Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland
Encyclopedia
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and later Lord Treasurer of England under James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
and Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, being one of the most influential figures in the early years of Charles I's Personal Rule
Personal Rule
The Personal Rule was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament...
and the architect of many of the policies that enabled him to rule without raising taxes through Parliament.
Weston was the eldest son and heir of Sir Hierome Weston, High Sheriff of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and the former Mary Cave. He was born at Roxwell
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and was a student of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
. He served as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for a number of constituencies including Maldon
Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)
Maldon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
(1601–1603), Midhurst
Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)
Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...
(in the parliament of 1604-1611), Essex
Essex (UK Parliament constituency)
Essex was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1290 until 1832. It elected two MPs, traditionally referred to as Knights of the Shire, to the House of Commons...
(in the Addled Parliament
Addled Parliament
The Addled Parliament was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England , which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614...
of 1614), Arundel
Arundel (UK Parliament constituency)
Arundel was twice a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The first incarnation strictly comprised the town centre of Arundel and was a borough constituency first enfranchised in 1332 and disfranchised in 1868 under the Reform...
(1622), Bossiney
Bossiney (UK Parliament constituency)
Bossiney was a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, one of a number of Cornish rotten boroughs, and returned two Members of Parliament to the British House of Commons from 1552 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
(1624), Callington
Callington (UK Parliament constituency)
Callington was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1585 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Reform Act 1832.-History:...
(1625) and Bodmin
Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)
Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general...
(1626). He was knighted in 1603.
During the reign of King James I of England, Weston was sent on embassies to Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, 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 Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. On the last assignment, he negotiated for the restitution of the Palatine
County palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
. Upon his return to England in 1621, he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, and retained the post after the accession of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
; he proved a capable financial manager but incurred popular hatred as a (justly) suspected Roman Catholic, while also later earning the enmity of the (Catholic) queen, Henrietta Maria for refusing grants to her favourites. He opposed wars with Spain in 1623 and France in 1626, but managed to find ways of raising the money to fund them when required, even when it was impossible to secure the co-operation of Parliament.
Weston was elevated to the peerage on 13 April 1628, as Baron Weston
Earl of Portland
Earl of Portland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, first in 1633 and again in 1689.-First creation :The title of Earl of Portland was first created for the politician Richard Weston, 1st Baron Weston, in 1633...
, of Neyland. He was subsequently made Lord Treasurer of England and invested with the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
. His policies proving highly unpopular, he escaped impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
in 1629 only by the dissolution of Parliament. Nevertheless, he played an important role in the King's Personal Rule
Personal Rule
The Personal Rule was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament...
without Parliament, finding new sources of revenue while preventing any further increase in the King's expenditure, and being for a time the most influential of Charles's advisers. He persuaded the King to make peace with France in 1629 and Spain in 1630, removing the biggest drain on the treasury, and to sign the secret treaty with Spain in 1634. By the time he died in 1635, the Crown was solvent.
On 17 February 1633, Weston was created Earl of Portland
Earl of Portland
Earl of Portland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, first in 1633 and again in 1689.-First creation :The title of Earl of Portland was first created for the politician Richard Weston, 1st Baron Weston, in 1633...
. Lord Portland was married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth Pincheon of Writtle
Writtle
The village of Writtle lies a mile west of Chelmsford, Essex, England, it has a traditional village green, complete with duck pond and a Norman church; and was once described as: 'one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing variety of ancient cottages'...
in Essex. His second wife was Frances Walgrave of Boreley in Essex. He had three children by his first marriage, including Lady Mary Weston (2 January 1603-after August 1678), who married the 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar
Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar
Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar was a son of Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of Forfar, and Gertrude Sadleir of Standon.In 1639, he succeeded his father as Lord Aston of Forfar in the peerage of Scotland...
in 1629 and Lady Elizabeth Weston, who married the 2nd Viscount Netterville. He had seven children by his second marriage, including his son Thomas
Thomas Weston, 4th Earl of Portland
Thomas Weston, 4th Earl of Portland was a younger son of the 1st Earl of Portland, by his second wife Frances Walgrave. He was born at Neyland in Essex, England....
, who later succeeded as 4th Earl. His nephew, Jeremy Clarke
Jeremy Clarke (Governor)
Jeremy Clarke was an early colonial settler and President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations...
, became a Governor of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
in the American colonies.
On his death, he was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, Jerome
Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland
Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland was an English diplomat.-Life:He was the second but eldest surviving son of the 1st Earl of Portland, by his second wife Frances Walgrave. He was born at Neyland, Essex....
.
Styles from birth to death
- Mr. Richard Weston (1577–1603)
- Sir Richard Weston (1603–1628)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Weston (1628–1630)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Weston, KG (1630–1633)
- The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Portland, KG (1633–1635)