Thomas Pelham, 1st Earl of Chichester PC (28 February 1728 – 8 January 1805), known as the Lord Pelham of Stanmer from 1768 to 1801, was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Whig politician.

Pelham was the son of Thomas Pelham

Thomas Pelham (of Stanmer)

Thomas Pelham was a British politician.The third son of Henry Pelham, he was apprenticed at a young age to John Lethieullier, a Turkey merchant in Constantinople, from which he got the name of "Turk" Pelham...

 and his wife Annetta, daughter of Thomas Bridges. Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1644 and 1698.Pelham was the son of Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet and his wife Mary Wilbraham....

, was his great-grandfather and Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...

 his first cousins once removed. He was elected to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 for Rye

Rye (UK Parliament constituency)

Rye was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Rye in East Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was halved under the Reform Act 1832....

 in 1749, a seat he held until 1754, and then represented Sussex

Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)

Sussex was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 until 1768. He served as a Commissioner of Trade and Plantations

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

 from 1754 to 1761, as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1761 to 1762 and as Comptroller of the Household

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...

 from 1765 to 1774 and was admitted to the Privy Council

Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 in 1765.

In 1768 Pelham succeeded his cousin the Duke of Newcastle as second Baron Pelham of Stanmer according to a special remainder in the letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

. He also inherited the Pelham baronetcy created in 1611. Pelham also served as Surveyor-General of Customs of London from 1773 to 1805 and as Keeper of the Great Wardrobe from 1775 to 1782. In 1801 he honoured when he was created Earl of Chichester.

Lord Chichester married Anne, daughter of Frederick Meinhardt Frankland, in 1754. They had three sons and three daughters. All three daughters and one son predeceased him. His third son the Right Reverend the Hon. George Pelham

George Pelham (bishop)

George Pelham was a Church of England bishop, serving in the sees of Bristol , Exeter and Lincoln . He began his career as Vicar of Hellingly in Sussex in 1800....

 became Bishop of Bristol

Bishop of Bristol

The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England.The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire...

, Exeter

Bishop of Exeter

The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....

 and Lincoln

Bishop of Lincoln

The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...

. Lord Chichester died in January 1805, aged 76, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Thomas

Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester

Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester PC, PC , FRS , styled The Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1768 until 1783, The Right Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1783 to 1801, and then known as Lord Pelham until 1805, was a British Whig politician...

, who became a prominent politician. Lady Chichester died in 1813.