Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull

Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, KG (1711 – 23 September 1773) was an English nobleman and landowner, a member of the House of Lords.

General His Grace
The Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull
Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire
In office
1763–1765
Preceded byThe Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Succeeded byThe Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Personal details
Born1711
Died23 September 1773(1773-09-23) (aged 61–62)
Holme Pierrepont Hall
Spouse
(m. 1769; died 1773)
RelationsEvelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull (grandfather)
Parent(s)William Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
Rachel Bayntun
EducationEton College
Military service
AllegianceGreat Britain
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1745–1773
RankGeneral
UnitDuke of Kingston's Regiment of Light Horse
Battles/warsBattle of Culloden
Quartered coat of arms of Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, KG

Early life

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He was the only son of William Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull (1692–1713) and his wife, Rachel Bayntun (1695–1722).

His paternal grandparents were Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and his wife Mary Feilding, a daughter of William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh, while his maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Willoughby and her husband Thomas Bayntun of Little Chalfield, Wiltshire, or else her lover John Hall of Bradford-on-Avon. He succeeded his grandfather in 1726, inheriting the Thoresby estate in Nottinghamshire.

Career

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Pierrepont studied at Eton College in 1725, and the following year went on the Grand Tour, spending ten years on the Continent and becoming known for gambling and loose living. In 1736 he returned to England with his mistress, Marie-Thérèse de Fontaine de la Touche, who became a British subject, and who remained with him until 1750. The duke had little interest in politics and did not take any part in governmental affairs.[1]

Military career

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When the Jacobite rising of 1745 broke out he raised a regiment called "Kingston's Light Horse", which distinguished itself at the Battle of Culloden. The duke attained the rank of general in the army.[2]

He was described by Horace Walpole as "a very weak man, of the greatest beauty and finest person in England".

Pierrepont was the subject of the earliest extant reference to cricket in Nottinghamshire. A letter dated 1751 comments that: "the Duke of Kingston at Thoresby Hall is spending all his time practising cricket because he is to play for Eton v All England in three matches".[3]

Personal life

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On 8 March 1769, Pierrepont married Elizabeth Hervey at Keith's Chapel in the parish of St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster, although their marriage was later judged to have been bigamous.[4]

Lord Kingston died in 1773 without issue, and his titles became extinct. On the death of the bigamous Duchess in 1788, the Pierrepont estates passed to Charles Medows, who was the son of the 2nd Duke's sister, Lady Frances Medows. Charles Medows changed his name to Pierrepont in 1796 and, in 1806, he was created the first Earl Manvers.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Biography of Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull (1711-1773) - the University of Nottingham".
  2. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kingston-upon-Hull, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 821–822.
  3. ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter (9 October 2007). "Nottinghamshire Cricketers : Part 1". Nottinghamshire CCC. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  4. ^ She had secretly married Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol in 1744.
  5. ^ Chisholm 1911.
Political offices
Preceded by
New office
Master of the Staghounds
1738–1744
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by
Regiment raised
Colonel of the Duke of Kingston's Regiment of Horse
1745–1746
Succeeded by
Regiment disbanded
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire
1763–1765
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull
1726–1773
Extinct
Peerage of England
Preceded by Marquess of Dorchester
1726–1773
Extinct