LANSDOWNE (William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, 1737-1805, Prime Minister)

Fine Autograph Letter Signed to an unnamed correspondent saying that he is “very glad to hear that a most worthy Father & Mother with 7 or 8 children have escaped all the perils by sea & land... I must do justice to the inhabitants of Tenby to say that we found them in great anxiety - the least you and Mrs Smith can do is to return there next summer & make good the engagements you have fail’d to fulfil this year, among which I hope Bowood will not be omitted a second time. I have had some indirect communication about Dr Crawford’s Epitaph, & am taught to expect that I shall find a Lady at Bath, with whom I can finally settle it - my own opinion is decidedly in favour of the simplest but I know by experience how difficult it is to persuade my family to adopt that taste, and I shall certainly conform to their wish. All accounts both foreign & domestic preclude all idea of peace on the part of this country, as long as the War can be protracted. It is provoking that the people of this country should be branded with the reputation of boundless avarice & ambition, when we all know that the War is contrived from quite different motives. Miss Vernon & Miss Fox desire their compliments to Mrs Smith...”, 2 sides 4to, Bowood Park, 26th October

Lansdowne was an Anglo-Irish Whig statesman. In March 1782, following the downfall of the North ministry, Shelburne agreed to take office under Lord Rockingham on condition that the King would recognise the United States. Following the sudden and unexpected death of Lord Rockingham on 1st July 1782, Shelburne succeeded him as Prime Minister. Shelburne's appointment by the King provoked Charles James Fox and his supporters, including Edmund Burke, to resign their posts on 4th July 1782. Burke scathingly compared Shelburne to his predecessor Rockingham. One of the figures brought in as a replacement was the 23-year-old William Pitt, son of Shelburne's former political ally, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer. He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his most notable legacy.
When Pitt became Prime Minister in 1784, Shelburne, instead of receiving a place in the Cabinet, was created Marquess of Lansdowne. Though giving general support to the policy of Pitt, he from this time ceased to take an active part in public affairs. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1803.
The Bowood Estate was bought in 1754 by the 1st Earl of Shelburne, his descendants have lived here ever since. Not simply landowners, the Petty-Fitzmaurices have served in public office almost continuously for over 200 years.

Item Date:  1800

Stock No:  42642      £2250

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