Godolphin–Marlborough ministry

This is a list of the principal Ministers of the Crown of the Kingdom of England, and then of the Kingdom of Great Britain, from May 1702, at the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne. During this period, the leaders of the ministry were Lord Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough.

Godolphin–Marlborough ministry
1702-1710
Engravings of Lord Godolphin (left) and the Duke of Marlborough (right)
Date formedMay 1702
Date dissolved8 August 1710
People and organisations
MonarchAnne
Lord High TreasurerLord Godolphin
Master-General of the OrdnanceThe Duke of Marlborough
Member partyTory
Whigs
Status in legislatureMajority coalition (England, and GB after 1707)
Outside of Parliament (Scotland)

482 / 513
(1702-1705)

493 / 513
(1705-1708)

513 / 558
(1708-1710)
Opposition cabinetNone
History
Election(s)England: Scotland:
1702
Great Britain:
1708
Legislature term(s)1st Parliament of Queen Anne (England)
1702-1707 Scottish Parliament (Scotland)
1st British Parliament (after 1707)
SuccessorHarley ministry

On 8 August 1710 Godolphin was dismissed and the Harley ministry took power.

History

Upon Queen Anne's accession to the English throne in 1702, she appointed Lord Godolphin as Lord High Treasurer and the Duke of Marlborough as Master-General of the Ordnance (among other numerous appointments). They would lead this coalition of Tories and Whigs until 1708, one year after the Act of Union formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. There were three phases to the ministry. From 1702 to 1704 the ministry was largely Tory – Godolphin and Marlborough themselves were Tories, as were the Earl of Nottingham and Sir Charles Hedges, the Secretaries of State. After Nottingham's resignation in 1704, Godolphin and Marlborough turned for support to the "Country" Whigs, led by Speaker Robert Harley. Not long after, the Whig complexion of the ministry grew, as Godolphin sought the support of Harley's opponents, the second Whig Junto, bringing the Earl of Sunderland in to replace Hedges as Secretary of State in 1706, and other Junto allies like Sir William Cowper began to be appointed to positions of power. The leading ministers looked favourably on the Junto's strong support for the War of the Spanish Succession. Harley at this point began to turn against the ministry and towards the opposition Tories, and his resignation in 1708 left the government largely in the hands of the Junto for its last two years, with Sunderland as Secretary of State, Lord Somers as Lord President of the Council, the Earl of Orford as First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Earl of Wharton as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The ministry finally collapsed in 1710 when Queen Anne turned to Harley and the Tories, dismissing Godolphin and the Junto Whigs, and, soon after, Marlborough himself.

List of ministers

OfficeNameAppointed
First Lord of the TreasuryEarl of Godolphin8 May 1702
Chancellor of the ExchequerHenry Boyle29 March 1701
John Smith11 February 1708
Lord President of the CouncilThe Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery9 July 1702
The Lord Somers25 November 1708
Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterSir John Leveson-Gower12 May 1702
The Earl of Derby1 June 1706
Master-General of the OrdnanceThe Duke of Marlborough1 July 1702
Secretary of State for the Southern DepartmentThe Earl of Nottingham2 May 1702
Sir Charles Hedges18 May 1704
The Earl of Sunderland3 December 1706
The Lord Dartmouth15 June 1710
Secretary of State for the Northern DepartmentSir Charles Hedges2 May 1702
Robert Harley18 May 1704
Henry Boyle13 February 1708
Lord Privy SealThe Marquess of Normanby27 April 1702
The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne21 March 1705
President of the Board of TradeThe Viscount Weymouth12 June 1702
The Earl of Stamford25 April 1707
Lord High Admiral /
First Lord of the Admiralty
Prince George of Denmark20 May 1702
Queen Anne28 October 1708
The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery29 November 1708
The Earl of Orford8 November 1709
Secretary at WarGeorge Clarke3 March 1692
Henry St John20 April 1704
Robert Walpole25 February 1708
Treasurer of the NavySir Thomas Littleton29 May 1699
Robert Walpole21 January 1710
Paymaster of the Forcesat HomeJohn Howe4 January 1703
AbroadCharles Fox4 January 1703
James BrydgesApril 1705
Secretary of State for ScotlandThe Earl of Mar1 May 1707
The Duke of Queensberry3 February 1709

See also

References

  • Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1688–1760, Macmillan 1988, p. 33–35
  • World Statesmen
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