BRUDENELL, George (1685-1732)

The heir to one of England’s most prominent Catholic noble families, George, Lord Brudenell (as he was styled from his father’s death until his succession to the earldom), was also first cousin to one of the kingdom’s foremost Protestant converts, Charles Talbot, duke of Shrewsbury. With Robert Constable, 3rd Viscount Dunbar [S], Shrewsbury was entrusted with the upbringing of both Brudenell and his brother, James, on the death of their father. It was under Shrewsbury’s care while Brudenell and his brother were in Rome that they were said to have turned their backs on their former religion and embraced the Church of England. East Riding of Yorks. A. & R. S., DDCC/135/49; The Life and Character of Charles Duke of Shrewsbury. In a Letter to a Noble Lord, (1718), 14. It was there too that Brudenell learnt of the death of his grandfather, Robert Brudenell, 2nd earl of Cardigan, in July 1703 and of his succession to the earldom. HMC Buccleuch, ii. 771; Daily Courant, 20 July 1703. With the peerage, Cardigan succeeded to a considerable estate based at the family home at Deene in Northamptonshire, and at other lands in Rutland, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, the whole valued at between £9,000 and £10,000 per annum. WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1017; Add. 70075, newsletter, 20 July 1703. Eager to maintain a lifestyle commensurate with his new quality, Cardigan demanded an increase in his allowance. Both he and his brother led a notably dissolute existence during the remainder of their extended tour of Italy and Germany. Their behaviour caused Dunbar considerable qualms, and in 1705 he urged that they should return to England. Dunbar’s request was ignored, and his fears were apparently confirmed by Cardigan’s notorious liaison with a superannuated Italian mistress. She accompanied him to England on his return in 1706 but to the relief of his family was rapidly discarded. HMC Buccleuch, ii. 771, 773; Letters of Daniel Eaton, p. xv.

Although Cardigan in all probability underwent his conversion to Protestantism in Rome, it was not until 1708, some two years after his return from his foreign tour, that he formally abjured his former faith by taking the oaths and receiving communion in the Church of England. Vernon-Shrewsbury Letters, iii. 304; Luttrell, Brief Relation, vi. 255; Nicolson, London Diaries, 441. The reason for this formal acceptance of Anglicanism was in part due to his marriage the previous year to Lady Elizabeth Bruce. William Wake, bishop of Lincoln (later archbishop of Canterbury), had voiced his concerns at the match and advised the Bruces against it, convinced that it ‘could not be expedient, and to me [Wake], seemed (he being a Papist, though inclining to change his religion) to be unlawful.’ LPL, ms 1770 (Wake’s diary), f. 36. Uncertainty as to Cardigan’s religion was even more significant as Lady Betty, as she was known, had already caused her family considerable unease about a possible conversion to Rome before her marriage. WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1000. She had excited still greater misgivings by entering into a clandestine relationship with the Catholic Thomas Howard, 8th duke of Norfolk, a liaison that her brother, Charles Bruce, Baron Bruce (later 3rd earl of Ailesbury), was quick to condemn when it was discovered, declaring that he would ‘never give my consent she should either have him or any one of that persuasion’. Ibid. It was consequently of great importance that Cardigan was able to assure his new relations that his own convictions were firmly protestant. His suit was nevertheless welcomed, and Bruce was able to inform his father, Ailesbury, formerly a close friend of Cardigan’s father, Lord Brudenell, that Cardigan was ‘universally esteemed’. Ailesbury Mems. 303, 437; WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1017. The interposition on his behalf of both Sidney Godolphin, earl of Godolphin, and John Churchill, duke of Marlborough, no doubt further helped convince the family of his fidelity and enabled the marriage to proceed. Wake, Brudenells, 201-2; Add. 61365, ff. 119, 121.

After the riotous days of his youth abroad, once settled in England, Cardigan’s principal interests centred on country pursuits. Wake, Brudenells, 204-5. A keen foxhunter, his obsession with pursuing his quarry cut across party boundaries and led him to forge close partnerships with Whig hunting neighbours such as John Manners, 2nd duke of Rutland, and his brother, James Brudenell, to whom he entrusted the care of his hounds. Indeed, despite their differing political views, there is no indication that this ever caused any animosity between the brothers; on occasions, Cardigan employing James on matters of business. Northants. RO, Montagu letterbook 10, f. 100. Cardigan demonstrated clear concerns for his tenants and took great interest in the maintenance of his woodland. This aspect of his estate triggered frequent disputes with his neighbours, Ralph Montagu, duke of Montagu (and after his death John Montagu, 2nd duke of Montagu) and with William Hatton, 2nd Viscount Hatton, though here too Cardigan strove to ‘act the part of a true friend and good neighbour’, a sentiment recurrent throughout his correspondence. Ibid. f. 98; Northants. RO, Montagu letterbook 10, ff. 99-101 and passim; Add. 29569, f. 81.

Cardigan formally abjured Roman Catholicism on 11 Jan. 1708 and took his seat in the House on the following day. His renunciation of his former religion gave rise to hopes that Norfolk might do the same. HEHL HM 30659 (95-96); Luttrell, Brief Relation, vi. 255. He sat for the majority of the remainder of the session (approximately 33 per cent of the whole). His close relationship with Shrewsbury was perhaps the cause of a rumour that he was to be appointed lord chamberlain, but if his appointment to the office was ever truly considered, the post failed to materialize. Beinecke Lib. OSB mss fcp. 37, vol. 13, no. xlii; Wake, Brudenells, 203; HMC 8th Rep. pt. 2 (1881), 96. On 7 Feb. Cardigan subscribed the protest at the passage of the bill to complete the Union. Although throughout his career Cardigan was unfailingly Tory in his sentiments, an estimate of 1 May 1708 listed him as a Whig, an assessment that was perhaps the result of his brother’s undoubted Whiggish inclinations and Shrewsbury’s continued influence on his thinking.

Cardigan resumed his seat for the new session on 26 Nov. 1708, but sat for just three days before absenting himself for the ensuing two months. He returned to the House on 1 Feb. 1709 and was thereafter fairly regular in his attendance, although he was only present for approximately 37 per cent of the total number of sitting days. On 25 Feb. he missed a visit by Bishop Wake, being still in bed, but he roused himself in time to be recorded on the attendance list that day. LPL, ms 1770, f. 75. Cardigan appears to have troubled the ministry with petitions during the summer relating to unrest in Northamptonshire. Add. 61366, f. 185; 61500, f. 44; 61652, f. 165; 61609, f. 22. In August Cardigan’s apostasy was, in the eyes of his Catholic critics, punished when Lady Cardigan gave birth to a stillborn child following the incompetent intervention of Dr Shadwell. Cardigan was reported to have been so irate at the doctor’s bungling that he let it be known he intended to ‘stab him whenever he meets him.’ Verney ms mic. M636/54, C. to R. Verney, 26 Aug. 1709.

Perhaps kept busy by local business, Cardigan failed to return to the House for the session that began in November 1709. From October to December he was taken up with the case of John Wheatley, who was under sentence of execution, and for whom he was seeking a pardon. TNA, SP 34/11 ff. 51, 66, 103. He remained in the country for the duration of the Sacheverell trial in 1710. Add. 15574, ff. 65-68. Despite his close connection with Shrewsbury, by then restored to office as lord chamberlain, Cardigan was marked among those thought ‘doubtful’ to support the new administration of Robert Harley, later earl of Oxford, in October 1710. Cardigan dined Shrewsbury at Hampton Court on 19 Oct. and finally resumed his seat at the opening of the new Parliament on 25 Nov. 1710. WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1077. Far more regular in his attendance, Cardigan was present on 62 per cent of all sitting days in the session. Although he was absent for a month from 19 Feb. 1711, he ensured that his proxy was registered the following day in favour of the chronically unwell country Whig, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd earl of Shaftesbury; the proxy was vacated by his resumption of his seat on 20 Mar. 1711.

In spite of early concerns about his reliability, Cardigan appears to have gradually benefited from his close connection to ministry. At the beginning of 1711 he was appointed to the office of custos rotulorum of Northamptonshire, and in June it was reported (inaccurately) that he was to replace Hugh Cholmondeley, earl of Cholmondeley, as treasurer of the household. Add. 72495, f. 74. Present at the October sessions in Northamptonshire in his new county office, in November he wrote to Oxford to thank him for his assistance in securing the preferment of a Mr Johnson. Northants. RO, IC 2435; Add. 70282, Cardigan to Oxford, 3 Nov. 1711. The same month, he assured Shrewsbury that he would be in town in time for the new session of Parliament. HMC Bath, i. 217. He was included in Oxford’s list of probable supporters in or about December 1711 and took his seat at the opening of the 1711-12 session after which he was present on almost 45 per cent of all sitting days. Add. 70331. On 8 Dec. he registered his protest at the resolution to present the address to the queen, and on 10 Dec. he was included on a list of office-holders who had remained loyal to the ministry on the question of no peace without Spain. On 19 Dec. a forecast of voting intentions suggested he would support the right of James Hamilton, 4th duke of Hamilton [S], to sit in the House as duke of Brandon, but when the vote was taken the following day Cardigan ‘went out’, i.e. abstained. That month, Cardigan was closely involved in the negotiations that resulted in his brother-in-law, Bruce, being summoned to the House in his father’s barony as one of Oxford’s twelve new peers. He and Robert Bruce^‡, Bruce’s uncle, were together at White’s Chocolate House on 27 Dec. when Cardigan (presumably on Oxford’s behalf) requested that Robert Bruce approach his nephew about the prospective honour. PH, xxiv. (sup), 22; WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1078.

However significant his role may have been in persuading his brother-in-law to accept a peerage, Cardigan’s attendance declined in the immediate aftermath of the mass creation, and he was absent for over three months in the spring of 1712. He registered his proxy with his kinsman, Shrewsbury, on 7 Feb., which was vacated by his return to the House on 12 May. On 13 June he received Shrewsbury’s proxy, which was vacated by the close of the session. Later that month, on 28 June, he was appointed master of the buckhounds, an office that reflected his interests and natural abilities. Add. 70282, Cardigan to Oxford, 3 Oct. 1712. The appointment was undoubtedly through Shrewsbury’s influence, who had recommended Cardigan for the place believing ‘he would fill it very creditably’. Shrewsbury had also assured Oxford that he would thereby be sure to ‘depend upon his [Cardigan], being gratefully your servant’. R. Bucholz, The Augustan Court, 91-2; HMC Bath, i. 219. Having sent a letter to the justices of Northamptonshire in July recommending a loyal address, Cardigan found himself at odds with some of the gentry in wishing to have Dunkirk mentioned within the text, which Sir Robert Clarke considered ‘not at all proper.’ Northants. RO, IC 2793, 2794. The rejoicing occasioned by the birth of an heir to Cardigan and his wife on 26 July was dampened by Cardigan being taken ill the same day, and his sickness prevented him from being present when the address was presented to the queen at Windsor. Wake, Brudenells, 209. The same year an edition of the correspondence of Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, with Sir Richard Bulstrode was dedicated to Cardigan, a distant relative of Bulstrode’s, by the compiler Edward Bysshe. Arlington Letters.

Cardigan was forced to write to Oxford on at least two occasions in the autumn and winter of 1712 to remind him about signing the warrant appointing him master of the buckhounds. He also took the opportunity to ask Oxford to advise when he should return to town for the opening of the new Parliament and assured him that he would do so. Add. 70282, Cardigan to Oxford, 3 Oct., 24 Dec. 1712, 5 Jan. 1713. He was subsequently included in a list compiled by Dean Swift in March or April 1713 of those thought likely to support the ministry. He resumed his seat on 9 Apr. and was present for approximately 73 per cent of all sitting days in the session. On 17 May he introduced his brother, James, and William Elson^‡, who presented the queen with the Chichester address. Post Boy, 30 May-2 June 1713. On 4 June, in company with the lord lieutenant, Charles Mordaunt, 3rd earl of Peterborough, Justinian Isham^‡, Gilbert Dolben^‡ and Thomas Cartwright^‡, he presented the Northamptonshire county address to the queen. Northants. RO, IC 2791. On 13 June he was listed by Oxford as being likely to support the bill for confirming the eighth and ninth articles of the French treaty of commerce. Add. 70331.

Cardigan returned to the House for the ensuing session on 16 Feb. 1714, of which he attended approximately 60 per cent of all sitting days. On 9 Mar. he received a proxy from his brother-in-law, Bruce, which he held until Bruce returned 8 days later. He received Bruce’s proxy again on 10 Apr., vacated three days later, and again on 24 Apr., vacated on Bruce’s return to the House on 29 April. In early summer Cardigan was listed by Daniel Finch, 2nd earl of Nottingham, as being a likely supporter of the schism bill, but the same day he registered his own proxy with Simon Harcourt, Baron (later Viscount) Harcourt, which was vacated by his return to the House on 25 June. He continued to sit until 9 July and then resumed his seat for just 3 days of the brief fifteen-day session that was convened on the death of Queen Anne. On 6 Aug. he registered his proxy again with his cousin, Shrewsbury.

Active in the elections during the autumn, Cardigan was instrumental in persuading Sir Justinian Isham to stand again for Northamptonshire, concerned at the consequences for the Tory interest should he not do so. Northants. RO, IC 2953, 2955. In January 1715 Cardigan was included in a list of Tories still in office, having been continued in post as master of the buckhounds following the king’s accession, though he was compelled to petition the new regime for the arrears of his salary, unpaid since Christmas 1713 which amounted to over £1,404. Add. 47028, f. 7; Post Boy, 6-9 Nov. 1714; Add. 61602, f. 153. On 9 July he acted as one of the tellers on the motion to commit Oxford to Black Rod and then entered his dissent when the resolution was carried. The same day a bill for confirming the sale of the manor of Darington in Yorkshire by Cardigan to Theophilus Shelton was passed. Cardigan registered his proxy with Shrewsbury again on 15 Aug., which was vacated by his resumption of his seat on 5 September. Absent for the remainder of the year, he again registered his proxy with Shrewsbury on 8 Dec., which was vacated by his return to the House on 16 Apr. the following year.

Although Cardigan remained loyal to the Tories for the remainder of his career and on friendly relations with Oxford’s family, he also maintained close connections with a number of Whig magnates. Add. 70148, Dupplin to A. Harley, 23 July, 1717; Add. 70147, Lady Dupplin to A. Harley, 11 June 1718. Hunting was undoubtedly one bond, but according to Wriothesley Russell, 3rd duke of Bedford, he was respected for being ‘a good natured man, a good ombre player and an honest voter in Parliament.’ Add. 61449, f. 82. Relations with his Bruce in-laws were at times strained by his continued friendship with the dissolute James Bruce^‡ but these disputes too appear to have been amicably resolved. WSHC, Ailesbury mss 1300/1059, 1062. A series of disputes over rights in woodland shared by Cardigan and Montagu and a later similar dispute with Hatton threatened at times to upset relations, but Cardigan retained his authority in the area and continued to exert his interest to return candidates for several seats in the two counties. Add. 29569, ff. 27, 29, 81, 83-84, 89, 102; Northants. RO, Montagu letterbook 10, f. 109-17, 119. Indeed, he appears to have exerted his influence more following the Hanoverian accession than he did during the reign of Queen Anne. In February 1724 both he and Lady Cardigan were said to have been ‘very busy’ in the by-election for Lincolnshire. Christ Church, Oxford, Wake mss 22/273. The latter part of his career will be dealt with in detail in the second phase of this work.

Cardigan died at his brother-in-law’s seat of Tottenham Park, while on his way home from Bath in 1732. Wake, Brudenells, 244; London Evening Post, 6-8 July 1732. In his will of 1730 he bequeathed sums in excess of £6,000 to his wife, children and executors. The remainder of his estate was bequeathed to his eldest son, George Brudenell^†, who succeeded his father as 4th earl of Cardigan (later duke of Montagu). Two of Cardigan’s younger sons, James Brudenell^‡ and Robert Brudenell^‡ both sat in the Commons.