Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig politician and Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death. He was the younger sibling of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who held a position in Pelham’s government and later took over as prime minister. Pelham is widely regarded as Britain’s third prime minister, following Robert Walpole and the Earl of Wilmington.

Pelham’s time in office was fairly quiet on the domestic front, though it did include the upheaval of the 1745 Jacobite rising. In foreign policy, Britain was involved in several wars. Near the end of his tenure, he oversaw the Jewish Naturalization Act 1753, which let Jews apply to Parliament for naturalization, and the Marriage Act 1753, which set a minimum age of consent for marriage. After Pelham died, his brother Newcastle assumed full control of the government.

Early life

Pelham was the younger son of Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham, and Grace Pelham, Baroness Pelham of Laughton, daughter of Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare, and Grace Pierrepont. His father died when Pelham was twelve, leaving him £5,000 and small life annuities, while most of the estate went to his older brother, the Duke of Newcastle. He was educated at Westminster School, entered King’s College, Cambridge at Easter 1709, and then moved to Hart Hall, Oxford (now Hertford College), matriculating on 6 September 1710 after his tutor Richard Newton became Principal of Hart Hall.

Member of Parliament

As a volunteer, Pelham served in Dormer’s regiment at the Battle of Preston in 1715 and spent time on the Continent. His brother, the Duke of Newcastle, secured his election as Member of Parliament for Seaford in Sussex at a by-election on 28 February 1717, a seat he held until 1722. He gave his first speech in the House of Commons on 20 May 1720, supporting a motion to discharge the civil list debt, which both Pelham and Walpole backed.

On 15 March 1721, he helped Walpole secure the acquittal of the Earl of Sunderland on bribery charges. His first official post was Treasurer of the Chamber in 1720, obtained through his brother’s influence. Both Pelham and Newcastle lost £2,000 in the South Sea Bubble.

In government

Thanks to strong family connections and a recommendation from Robert Walpole, Pelham was chosen as a Lord of the Treasury in 1721. At the 1722 general election, he was returned as MP for Sussex county.