Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Great Britain
Office of the Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Great Britain Government
The Northern Department
Style The Right Honourable
(Formal prefix)
'
Member of British Cabinet
Seat Westminster, London
Appointer The British Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length No fixed term
Formation 1660-1782
First holder Sir William Morice
Final holder David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont

The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Home Office.

History

Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was still a separate Secretary of State for Scotland until 1746, though the post was sometimes vacant. This continued the previous Scottish government post of Secretary of State.

Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two Secretaries of State for the Northern and the Southern Departments were not divided up in terms of area of authority, but rather geographically. Both were responsible for England and Wales. The Secretary of State for the Northern Department, the more junior of the two, was responsible for foreign relations with the Protestant states of Northern Europe. The more senior Secretary of State for the Southern Department was responsible for relations with the Catholic and Muslim states of Europe. In 1782, the two Secretaries of State were reformed as the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

During the 18th century, Secretaries of State for the Northern Department, if peers, were often Leaders of the House of Lords as well.

Secretaries of State for the Northern Department, 1660–1782

Included:[1]

Portrait Name Term of office Notes
Sir William Morice
MP for Plymouth		 27 May 1660 29 September 1668
Sir John Trevor
MP for Arundel until 1661
MP for Great Bedwyn after 1661		 29 September 1668 8 July 1672
Henry Coventry
MP for Droitwich		 3 July 1672 11 September 1674
Sir Joseph Williamson
MP for Thetford		 11 September 1674 20 February 1679
Robert Spencer
2nd Earl of Sunderland		 10 February 1679 26 April 1680
Sir Leoline Jenkins
MP for Oxford University		 26 April 1680 2 February 1681
Edward Conway
1st Earl of Conway		 2 February 1681 January 1683
Robert Spencer
2nd Earl of Sunderland		 28 January 1683 1684
Sidney Godolphin
MP for Helston		 17 April 1684 24 August 1684
Charles Middleton
2nd Earl of Middleton
MP for Winchelsea after 1685		 24 August 1684 28 October 1688
Richard Graham
1st Viscount Preston
MP for Cumberland		 29 October 1688 2 December 1688
Daniel Finch
2nd Earl of Nottingham		 5 March 1689 26 December 1690
Henry Sydney
1st Viscount Sydney		 26 December 1690 3 March 1692
Sir John Trenchard
MP for Poole		 23 March 1693 2 March 1694
Charles Talbot
1st Duke of Shrewsbury		 2 March 1694 3 May 1695
Sir William Trumbull
MP for Oxford University		 3 May 1695 2 December 1697
James Vernon
MP for Penryn until 1699
MP for Westminster after 1699		 2 December 1697 5 November 1700
Sir Charles Hedges
MP for Malmesbury		 5 November 1700 29 December 1701
James Vernon
MP for Westminster		 4 January 1702 1 May 1702
Sir Charles Hedges
MP for Malmesbury until 1702
MP for Calne after 1702		 2 May 1702 18 May 1704
Robert Harley
MP for Radnor		 16 May 1704 13 February 1708
Henry Boyle
MP for Westminster		 13 February 1708 21 September 1710
Henry St John
1st Viscount Bolingbroke
MP for Berkshire until 1712
Viscount Bolingbroke after 1712		 21 September 1710 17 August 1713
Sir William Bromley
MP for Oxford University		 17 August 1713 17 September 1714
Charles Townshend
2nd Viscount Townshend		 17 September 1714 12 December 1716
Charles Spencer
3rd Earl of Sunderland		 12 April 1717 2 March 1718
James Stanhope
1st Earl Stanhope		 19 March 1718 4 February 1721
Charles Townshend
2nd Viscount Townshend		 6 February 1721 16 May 1730
William Stanhope
1st Lord Harrington		 19 June 1730 12 February 1742
John Carteret
2nd Lord Carteret		 12 February 1742 24 November 1744
William Stanhope
1st Earl of Harrington		 24 November 1744 January 1746
John Carteret
1st Earl Granville		 12 February 1746 March 1746 as sole Secretary
William Stanhope
1st Earl of Harrington		 March 1746 19 October 1746
Philip Dormer Stanhope
4th Earl of Chesterfield		 29 October 1746 6 February 1748
Thomas Pelham-Holles
1st Duke of Newcastle		 6 February 1748 23 March 1754
Robert Darcy
4th Earl of Holdernesse		 April 1757 June 1757 as sole Secretary
John Stuart
3rd Earl of Bute		 25 March 1761 27 May 1762
George Grenville
MP for Buckingham		 5 June 1762 9 October 1762
George Montague-Dunk
2nd Earl of Halifax		 14 October 1762 9 September 1763
John Montagu
4th Earl of Sandwich		 9 September 1763 10 July 1765
George Montague-Dunk
2nd Earl of Halifax		 September 1763 July 1765
Augustus Henry Fitzroy
3rd Duke of Grafton		 12 July 1765 14 May 1766
Henry Seymour Conway
MP for Thetford		 23 May 1766 20 January 1768
Thomas Thynne
3rd Viscount Weymouth		 20 January 1768 21 October 1768
William Nassau de Zuylestein
4th Earl of Rochford		 21 October 1768 19 December 1770
John Montagu
4th Earl of Sandwich		 19 December 1770 12 January 1771
George Montague-Dunk
2nd Earl of Halifax		 22 January 1771 6 June 1771
Henry Howard
12th Earl of Suffolk		 12 June 1771 7 March 1779
David Murray
7th Viscount Stormont		 27 October 1779 27 March 1782

References

  1. ↑ Sainty, J. C. "Lists of appointments British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Originally published by University of London, London, 1973. Retrieved 12 March 2017.

Sources

See also

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