William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Barrington PC |
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mezzontint by William Rainger after portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds RA.
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| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
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In office 19 March 1761 – 29 May 1762 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Preceded by | Hon. Henry Bilson Legge |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis Dashwood, Bt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 January 1717 Beckett, Shrivenham, Berkshire, England |
| Died | 1 February 1793 (aged 76) Beckett Hall, Shrivenham, Berkshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Lovell (d. 1764) |
William Wildman Shute Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington PC (5 January 1717 – 1 February 1793) was a British politician best known for his two periods as Secretary at War during Britain's involvement in the Seven Years War and American War of Independence.
Barrington was the eldest son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington, by his wife Anne, daughter of Sir William Daines. The Hon. Daines Barrington, Rear-Admiral the Hon. Samuel Barrington and the Right Reverend the Hon. Shute Barrington, Bishop of Durham, were his younger brothers. He received a private education under a tutor at Dalston, Robert Graham, whose family later established a political dynasty. Sent to be further educated at Geneva, Switzerland in 1735 he spent three years at the alpine university; having inherited the estates and title in 1734, he spent some time travelling on the Grand Tour. After coming of age in January 1738, he returned home, arriving in England that February.
As Barrington's title was in the Peerage of Ireland it did not entitle him to a seat in the British House of Lords. In March 1740 he was returned to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed (a seat his father had represented from 1714–23). Joining the opposition benches, Barrington took his seat in 1741 for Walpole's dismissal, voting down a bill for manning the fleet on the grounds it would increase the 'Court Whigs' influence on the coast.
With the exception of Lord Carteret, the energetic foreign minister, Barrington, having deserted the whigs found his new allies pitiable reformers. None of the corruption went punished, as the promised 'new broom' failed to materialise. The Hanoverian Ascendancy was magnified by the military exploits of allies Hanoverian Legion that lionised Carteret's performance and the King's role in the warfare, but at considerable expense to the Treasury. Barrington was among the opposition peers consulted for a new ministry in 1744 between the Cobhamites and the incumbent Pelhamites, removing Carteret, now earl Granville, and his Tory friends from office. In February he had voted down two bills, one to suspend Habeas Corpus, on the grounds that the ministry had not proven the rumours of an impending French invasion. Tory opposition led by Pitt stormed out of the chamber in protest at Barrington's speech. A decisive move came when he identified with Lord Cobham. Grenville was impressed by the young MP; refusing the offer of a 'lord of trade' the future peer could do "whatever he pleases."
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