William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC (21 May 1790[1] – 18 January 1858), styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was a British peer, courtier, nobleman, and Whig politician. Known as the "Bachelor Duke", he was Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1827 and 1828 and again between 1830 and 1834. The Cavendish banana is named after him.

His Grace The Duke of Devonshire KG, PC
The Duke of Devonshire by Sir Thomas Lawrence
Lord Chamberlain of the Household
In office 22 November 1830 – 14 November 1834
Monarch	William IV
Prime Minister	The Earl Grey The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by	The Earl of Jersey
Succeeded by	The Earl of Jersey
In office 5 May 1827 – 21 January 1828
Monarch	George IV
Prime Minister	George Canning The Viscount Goderich
Preceded by	The Duke of Montrose
Succeeded by	The Duke of Montrose
Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire
In office 27 August 1811 – 18 January 1858
Monarch	George III George IV William IV Victoria
Preceded by	The 5th Duke of Devonshire
Succeeded by	The 7th Duke of Devonshire
Member of the House of Lords as Duke of Devonshire
In office 11 July 1811 – 18 January 1858
Preceded by	The 5th Duke of Devonshire
Succeeded by	The 7th Duke of Devonshire
Personal details
Born	21 May 1790 (1790-05-21) Paris, France
Died	18 January 1858(1858-01-18) (aged 67) Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Parents	William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire Lady Georgiana Spencer
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Background

Born in Paris, France, Devonshire was the son of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and Lady Georgiana, daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer.[1] He was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge.[2] He lost both his parents while still in his youth; his mother died in 1806 and his father in 1811 when, aged 21, he succeeded to the dukedom.[3] Along with the title, he inherited eight stately homes and some 200,000 acres (809 km² or 80,900 ha) of land.

Political career

The duke carrying the Orb at the Coronation of George IV in 1821.

Politically Devonshire followed in the Whig family tradition. He supported Catholic emancipation, the abolition of slavery and reduced factory working hours.[4] He held office as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under George Canning and Lord Goderich between 1827 and 1828 and under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne between 1830 and 1834. In 1827 he was sworn of the Privy Council[5] and made a Knight of the Garter.[5] He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to the Russian Empire on the coronation of Tsar Nicholas I in 1826.[6]

Devonshire was also Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire between 1811 and 1858[7] and carried the Orb at the coronation of George IV in 1821. However, increasing deafness from an early age prevented him from taking an even greater part in public life.[4]

Other interests

Devonshire had a major interest in gardening and horticulture, and devoted himself sedulously to the care and nurture of his vast estates. His major projects including the wholesale rebuilding of the village of Edensor, and significant improvement to his several stately houses and their gardens. He befriended Sir Joseph Paxton, then employed at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chiswick Gardens, located close to Devonshire's London estate Chiswick House, and appointed him his head gardener at Chatsworth House in 1826, despite Paxton being only in his early twenties at the time. Paxton greatly expanded the gardens at Chatsworth, including the construction of a 277 foot long conservatory, which served as a model for The Crystal Palace constructed in London's Hyde Park.

Devonshire, himself a keen horticulturalist, was elected President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1838, a position in which he served for twenty years until his death.[8] It was this interest which led him to establish the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as a national botanic garden.[8] The world's most commercially exploited banana, the Cavendish, was named in his honour. He had acquired an early specimen, which he raised in his glasshouse, and this plant is the progenitor of almost all the worldwide varieties of Cavendish banana.[9]

Devonshire was also patron of The Derby Town and County Museum and Natural History Society. In that position, he was instrumental in the creation of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in 1836.[10]

He also travelled extensively.

Personal life

St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC (1790–1858)

Shield of arms of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC

Devonshire was a close friend of the Prince Regent.[4] Other friends included Antonio Canova and Charles Dickens.

Much of Devonshire's private correspondence, including letters to his mistresses (one of whom he installed nearby), was destroyed by his Victorian relatives. He intended to marry Lady Caroline Ponsonby, his cousin, but she married William Lamb, which he found devastating.[1]

Devonshire died at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire,[4] in January 1858, aged 67, and left an estate valued at £500,000 in his will. As he was unmarried the dukedom passed to his cousin William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Burlington. His junior title of Baron Clifford fell into abeyance between his sisters, Georgiana, Countess of Carlisle, and Harriet, Countess Granville.[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

8. William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire 4. William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Prime Minister of Great Britain 9. Catherine Hoskins 2. William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire 10. Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington 5. Charlotte Boyle, 6th Baroness Clifford 11. Lady Dorothy Savile 1. William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire 12. The Hon. John Spencer 6. John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer 13. Lady Georgina Carolina Carteret 3. Lady Georgiana Spencer 14. Stephen Poyntz 7. Margaret Georgiana Poyntz 15. Anna Maria Mordaunt

References

1. K. D. Reynolds, ‘Cavendish, William George Spencer, sixth duke of Devonshire (1790–1858)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 6 June 2010
2. "Cavendish, William [George] Spencer, Marquess of Hartington (CVNS807WG)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
3. thepeerage.com William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
4. Biography of Devonshire on Orchidologists website
5. "No. 18360". The London Gazette. 11 May 1827. p. 1033.
6. "No. 18241". The London Gazette. 25 April 1826. p. 965.
7. leighrayment.com Peerage: Desborough to Dorchester
8. Lankester Botanical Garden (2010). "Biographies" (PDF). Lankesteriana. 10 (2/3): 183–206, page 186. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2014.
9. details of the taxonomic naming of the cavendish banana
10. Newsletter of the Geological Curators Club Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Vol 1, No. 8, 1976. Retrieved 24 June 2011

Further reading

• James Lees-Milne: The Bachelor Duke: Life of William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, 1790-1858 (1991). John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-4920-5

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Devonshire

Political offices
Preceded by The Duke of Montrose	Lord Chamberlain of the Household 1827–1828	Succeeded by The Duke of Montrose
Preceded by The Earl of Jersey	Lord Chamberlain of the Household 1830–1834	Succeeded by The Earl of Jersey
Preceded by The Duke of Devonshire	Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire 1811–1858	Succeeded by The Duke of Devonshire
Peerage of England
Preceded by William Cavendish	Duke of Devonshire 1811–1858	Succeeded by William Cavendish
	Baron Clifford 1811–1858	In abeyance