Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth

English peer

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth (21 May 1710 – 1751) of Longleat House in Wiltshire was an English peer, descended from Sir John Thynne (c.1515-1580) builder of Longleat.

Origins

He was born on 21 May 1710, the son of Thomas Thynne (d.1710) by his wife Lady Mary Villiers.^[1] His father died a month before Thomas was born.

Inheritance

Longleat House, which he inherited aged 4; painting by Jan Siberechts, 1675

On 28 July 1714, aged four, on the death of his great uncle Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth, he inherited Longleat House and its great estates and succeeded to the baronetcy of Thynne, of Kempsford, Gloucestershire, and (by special remainder) to the titles of Baron Thynne of Warminster, Wiltshire, and Viscount Weymouth, of Dorset.^[1] He also inherited land at Buckland, Gloucestershire on the death of his uncle James Thynne in 1709.

Career

In 1733 he was appointed High Steward of Tamworth and was also Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England from 1735 to 1736. Between 4 December 1739 and 1751, he held the royal offices of Keeper of Hyde Park, Keeper of the Mall, and Ranger of St. James's Park,^[1] all in the City of Westminster. Shortly after his Hyde Park appointment, he began the construction of the Serpentine Lakes at Longleat, apparently in imitation of Hyde Park's Serpentine.^[2]

Marriages and children

He married twice:

Firstly on 6 December 1726, to Lady Elizabeth Sackville (d.1729), a daughter of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset.

Arms of Carteret: *Gules, four fusils in fess argent*

Secondly he married Lady Louisa Carteret (c.1712–1736), a daughter of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville and a co-heiress of her childless brother Robert Carteret, 3rd Earl Granville (1721–1776). On her father's side she was a great-grand-daughter of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), and her father's first-cousin was William Granville, 3rd Earl of Bath (1692–1711), on whose death the Earldom of Bath became extinct. The title of Marquess of Bath was later created for her eldest son in 1789 (see below), the title Earl of Bath being then unavailable as it had been recreated for a member of the Pulteney family. When Louisa died in childbirth, in her early twenties, her friend, Mrs Delany, wrote:"Her husband's ... loss is irreparable." During her illness, Mrs Delany had written that "my Lord Weymouth is like a madman".^[3] By Louisa Carteret he had two sons:^[1]
- Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath (1734–1796), eldest son and heir, created Marquess of Bath in 1789. He inherited Longleat House and his father's vast estates.
- Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret (1735–1826), created Baron Carteret (2nd creation) in 1784. As a second son under the system of primogeniture he had little expectation of a rich inheritance. However, in 1776, by Act of Parliament,^[4] he changed his name and arms to Carteret, in compliance with his inheritance from his childless uncle Robert Carteret, 3rd Earl Granville, 3rd Baron Carteret (1721–1776) (under the terms of the will of the latter's father John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 2nd Baron Carteret (1690–1763),^[5] of his estates including Hawnes Park (now Haynes Park), in Bedfordshire and Stowe House, Kilkhampton in Cornwall (the ancient seat of the Granvilles, Earls of Bath). He also succeeded him as Bailiff of Jersey, a post (for life) long held by heads of the Carteret family. In 1784 he was created Baron Carteret, of Hawnes, thus reviving his uncle's second title.

Death and burial

He died on 12 January 1750/51, at Horningsham, Wiltshire,^[1] and was buried there on 22 January.

Family tree summary for the Thynnes of Longleat from about 1500^[6]

Ralph Botevile^[7]

Thomas Thynne^[7]

William Thynne^[7]^[8]
d. 1546

John Thynne of Longleat^[9]
c. 1515–1580

Francis Thynne^[8]
c. 1544–1608

John Thynneof Longleat^[10]
1555–1604

Charles Thynne^[11]
c. 1568–1652

Thomas Thynne of Longleat^[12]
c. 1578–1639

Baronet of Caus Castle, of Kempsford in the County of Gloucester, 1641

James of Longleat^[13]
1605–1670

Thomas of Richmond^[14]
d. 1669

Henry Frederick Thynne
1615–1680
1st Baronet of Kempsford

Baron Thynne, 1680
Viscount Weymouth, 1682

Thomas of Longleat,^[15]
1648–1682

Thomas Thynne^[16]
1640–1714
inherited Longleat, 1682
1st Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
2nd Baronet of Kempsford

James Thynne of Buckland
d. 1709

Henry Thynne Frederick
d. 1705

unmarried

Henry Thynne^[17]
1675–1708

Thomas Thynne d. 1710

two daughters but no sons

Thomas Thynne^[18]
1710–1751
2nd Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
3rd Baronet of Kempsford

Marquess of Bath, 1789

Baron Carteret (2nd creation), 1784

Thomas Thynne^[19]
1734–1796
1st Marquess of Bath,
3rd Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
4th Baronet of Kempsford

Henry Carteret^[20]
1735–1826
1st Baron Carteret

Thomas Thynne^[21]
1765–1837
2nd Marquess of Bath,
4th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
5th Baronet of Kempsford

George Thynne
1770–1838
2nd Baron Carteret

John Thynne
1772–1849
3rd Baron Carteret

Baron Carteret extinct, 1849

Henry Thynne
^[22]
1797–1837
3rd Marquess of Bath,
5th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
6th Baronet of Kempsford

Edward Thynne
1807–1884

Lady Charlotte Anne Thynne
1811–1895
marr.: Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, Duke of Buccleuch and had issue.

John Thynne^[23]
1831–1896
4th Marquess of Bath,
6th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
7th Baronet of Kempsford

Henry Thynne
1832–1904

Thomas Thynne
1862–1946
5th Marquess of Bath,
7th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
8th Baronet of Kempsford

Ulric Oliver Thynne
1871–1957

Henry Thynne
1905–1992
6th Marquess of Bath,
8th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
9th Baronet of Kempsford

Thomas Timothy Thynne
1929–1930

Alexander George Thynn
1930–2020
7th Marquess of Bath,
9th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
10th Baronet of Kempsford

Christopher John Thynne
1934–2017

Valentine Charles Thynne
1937–1979

Ceawlin Thynn
b. 1974
8th Marquess of Bath,
10th Viscount Weymouth and Baron Thynne,
11th Baronet of Kempsford

Lucien Henry Valentine Thynne
b. 1965

John Alexander Ladi Thynn
b. 2014
styled Viscount Weymouth

Peerage of England
Preceded by Thomas Thynne	Viscount Weymouth 1714–1751	Succeeded by Thomas Thynne

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, (106th edition, 1999), vol. 1, p. 212
^ Timothy Mowl, Rococo and Later Landscaping at Longleat (1995) p. 59
^ Augusta Hall (baroness Llanover) (1861). The autobiography and correspondence of Mary Granville, mrs. Delany, ed. by lady Llanover. p. 583.
^ The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 96, Part 2, August 1826, p.174, Obituary [1]
^ Victoria County History, Bedford, Volume 2, William Page (editor), 1908, pp.338-344, Parishes: Hawnes or Haynes [2]
^ Burke, Sir Bernard, (1938 ed) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Shaw, London. p. 243
^ ^a ^b ^c Woodfall, H. (1768). The Peerage of England; Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of that Kingdom Etc. Fourth Edition, Carefully Corrected, and Continued to the Present Time, Volume 6. p. 258.
^ ^a ^b Lee, Sidney; Edwards, A. S. G. (revised) (2004). "Thynne, William (d. 1546)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27426. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Girouard, Mark, Thynne, Sir John (1515–1580), estate manager and builder of Longleat in Oxford Dictionary of Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
^ Booth, Muriel. "Thynne, John (?1550–1604), of Longleat, Wilt". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Lancaster, Henry; Thrush, Andrew. "Thynne, Charles (c.1568–1652), of Cheddar, So". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Pugh, R. B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1957). "Parliamentary history: 1529–1629". A History of the County of Wiltshire. Vol. 5. London: Victoria County History – via British History Online.
^ Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir James (c.1605-70), of Longbridge Deverill, Wilt". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Helms, M. W.; Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir Thomas (c.1610–c.69), of Richmond, Sur". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Marshall, Alan (2008) [2004]. "Thynne, Thomas [nicknamed Tom of Ten Thousand] (1647/8–1682)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27423. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Heath-Caldwell, J. J. "Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth". JJ Heath-Caldwell. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Hayton, D. W. "Thynne, Hon. Henry (1675-1708)". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Dunaway, Stewart (2013). Lord John Carteret, Earl Granville: His Life History and the Granville Grants. Lulu. p. 33. ISBN 9781300878070.
^ "Bath, Thomas Thynne". Encyclopedia Britannica 1911. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Thorne, Roland. "Carteret [formerly Thynne], Henry Frederick". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ "Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837)". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ Escott, Margaret. "Thynne, Lord Henry Frederick (1797-1837), of 6 Grovesnor Square, Md". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ "John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896), Diplomat and landowner". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.