Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington

Charlotte Elizabeth Cavendish, 6th Baroness Clifford (née Boyle; 27 October 1731 – 8 December 1754) was the daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and Lady Dorothy Savile. She was known as Marchioness of Hartington from 1748 until 1753 through her marriage to William Cavendish (later 4th Duke of Devonshire).

Family and early life

Dorothy Savile, Lady Dorothy Boyle (1724–1742), Countess of Euston, and Her Sister Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731–1754), Later Marchioness of Hartington, National Trust, Hardwick Hall. Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation.

Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle was the only surviving daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and his wife Lady Dorothy Savile.^[1]

Marriage

On 27 March 1748, she married William Cavendish the future 4th Duke of Devonshire, a future Prime Minister of Great Britain, when he was Marquess of Hartington. The advantageous union had been arranged since childhood and was happy. The marriage helped him rise politically. They had four children: William, Dorothy, Richard, and George.^[1]

Baroness Clifford

Charlotte inherited great wealth upon the death of her father in 1754.^[1] Lady Clifford gained the title of Baroness Clifford suo jure. Through her marriage, the Cavendish family, with the main title Duke of Devonshire, inherited the 3rd Earl of Burlington's estates (the title went through to the Orrery Boyles). These estates include Burlington House, Piccadilly, London (now the Royal Academy of Arts); Chiswick House, London W4;^[1] Londesborough Hall, Yorkshire; Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire; Lismore Castle, County Waterford, Ireland. She was his sole remaining heir.

Lady Clifford died six years later after her marriage, on 8 December 1754 at Uppingham, Rutland^[1] from smallpox.

Issue

Lady Clifford and Lord Hartington had four children:

• William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (14 December 1748 - 29 July 1811)
• Lady Dorothy Cavendish (27 August 1750 - 3 June 1794), who married William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
• Lord Richard Cavendish (1752–1781)
• George Augustus Henry Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington (31 March 1754 - 4 May 1834)

Titles from birth to death

• The Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731–1748)
• Marchioness of Hartington (1748–1753)
• The Rt. Hon. Marchioness of Hartington (1753–1754)

References

Works cited

• Schweizer, Karl Wolfgang (2004). "Cavendish, William, fourth duke of Devonshire (bap. 1720, d. 1764)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4949.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)