Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple

Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple, 2nd Viscountess Cobham (née Temple; bapt. 7 May 1684 – 6 October 1752) was an English noblewoman. She was the mother and grandmother of the Prime Ministers George Grenville and William Grenville.

The Countess Temple
Countess Temple
In office
1749–1752
Preceded byNew creation
Succeeded byRichard Grenville-Temple
Viscountess Cobham
In office
1749–1752
Preceded byRichard Temple
Succeeded byRichard Grenville-Temple
Personal details
Born
Hester Temple

bapt. 7 May 1684[1]
Died6 October 1752 (aged 68)
Spouse
(m. 1710; died 1727)
ChildrenRichard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple
George Grenville
James Grenville
Henry Grenville
Thomas Grenville
Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham
Parent(s)Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet
Mary Knapp
RelativesWilliam Pitt the Younger (grandson)
Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham (brother)

Life and family

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She was the daughter (and eventual co-heir) of Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Bt. (1634–1697), of Stowe, Buckinghamshire,[2] and his wife, Mary Knapp.

Hester married Richard Grenville of Wotton in Buckinghamshire on 25 November 1710, and became the mother of five sons, all of whom served as members of parliament:

Her daughter, Hester (1720–1803), was the wife of William Pitt the Elder and mother of William Pitt the Younger, who both became prime minister.[3]

Hester was the sister of Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, whose title she inherited under a special remainder in 1749; on 18 October of the same year, her husband being long dead, she was created 1st Countess Temple.[4][5] Lord Cobham had excluded from succession his nephews Temple West and Gilbert West (who were sons of his elder sister Maria and Richard West), and also his other sister Penelope.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558–1812
  2. ^ Larsen, Ruth M. "Pitt, Hester". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/89688. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Larsen, Ruth M. - Pitt (née Grenville), Hester, countess of Chatham and suo jure Baroness Chatham (1720–1803), political wife - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  4. ^ "No. 8892". The London Gazette. 10 October 1749. p. 2.
  5. ^ The Complete Peerage, Volume 12, part one, page 658.
  6. ^ Kilburn, Matthew. "Temple, Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27119. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Countess Temple
1749–1752
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viscountess Cobham
1749–1752