Name George 3rd | Died June 10, 1770 | |
Spouse Lady Mary Walpole (m. 1723) Parents George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley Children George Cholmondeley, Viscount Malpas Grandchildren George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley Grandparents Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Viscount Cholmondeley | ||
George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley KB, PC (2 January 1703 – 10 June 1770), styled as Viscount Malpas from 1725 to 1733, was a British peer and Whig politician.
Life
Cholmondeley was the son of George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley, and Elizabeth van Ruyterburgh (or Ruttenburg). He was elected to the House of Commons for East Looe in 1724, a seat he held until 1727, and then represented Windsor between 1727 and 1733, when he succeeded his father as third Earl of Cholmondeley and entered the House of Lords. He held office under his father-in-law Sir Robert Walpole as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1727 to 1729, as a Lord of the Treasury from 1735 to 1736 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1736 to 1743 (from 1742 to 1743 under the premiership of The Earl of Wilmington). From 1743 to 1744 he also served as Lord Privy Seal under Henry Pelham and was Joint Vice Treasurer of Ireland between 1744 and 1757. In 1736 he was admitted to the Privy Council.
Apart from his political career Lord Cholmondeley was also Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and South Wales (less Denbighshire) from 1733 to 1760. He was also involved in the charitable effort to create a home for foundlings in London, which was hoped would alleviate the problem of child abandonment. The home became known as the Foundling Hospital and Cholmondeley sat on its board as a founding Governor.
Lord Cholmondeley married Lady Mary Walpole, daughter of Prime Minister Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, in 1723. He died in June 1770, aged 67. His eldest son George Cholmondeley, Viscount Malpas, predeceased him and he was succeeded in his titles by his grandson George, who was created Marquess of Cholmondeley in 1815.