John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle

John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , KG, PC (9 January 1662 – 15 July 1711) was an English peer.

Early life

He was born in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, the son of the 3rd Earl of Clare and his wife Grace Pierrepont. Grace was daughter of The Hon. William Pierrepont and granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull.

Politics

Holles was elected MP for Nottinghamshire as Lord Houghton on 14 January 1689, but was called to the House of Lords two days later when his father died and he became the 4th Earl of Clare. He was created the 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, of the 2nd creation, in 1694. The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which was created three times in British history. The first creation had become extinct when Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne died with out a male heir.

Family

On 1 March 1690, he married Lady Margaret Cavendish, a daughter of Henry Cavendish. They had one child, Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles (1694–1755), who married the 2nd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer and was mother to Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland.

In 1710 he purchased Wimpole Park in Cambridgeshire and the Manor of Marylebone. The Marylebone lands passed to his son-in-law Harley who named Holles Street in his memory.

A rivalry was formed between John and his sister, Elizabeth, when she married Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard.

Records

Correspondence and estate records of John Holles, including letters to his wife, are held at the department of Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham, principally in the Holles Papers (Pw 2), part of the Portland (Welbeck) Collection.

Death

The duke died in 1711 from injuries received in a fall from his horse while hunting near Welbeck.He left his Cavendish estates to his son-in-law, Edward Harley (later 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer) and the remainder of his property to his nephew Thomas Pelham, subsequently 1st Duke of Newcastle (third creation) and prime minister.

Titles from birth to death

• The Hon. John Holles (1662–1666)
• Lord Haughton (1666–1689)
• Lord Haughton, MP (1689–1689)
• The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Clare (1689–1694)
• His Grace The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1694–1698)
• His Grace The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG (1698–1705)
• His Grace The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG, PC (1705–1711)