Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth

Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth (c.1680 – October 25, 1734), was a leading Cornish politician of his time in the Whig interest, was the eldest son of Edward Boscawen, by Jael, daughter of Sir Francis Godolphin.

The parliamentary representation of the boroughs of Tregony and Truro was under his absolute control, and he exercised considerable influence on the elections for Penryn. He sat for Tregony from 1702 to 1705, for the county of Cornwall from 1705 to 1710, for Truro from 1710 to 1713, and for Penryn from 1713 until June 1720. In the latter year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Boscawen and Viscount Falmouth, having been for some time discontented at the delay in his advancement to that position. Both before and after the accession of George I he spent large sums of money in support of Whig principles, and was rewarded on his party's triumph by many valuable offices.

He was a groom of the bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark, steward of the duchy of Cornwall and Lord Warden of the Stannaries in 1708, Comptroller of the Household from 1714 to 1720, and joint vice-treasurer of Ireland from 1717 until a few months before his death.

He died suddenly at Trefusis, in Cornwall, on 25 October 1734, and was buried at St Michael Penkivel. His wife, to whom he was married in Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, on 23 April 1700, was the elder daughter and coheir of Colonel Charles Godfrey, master of the jewel office, by Arabella Churchill. She died on 22 March 1754, and was also buried at Penkivel. Lady Falmouth was very desirous of becoming a lady of the bedchamber to the wife of George II, and tried to bribe Lady Sundon (Charlotte Clayton) into obtaining the post for her.

See also

* A. A. Hanham, ‘Boscawen, Hugh, first Viscount Falmouth (c.1680–1734)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2933 accessed 27 Aug 2007] .