Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool

The Right Honourable The Earl of Liverpool PC
The Earl of Liverpool by George Romney
President of the Board of Trade
In office 23 August 1786 – 7 June 1804
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger Henry Addington
Preceded by	The Lord Sydney (President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations)
Succeeded by	The Duke of Montrose
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 6 September 1786 – 11 November 1803
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger Henry Addington
Preceded by	The Earl of Clarendon
Succeeded by	Lord Pelham
Personal details
Born	26 April 1729 (2025-01-21UTC01:33:49) Oxfordshire
Died	17 December 1808 (1808-12-18) (aged 79) London
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	(1) Amelia Watts (d. 1770) (2) Catherine Bisshopp (1744–1827)
Alma mater	University College, Oxford

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool PC (26 April 1729 – 17 December 1808), known as Lord Hawkesbury between 1786 and 1796, was a British statesman. He was the father of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.

Early years, family and education

He was born in Oxfordshire, the eldest son of Colonel Charles Jenkinson (1693–1750) and Amarantha (daughter of Wolfran Cornewall). The earl was the grandson of Sir Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Baronet, of Walcot, Oxfordshire. The Jenkinson family was descended from Anthony Jenkinson (d. 1611), who was a sea-captain, merchant, and traveller and the first known Englishman to penetrate into Central Asia. He was educated at Charterhouse School and University College, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. in 1752.

Political career

In 1761, Liverpool entered parliament as member for Cockermouth and was made Under-Secretary of State by Lord Bute. He won the favour of George III, and when Bute retired Jenkinson became the leader of the "King's Friends" in the House of Commons. In 1763, George Grenville appointed him joint Secretary to the Treasury.

In 1766,after a short retirement, he became a Lord of the Admiralty and then a Lord of the Treasury in the Grafton administration. In 1772, Jenkinson became a Privy Councillor and Vice Treasurer of Ireland, and in 1775 he purchased the lucrative sinecure of clerk of the pells in Ireland and became Master of the Mint.

From 1778 until the close of Lord North's ministry in 1782 he was Secretary at War. From 1786 to 1803, he was President of the Board of Trade and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and he was popularly regarded as enjoying the confidence of the king to a special degree.

In 1786 he was created Baron Hawkesbury, of Hawkesbury in the County of Gloucester, and ten years later, Earl of Liverpool. He also succeeded as 7th Baronet of Walcot in 1790. He lived in Addiscombe, Surrey and Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire. He died in London on 17 December 1808.

Family

Liverpool was twice married. He married firstly Amelia, daughter of William Watts, governor of Fort William, Bengal, in 1769. She died in July 1770, only a month after the birth of her only child, Robert.

Liverpool married secondly Catherine, daughter of Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet, and widow of Sir Charles Cope, 2nd Baronet, on 22 June 1782 at her house in Hertford Street, London. They had one son, Charles, and one daughter.

Upon Lord Liverpool's death, he was succeeded by his only son from his first marriage, Robert, who became a prominent politician and eventually Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Countess of Liverpool died in October 1827, aged 82.

Legacy

Liverpool wrote several political works but except for his Treatise on the Coins of the Realm (1805) these are, according to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, "without striking merits".

The Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia and Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada were named after Jenkinson shortly after he was created Baron Hawkesbury.

References

• LCCN 06-23564

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

Further reading

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Political offices
Preceded by Francis Gashry	Treasurer of the Ordnance 1762–1763	Succeeded by John Ross Mackye
Preceded by The Lord Sydney as President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations	President of the Board of Trade 1786–1804	Succeeded by The Duke of Montrose
Preceded by The Earl of Clarendon	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1786–1803	Succeeded by The Lord Pelham
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Sir John Mordaunt Percy Wyndham-O'Brien	Member of Parliament for Cockermouth 1761–1767 With: Sir John Mordaunt	Succeeded by Sir John Mordaunt John Elliot
Preceded by John Stanwix Philip Honywood	Member of Parliament for Appleby 1767–1772 With: Philip Honywood	Succeeded by Fletcher Norton Philip Honywood
Preceded by Edward Harvey John Roberts	Member of Parliament for Harwich 1772–1774 With: Edward Harvey	Succeeded by Edward Harvey John Robinson
Preceded by Samuel Martin William Ashburnham	Member of Parliament for Hastings 1774–1780 With: The Viscount Palmerston	Succeeded by The Viscount Palmerston John Ord
Preceded by Grey Cooper Henry Strachey	Member of Parliament for Saltash 1780–1786 With: Grey Cooper 1780–1784 Charles Ambler 1784–1786	Succeeded by Charles Ambler The Earl of Mornington
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation	Earl of Liverpool 1796–1808	Succeeded by Robert Jenkinson
	Baron Hawkesbury (descended by acceleration) 1786–1803
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Banks Jenkinson	Baronet (of Hawkesbury) 1790–1808	Succeeded by Robert Jenkinson