- Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton
Admiral Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton PC (6 November 1720 –25 December 1794 ) was a British nobleman and naval officer.He was the second son of
Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Bolton and Catherine Parry. Educated at Winchester (1728–1729), he joined theRoyal Navy , becoming alieutenant aboard "Shrewsbury" on4 March 1740 . He was promoted tocaptain of the "Port Mahon" on15 July 1740 , and was moved to "Oxford" in July 1741. While commanding "Oxford", he took part in theBattle of Toulon (1744) , and later gave damaging evidence againstRichard Lestock .He was moved to "Sandwich" in March 1745, and shortly thereafter to "Ruby". "Ruby", with "Defiance" and "Salisbury", was dispatched from
Plymouth to the fleet off Brest on11 April 1746 . Before finding the fleet under Admiral Martin on22 May , he was able to capture the Frenchfrigate "Embuscade". He was given command of "Exeter" in November 1746 and was sent to theEast Indies to serve under Rear-AdmiralThomas Griffin and AdmiralEdward Boscawen . He was employed by Boscawen at theSiege of Pondicherry to take soundings offPondicherry , in order to arrange the dispositions of the naval blockade of the town.Upon returning to England in April 1750, Captain Powlett charged Griffin with misconduct for failing to engage eight French ships at
Cuddalore , a decision which had been generally unpopular among Griffin's captains. Griffin was, indeed, found guilty of negligence, and suspended from his rank for a time. He, in turn,court-martial ed Powlett on charges including cowardice, which Powlett attempted to escape by going onhalf-pay . Meanwhile, he entered the House of Commons in 1751 asMember of Parliament for Christchurch. On7 May 1752 , he married Mary Nunn (d. 1764), by whom he had one daughter:
*Lady Maria Henrietta Powlett (d.30 March 1779 ), marriedJohn Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich Despite Powlett's evasions, he was court-martialled on
1 September 1752 , but Griffin's charges failed for want of evidence, and he was acquitted. The incident proved somewhat sensational, and concluded in a duel between the two officers in 1756 on Blackheath. He was appointed to command "Somerset" in January 1753.Both Powlett's rapid rise to a captaincy and his willingness to engage in courts martial of his superiors were a result of his patronage connections. His father's support of Walpole had made him a
Lord of the Admiralty in 1733, which he retained until 1742. Even after leaving the Admiralty, the Bolton political connections remained sufficiently strong to ensure his continued promotion. However, he had apparently already become a figure of satire: he is believed to have inspired the character of "Captain Whiffle" in "The Adventures of Roderick Random " (1748).cite journal | last=Underdown | first=David | title=Aristocratic Faction and Reformist Politics in Eighteenth-Century Hampshire: The Election of December 1779 | journal=Huntington Library Quarterly | year=2005 | month=December | volume=68 | issue=4 | pages=601–630 | doi=10.1525/hlq.2005.68.4.601]In 1754, he became known as Lord Harry Powlett on his father's accession to the Dukedom, and replaced his elder brother Charles in the family constituency of Lymington. Appointed to command "Barfleur" in
4 February 1755 , he petitioned the Duke of Newcastle, then Prime Minister, for promotion to flag rank, on the strength of his family's support of the government. However, a damaging accident to his reputation occurred soon after, while acting with Admiral Hawke's fleet off France. Sent on22 August 1755 to chase a sail to the south-east, he became detached from the fleet. While waiting at the rendezvous on25 August , the ship'scarpenter reported "Barfleur"' ssternpost to be dangerously loose, and Powlett returned toSpithead for repairs. In October, he was court-martialled for separating from the fleet and returning to port without justification. He was admonished on the first charge and acquitted on the second, the carpenter being dismissed as incompetent; but it was popularly felt that the carpenter had been scapegoated, and Powlett hereafter received the sobriquet of Captain Stern-post.Notwithstanding this incident, the Bolton influence proved irresistible, and he was promoted
Rear Admiral on4 June 1756 andVice-Admiral of the White on14 February 1758 . Feeling ran strongly against him, despite his promotions, and he never again received a naval command, despite the outbreak of theSeven Years' War . Supposedly, Boscawen requested his appointment as his second-in-command in 1756, but it was refused by George II, who shared in the general low opinion of Powlett. In 1761, he again changed constituencies, and was returned as MP for Winchester.His wife died in 1764, and on
8 April 1765 , he married Katherine Lowther (d.21 March 1809 ), daughter of Robert Lowther, by whom he had two daughters:
*Lady Amelia Powlett, died unmarried
*Lady Catharine Margaret Powlett (1766 –17 June 1807 ), marriedWilliam Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland A lukewarm supporter of the government, he was intermittently at odds with
George Grenville . However, upon succeeding to the dukedom in July 1765 by his brother's suicide, he threw off his political connections and became a supporter of the crown alone. Bolton was sworn of the Privy Council on10 December 1766 . He was given the sinecure post ofVice-Admiral of Dorset and Hampshire (held by several Dukes of Bolton) in 1767, and promotedAdmiral of the Blue on18 October 1770 andAdmiral of the White on31 March 1775 .In 1778, he went into opposition with the government over its handling of the
American Revolution , and joined Vice-Admiral Bristol in opposing the court-martial of Admiral Keppel. His political activity diminished after 1780, although in 1782 he was appointedGovernor of the Isle of Wight andLord Lieutenant of Hampshire . He died atHackwood House on25 December 1794 , and his dukedom became extinct. His distant cousin George Paulet succeeded to the Marquessate of Winchester and other titles, whileBolton Castle and most of his estates devolved upon his brother's natural daughter Jean Browne-Powlett, wife of Thomas Orde who adopted the additional surname of Powlett.References
*cite book | first=P. K. | last=Crimmin | chapter=Powlett , Harry, sixth duke of Bolton (1720–1794) | title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2004 | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21617 | accessdate=2006-11-21
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