Richard Hill of Hawkstone
Encyclopedia
The Rev. the Hon. Sir Richard Hill of Hawkstone Hall
, Shropshire
, was baptised at Hodnet, Shropshire, 23 March 1655 and died unmarried at Richmond, Surrey
, 11 June 1727, aged 73. He was known as ‘the Great Hill’, diplomatist, public servant and statesman, who accumulated great wealth through a series of profitable appointments and judicious dealings.
He was the second son of Rowland Hill (bap. 1623?) of Hawkstone and his wife, Margaret Whitehall of Doddington, Shropshire. He was educated at Shrewsbury School
and admitted to St John's College, Cambridge
(BA 1679; MA 1682), and was ordained deacon
. In 1675, he worked as a tutor to the sons of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington
, and then to the children of Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester
. Through Hyde, he became acquainted with Richard Jones, Earl of Ranelagh, paymaster of the forces, by whom he was appointed deputy paymaster of William III
to the army in Flanders
during the War of the Grand Alliance
, 1688–96.
In the 1690s and early 18th century he went on to hold several eminent positions. He served as a diplomat during the War of the Spanish Succession
, as envoy to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
in Brussels
, and to the duke of Savoy
in Turin
, whom he persuaded to join the Grand Alliance
. Hill made the allies guarantors for the Vaudois
, a medieval heretic sect, later protestants, who had suffered centuries of persecution by the dukes of Savoy, and they were guaranteed toleration, so that the Vaudois pastors placed him 'at the head of our Nehemiahs' (Diplomatic Correspondence, 2.973).
In 1699 he was ambassador at the court of the Hague
. Hill returned to England to become a Commissioner of the Admiralty (1702–08). He was appointed a Lord of the Treasury
(1699–1702) and Counsellor to George of Denmark
, the Prince Consort of Queen Anne
. William III 'did often declare that he had never employed two ministers of greater vigilance, capacity and virtue than yourself, my Lord, and the Reverend Mr Hill' (according to a 1720 dedication to John Robinson
, bishop of London, who had been Lord Privy Seal
).
He was given a final appointment to Brussels, but he retired in 1710 due to ill-health, entering holy orders. He refused a bishopric in the hopes of that of Ely, and became a fellow of Eton College
in 1714. He lived quietly as tenant at Cleveland House, St James's, and at Trumpeters' House at the Old Palace, Richmond
, where 'he was much resorted to by the most eminent persons of the time [and] the Royal family shewed him very particular regards' (Gilbert Burnet
, 4.318).
Hill had inherited Hawkstone in 1700 and reordered the mansion and park to his own designs. With the fortune he made from his paymastership (subsequently augmented by loans, investments and mortgages), he extended his estates at Tern Hall, Atcham, near Shrewsbury
(today Attingham Park
), and at Shenstone, Staffordshire
, and systematically purchased estates in many counties, including Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire
, thus adding to his already substantial inheritance with the aim of founding an enduring dynasty. He secured the wealth and influence of the Hills as one of the great families and landowners in 18th- to 19th-century Shropshire, providing liberally for three nephews, especially his protégé Rowland Hill
of Hawkstone (1705–1783), who was given a baronetcy in his honour in 1727 and was later father of Richard Hill
(1732–1808) and Rowland Hill
(1744–1833).
Hawkstone Hall
Hawkstone Hall is a large early 18th century country mansion near Hodnet, Shropshire which is occupied as the pastoral centre of a religious organisation. It is a Grade I listed building....
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, was baptised at Hodnet, Shropshire, 23 March 1655 and died unmarried at Richmond, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, 11 June 1727, aged 73. He was known as ‘the Great Hill’, diplomatist, public servant and statesman, who accumulated great wealth through a series of profitable appointments and judicious dealings.
He was the second son of Rowland Hill (bap. 1623?) of Hawkstone and his wife, Margaret Whitehall of Doddington, Shropshire. He was educated at Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and admitted to St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
(BA 1679; MA 1682), and was ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
. In 1675, he worked as a tutor to the sons of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington, 2nd Earl of Cork was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a cavalier.-Early years:...
, and then to the children of Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester KG PC was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688.-Early life:...
. Through Hyde, he became acquainted with Richard Jones, Earl of Ranelagh, paymaster of the forces, by whom he was appointed deputy paymaster of William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
to the army in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
during the War of the Grand Alliance
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
, 1688–96.
In the 1690s and early 18th century he went on to hold several eminent positions. He served as a diplomat during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, as envoy to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, and to the duke of Savoy
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, whom he persuaded to join the Grand Alliance
Grand Alliance
The Grand Alliance was a European coalition, consisting of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, the Dutch Republic, England, the Holy Roman Empire, Ireland, the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Savoy, Saxony, Scotland, Spain and Sweden...
. Hill made the allies guarantors for the Vaudois
Vaudois
Vaudois can refer to:* Waldensians, members of a Christian sect also known as Vaudois;* Vaud#Demographics, people who live in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland....
, a medieval heretic sect, later protestants, who had suffered centuries of persecution by the dukes of Savoy, and they were guaranteed toleration, so that the Vaudois pastors placed him 'at the head of our Nehemiahs' (Diplomatic Correspondence, 2.973).
In 1699 he was ambassador at the court of the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. Hill returned to England to become a Commissioner of the Admiralty (1702–08). He was appointed a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...
(1699–1702) and Counsellor to George of Denmark
George of Denmark
Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain.His marriage to Anne was arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain Dutch maritime power. As a result, George was unpopular with his Dutch...
, the Prince Consort of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
. William III 'did often declare that he had never employed two ministers of greater vigilance, capacity and virtue than yourself, my Lord, and the Reverend Mr Hill' (according to a 1720 dedication to John Robinson
John Robinson (1650-1723)
John Robinson was an English diplomat and prelate.-Early life:Robinson was born at Cleasby, North Yorkshire, near Darlington, a son of John Robinson . Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a fellow of Oriel College, and about 1680 chaplain to the British embassy to Stockholm, and...
, bishop of London, who had been Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
).
He was given a final appointment to Brussels, but he retired in 1710 due to ill-health, entering holy orders. He refused a bishopric in the hopes of that of Ely, and became a fellow of Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
in 1714. He lived quietly as tenant at Cleveland House, St James's, and at Trumpeters' House at the Old Palace, Richmond
Richmond Palace
Richmond Palace was a Thameside royal residence on the right bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster, to which it lay 9 miles SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond,...
, where 'he was much resorted to by the most eminent persons of the time [and] the Royal family shewed him very particular regards' (Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
, 4.318).
Hill had inherited Hawkstone in 1700 and reordered the mansion and park to his own designs. With the fortune he made from his paymastership (subsequently augmented by loans, investments and mortgages), he extended his estates at Tern Hall, Atcham, near Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
(today Attingham Park
Attingham Park
Attingham Park is a country house in Shropshire, England, which is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building.- Location :It is located near to the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road.- History :...
), and at Shenstone, Staffordshire
Shenstone, Staffordshire
Shenstone is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, close to Stonnall and between Lichfield and Birmingham. In a recent survey Shenstone was found to be one of the ten worst places in England for finding single women....
, and systematically purchased estates in many counties, including Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, thus adding to his already substantial inheritance with the aim of founding an enduring dynasty. He secured the wealth and influence of the Hills as one of the great families and landowners in 18th- to 19th-century Shropshire, providing liberally for three nephews, especially his protégé Rowland Hill
Viscount Hill
Viscount Hill, of Hawkstone and of Hardwicke in the County of Salop, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1842 for the soldier Rowland Hill, 1st Baron Hill, with remainder to the heirs male of his elder brother John Hill...
of Hawkstone (1705–1783), who was given a baronetcy in his honour in 1727 and was later father of Richard Hill
Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet
Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet of Hawkstone, was a prominent religious revivalist and Tory member of Parliament for Shropshire 1780-1806.He was the eldest son of Sir Rowland Hill, 1st baronet, who was also a first cousin of Thomas Hill, of Tern, . His mother was Jane, dau. of Sir Brian Broughton,...
(1732–1808) and Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (preacher)
Rowland Hill A.M. , was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate of small-pox vaccination. He was founder and resident pastor of a wholly independent chapel, the Surrey Chapel, London; chairman of the Religious Tract Society; and a keen supporter of the...
(1744–1833).
See also
- Viscount HillViscount HillViscount Hill, of Hawkstone and of Hardwicke in the County of Salop, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1842 for the soldier Rowland Hill, 1st Baron Hill, with remainder to the heirs male of his elder brother John Hill...
- Sir Richard Hill, 2nd BaronetSir Richard Hill, 2nd BaronetSir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet of Hawkstone, was a prominent religious revivalist and Tory member of Parliament for Shropshire 1780-1806.He was the eldest son of Sir Rowland Hill, 1st baronet, who was also a first cousin of Thomas Hill, of Tern, . His mother was Jane, dau. of Sir Brian Broughton,...
- Hawkstone ParkHawkstone ParkHawkstone Park is an historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens formerly belonging to Hawkstone Hall, near to Market Drayton, in Shropshire, England, UK, one mile east of the A49 road....
- Attingham ParkAttingham ParkAttingham Park is a country house in Shropshire, England, which is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building.- Location :It is located near to the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road.- History :...
- Rowland HillRowland HillRowland Hill may refer to:* Rowland Hill , English Member of Parliament for the City of London* Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet Hill of Hawkstone , built Hawkstone Park follies...
- Baron BerwickBaron BerwickBaron Berwick, of Attingham in the County of Shropshire, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1784 Noel Hill, who had earlier represented Shrewsbury and Shropshire in Parliament. He was the son of Thomas Hill , son of Thomas Harwood, a draper, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire...