–1804) 3rd Earl Bathurst (1804–1806) Lord Charles Spencer (1806) Charles Bathurst (1806–1807) 3rd Earl Bathurst (1807–1812) 2nd Earl of Clancarty (1812–1814) 3rd Earl of Mornington (1814–1823) 1st Baron Wallace (1823–1827) George Tierney (1827–1828) John Charles Herries (1828–1830) 1st Earl of Auckland (1830–1834) 1st Baron Dunfermline (1834–1835) 1st Baron Ashburton (1835) 1st Baron Taunton (1835–1841) William Ewart Gladstone (1841–1845) Sir George Clerk (1845–1846) Richard Lalor Sheil (1846–1850) Sir John Herschel (1850–1855) Thomas Graham (1855–1869) Vacant (1869–1879)
Office abolished in 1879 with duties given to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

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