Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham

Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham PC (24 October 1675 – 14 September 1749) was a British soldier and politician. He was known for his ownership of and modifications to the estate at Stowe and for serving as a political mentor to the young William Pitt.

[edit] Early life

Temple was born to a Whig family in the family estate of Stowe, located in Buckinghamshire. After attending Eton College and Cambridge University, Temple entered the military; however, at the age of 21, he inherited his father's baronetcy.

[edit] Military career

By the age of 26, he was a Lieutenant Colonel, and he became a Lieutenant General at 34, which was an extremely young age. He had especially distinguished himself, like many other famous officers, during the Duke of Marlborough's campaigns in the War of the Spanish Succession, especially during the Siege of Lille in 1708.

[edit] Post-war

Cobham's estate at Stowe House

He married heiress Anne Halsey, whose wealthy ancestry allowed him to extensively work on the estate of Stowe, while buying off two cousins to keep them from inheriting the estate. When King George I ascended to the throne, he awarded Temple various peerages, first Baron Cobham in 1714, then the Viscounty of Cobham and Baron Cobham (with special remainder) in 1718.

In 1719 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance he led a force of 4,000 troops on a raid on the Spanish coastline which captured Vigo and occupied it for ten days before withdrawing.^[1]

Temple's socioeconomic position moved high with the receipt of these titles and monies. From 1711, he made drastic changes to the estate of Stowe. As he made extensive renovations to the estate, he called upon the royal gardener, Charles Bridgeman, and his friend, John Vanbrugh, a skilled architect. When Vanbrugh died in 1726 he was replaced by another skilled architect, James Gibbs.

[edit] Politics

A determined Whig, he had supportered the government of Sir Robert Walpole since it had come to power in 1721 and generally voted with them in the House of Lords. Meanwhile, Cobham had become the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. However, when he began disagreeing with Prime Minister Robert Walpole, he moved to the opposition party, causing his replacement by the Duke of Marlborough son of his former commander. Nevertheless, he was ultimately given the rank of field marshal on 28 March 1742.

[edit] Opposition

Cobham was a mentor and Patron to a number of young Whigs including William Pitt. Collectively they became known as Cobham's Cubs.

By 1734, Cobham had gone from government to opposition and had formed a faction in the Whig Party to oppose the Excise Bill of Robert Walpole. Cobham provided patronage the rising star of the Whig Party, William Pitt, securing him a cornet's commission in his regiment. The group of Cobham's young supporters were known as the 'Cobham Cubs' and included George Grenville and George Lyttelton, as well as Pitt. After Walpole's fall as Prime Minister in 1742, they turned their attacks on his replacement - a government led by Lord Wilmington and Carteret.

In 1749 Cobham died. Most of his followers, now led by Pitt and his son, had moved to support the Ministry of Henry Pelham. The group would become the nucleas of what was known as the 'Pitt Faction' which followed Pitt when he entered government as Secretary of State in 1756. Another of Cobham's protege's Grenville, rose to be Prime Minister in 1763.

[edit] Other Interests

Cobham was also involved in the 1739 creation of the nation's first childcare charity, the Foundling Hospital, for which he was a founding governor.

Cobham was admired by Alexander Pope, and Cobham's gardens were praised by Pope in his Epistle to Burlington as a wonder. Pope wrote a "moral epistle" to Cobham in 1733 and published it in 1734 as The Epistle to Cobham. Pope praises Cobham as a practical man of the world whose "ruling passion" was service to his country, whatever the cost.

[edit] References

1. ^ Rodger p.229

[edit] Bibliography

• Rodger, N.A.M. Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Penguin Books, 2006

• Permanent Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire