View source for Robert Walpole

{{short description|Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1721 to 1742}}
{{other people}}
{{Redirect|Walpole}}
{{use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix  = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name              = The Earl of Orford
| honorific-suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KG|PC}}<!--NOT "KB": he resigned the Bath on appointment to the Garter in 1726-->
| image             = Robert-Walpole-1st-Earl-of-Orford.jpg
| caption           = Portrait by [[Jean-Baptiste van Loo]], {{circa|1740}}
| office1           = 1st [[Prime Minister of Great Britain]]
| term_start1       = 3 April 1721
| term_end1         = 11 February 1742
| monarch1          = {{Plainlist|
* [[George I of Great Britain|George I]]
* [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]}}
| predecessor1      = ''Office established''
| successor1        = [[Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington|The Earl of Wilmington]]
| office2           = [[First Lord of the Treasury]]
| term_start2       = 3 April 1721
| term_end2         = 11 February 1742
| predecessor2      = [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland|Charles Spencer]]
| successor2        = The Earl of Wilmington
| term_start3       = 10 October 1715
| term_end3         = 12 April 1717
| predecessor3      = [[Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle|The Earl of Carlisle]]
| successor3        = [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|The Earl Stanhope]]
| office4           = [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
| term_start4       = 3 April 1721
| term_end4         = 12 February 1742
| predecessor4      = [[John Pratt (judge)|Sir John Pratt]]
| successor4        = [[Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys|Samuel Sandys]]
| term_start5       = 12 October 1715
| term_end5         = 15 April 1717
| predecessor5      = [[Richard Onslow, 1st Baron Onslow|Sir Richard Onslow]]
| successor5        = The Earl Stanhope
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |cont = yes |Further ministerial offices |titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office4           = [[Paymaster of the Forces]]
| term_start4       = 11 June 1720
| term_end4         = 19 April 1721
| predecessor4      = [[Henry Clinton, 7th Earl of Lincoln|The Earl of Lincoln]]
| successor4        = [[Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis|The Lord Cornwallis]]
| term_start5       = 3 October 1714
| term_end5         = 17 October 1715
| predecessor5      = {{plainlist|
* [[John Grubham Howe]]
* [[Thomas Moore (British Army Paymaster of the Forces Abroad)|Thomas Moore]]}}
| successor5        = The Earl of Lincoln
| office6           = [[Treasurer of the Navy]]
| term_start6       = 21 January 1710
| term_end6         = 2 January 1711
| predecessor6      = [[Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet|Sir Thomas Littleton]]
| successor6        = [[Charles Caesar (Treasurer of the Navy)|Charles Caesar]]
| office7           = [[Secretary at War]]
| term_start7       = 25 February 1708
| term_end7         = 8 August 1710
| predecessor7      = [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke|Henry St John]]
| successor7        = [[George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne|George Granville]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} }}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |cont = yes |Parliamentary offices |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office8           = [[Leader of the House of Commons]]
| term_start8       = 3 April 1721
| term_end8         = 6 February 1742
| successor8        = Samuel Sandys
| constituency_MP9  = [[King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)|King's Lynn]]
| term_start9       = 1713
| term_end9         = 6 February 1742
| predecessor9      = John Turner
| successor9        = [[Edward Bacon (died 1786)|Edward Bacon]]
| term_start10      = 11 February 1712
| term_end10        = 6 March 1712
| predecessor10     = ''Vacant''
| successor10       = John Turner
| term_start11      = 1702
| term_end11        = 17 January 1712
| predecessor11     = Sir John Turner
| successor11       = ''Vacant''
| constituency_MP12 = [[Castle Rising (UK Parliament constituency)|Castle Rising]]
| term_start12      = February 1701
| term_end12        = 1702
| predecessor12     = [[Robert Walpole (colonel)|Robert Walpole]]
| successor12       = [[Horatio Walpole (died 1717)|Horatio Walpole]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} }}
| birth_date        = {{birth date|df=y|1676|8|26}}
| birth_place       = [[Houghton, Norfolk]], England
| death_date        = {{death date and age|df=y|1745|3|18|1676|8|26}}
| death_place       = London, England
| resting_place     = [[St Martin at Tours' Church, Houghton]]
| party             = [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]
| spouse            = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Catherine Shorter]]|30 July 1700|20 August 1737|end = d}}
* {{marriage|[[Maria Skerret]]|March 1738|June 1738|end = d}}
}}
| children          = 6, including [[Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford|Robert]], [[Edward Walpole|Edward]] and [[Horace Walpole|Horace]]
| father            = [[Robert Walpole (colonel)|Robert Walpole]]
| relatives         = [[Walpole family]]
| education         = [[Eton College]]
| alma_mater        = [[King's College, Cambridge]]
| occupation        = {{hlist|Businessman|politician|scholar}}
| signature         = Robert Walpole Signature.svg
}}

'''Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɔː|l|p|əʊ|l}}; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as '''Sir Robert Walpole''', was a British [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto''{{Efn|Walpole himself did not use the title "prime minster," which was originally a term of abuse, stating in 1741: "I unequivocally deny that I am sole and prime minister."}} first [[Prime Minister of Great Britain]]{{Efn|Before the [[Acts of Union 1800]], after which the title was renamed as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].}}, serving from 1721 to 1742. His formal titles included [[First Lord of the Treasury]], [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], and [[Leader of the House of Commons]].

Although the exact dates of Walpole's dominance, dubbed the "Robinocracy",<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Robinocracy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806231128/https://www.lexico.com/definition/robinocracy |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 August 2020 |title=Robinocracy |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> are a matter of scholarly debate, the period 1721–1742 is often used. He dominated the [[Walpole–Townshend ministry]], as well as the subsequent [[Walpole ministry]], and holds the record as the [[List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure|longest-serving British prime minister]]. [[W. A. Speck|W.&nbsp;A. Speck]] wrote that Walpole's uninterrupted run of 20&nbsp;years as prime minister "is rightly regarded as one of the major feats of British political history.&nbsp;Explanations are usually offered in terms of his expert handling of the political system after 1720, [and] his unique blending of the surviving powers of the crown with the increasing influence of the Commons".<ref>{{cite book |author=Speck, W. A. |author-link=W. A. Speck |year=1977 |title=Stability and Strife: England 1714–1760 |page=203}}</ref>

Walpole was a Whig from the [[Landed gentry|gentry]] class who was first elected to Parliament in 1701 and held many senior positions. He was a [[Squire#England|country squire]] and looked to country gentlemen for his political base. Historian F.&nbsp;O'Gorman says his leadership in Parliament reflected his "reasonable and persuasive oratory, his ability to move both the emotions as well as the minds of men, and, above all, his extraordinary self-confidence".<ref>{{cite book |author=O'Gorman, Frank |year=1997 |title=The Long Eighteenth Century: British political and social history 1688–1832 |page=71}}</ref> Hoppit says Walpole's policies sought moderation, he worked for peace, lower taxes and growing exports, and allowed a little more tolerance for Protestant Dissenters. He mostly avoided controversy and high-intensity disputes as his middle way attracted moderates from both the Whig and Tory camps; his appointment to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the [[South Sea Company|South Sea Bubble]] stock-market crisis drew attention to perceived protection of political allies by Walpole.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hoppit, Julian |year=2000 |title=A Land of Liberty? England 1689–1727 |page=410}}</ref><ref name=UK-hist-blog-2014-11-20/>

Historian [[H. T. Dickinson]] sums up his historical role by saying that "Walpole was one of the greatest politicians in British history. He played a significant role in sustaining the Whig party, safeguarding the Hanoverian succession, and defending the principles of the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688). He established stable political supremacy for the Whig party and taught succeeding ministers how best to establish an effective working relationship between Crown and Parliament."<ref>{{cite book |author=Dickinson, H. T. |author-link=H. T. Dickinson |year=2003 |section=Walpole, Sir Robert |editor=Loads, David |title=Readers' Guide to British History |page=1338}}</ref> Some scholars rank him highly among British prime ministers.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Strangio, Paul |author2='t&nbsp;Hart, Paul |author3=Walter, James |year=2013 |title=Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative perspectives |publisher=Oxford U. Press |isbn=9780199666423 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMu2nAZmMbEC&pg=PA225}}</ref>

==Early life ==
Walpole was born in [[Houghton, Norfolk]], in 1676. One of 19&nbsp;children, he was the third son and fifth child of [[Robert Walpole (1650–1700)|Robert Walpole]], a member of the local gentry and a Whig politician who represented the borough of [[Castle Rising]] in the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]]. His wife Mary Burwell was the daughter and heiress of Sir Geoffrey Burwell of [[Rougham, Suffolk]]. [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole]], was his younger brother.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=178–179}}

As a child, Walpole attended a private school at [[Great Massingham|Massingham, Norfolk]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=179}} Walpole entered [[Eton College]] in 1690{{sfnp|ACAD|WLPL695R}} where he was a [[King's Scholar#King's Scholars at Eton College|King's Scholar]].<ref>{{cite episode |series=The Prime Minister at 300 |number=1 |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |people=[[Sir Anthony Seldon]] (programme by) |date=2 April 2021}}</ref> He left Eton on 2&nbsp;April 1696{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=179}} and matriculated at [[King's College, Cambridge]], on the same day.{{sfnp|ACAD|WLPL695R}} On 25&nbsp;May 1698, he left Cambridge after the death of his only remaining older brother, Edward, so that he could help his father administer the family estate to which he had become the heir. Walpole had planned to become a clergyman but as he was now the eldest surviving son in the family, he abandoned the idea. In November&nbsp;1700 his father died, and Robert succeeded to inherit the [[Walpole family|Walpole estate]]. A paper in his father's handwriting, dated 9&nbsp;June 1700, shows the family estate in Norfolk and Suffolk to have been nine manors in Norfolk and one in Suffolk.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=180}}

=== Business success ===
As a young man, Walpole had bought [[Share (finance)|shares]] in the [[South Sea Company]], which monopolised trade with Spain, the Caribbean, and South America. The speculative market for slaves, rum, and mahogany spawned a frenzy that had ramifications throughout Europe when it collapsed. However, Walpole had bought at the bottom and sold at the top, adding greatly to his inherited wealth and allowing him to create [[Houghton Hall]] as seen today.<ref name=Glentzer-2014-06-20>{{cite news |last=Glentzer |first=Molly |date=20 June 2014 |title='Houghton Hall' peeks at a real 'Downton Abbey' |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-theater/article/Houghton-Hall-peeks-at-a-real-Downton-Abbey-5568249.php |access-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>{{efn|
As a young man, Sir Robert bought shares of the South Seas Co., which monopolized trade with Spain, the Caribbean, and South America. The speculative market for slaves, rum, and mahogany spawned a frenzy that had ramifications throughout Europe when it collapsed. "But Walpole bought at the bottom and sold at the top," Tinterow said. That fortune enabled him to build Houghton.<ref name=Glentzer-2014-06-20/>
}}

== Early career ==
===Political career===
Walpole's political career began in January 1701 when he won a seat in the [[January 1701 English general election|English general election]] at [[Castle Rising (UK Parliament constituency)|Castle Rising]] in Norfolk. He left Castle Rising in 1702 so that he could represent the neighbouring borough of [[King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)|King's Lynn]], a [[pocket borough]] that would re-elect him for the remainder of his political career. Voters and politicians nicknamed him "Robin".{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=180}}

Like his father, Robert Walpole was a member of the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig Party]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=180, 181}} In 1705, Walpole was appointed by [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] to be a member of the council for her husband, [[Prince George of Denmark]], [[British Admiralty|Lord High Admiral]]. After having been singled out in a struggle between the Whigs and the government, Walpole became the intermediary for reconciling the government to the Whig leaders. His abilities were recognised by [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Lord Godolphin]] (the [[Lord High Treasurer]] and leader of the Cabinet) and he was subsequently appointed to the position of [[Secretary at War]] in 1708; for a short period of time in 1710 he also simultaneously held the post of [[Treasurer of the Navy]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=181–182}}

Despite his personal clout, however, Walpole could not stop Lord Godolphin and the Whigs from pressing for the prosecution of [[Henry Sacheverell]], a minister who preached anti-Whig sermons. The trial was extremely unpopular with much of the country, causing the [[Sacheverell riots]], and was followed by the downfall of the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] and the Whig Party in the general election of 1710. The new ministry, under the leadership of the Tory [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer|Robert Harley]], removed Walpole from his office of Secretary at War but he remained Treasurer of the Navy until 2 January 1711. Harley had first attempted to entice him and then threatened him to join the [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]], but Walpole rejected the offers, instead becoming one of the most outspoken members of the Whig Opposition. He effectively defended Lord Godolphin against Tory attacks in parliamentary debate, as well as in the press.<ref>{{cite book |author=Speck, W. T. |year=1977 |title=Stability and Strife: England 1714–1760 |pages=206–209}}</ref>

In 1712, Walpole was accused of [[venality]] and corruption in the matter of two forage contracts for Scotland. Although it was proven that he had retained none of the money, Walpole was pronounced "guilty of a high breach of trust and notorious corruption".{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=183}} He was impeached by the House of Commons and found guilty by the [[House of Lords]]; he was then imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] for six months and expelled from Parliament. While in the Tower he was regarded as a political martyr, and visited by all the Whig leaders. After he was released, Walpole wrote and published anonymous pamphlets attacking the Harley ministry and assisted Sir [[Richard Steele]] in crafting political pamphlets. Walpole was re-elected for King's Lynn in 1713.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=183}}

===Stanhope–Sunderland ministry===
{{Main|First Stanhope–Sunderland ministry|Second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry}}
Queen Anne died in 1714. Under the [[Act of Settlement 1701]], which excluded Roman Catholics from the line of succession, Anne was succeeded by her [[second cousin]], the [[Elector of Hanover]], [[George I of Great Britain|George I]]. George I distrusted the Tories, who he believed opposed his right to succeed to the Throne. The year of George's accession, 1714, marked the ascendancy of the Whigs who would remain in power for the next fifty years. Robert Walpole became a [[Privy Council of Great Britain|Privy Councillor]] and rose to the position of [[Paymaster of the Forces]]{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=184}} in a Cabinet nominally led by [[Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax]], but actually dominated by [[Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend]] (Walpole's brother-in-law), and [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|James Stanhope (later 1st Earl Stanhope)]]. Walpole was also appointed chairman of a secret committee formed to investigate the actions of the previous Tory ministry in 1715.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cihm_20078 archive.org: "A Report from the Committee of Secrecy, appointed by order of the House of Commons: to examine several books and papers laid before the House, relating to the late negotiations of peace and commerce, &c. : reported on the ninth of June, 1715"] by Robert Walpole, Chairman</ref> [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]], was impeached, and [[Henry St&nbsp;John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke]], suffered from an [[Bill of attainder|act of attainder]], the [[Attainder of Viscount Bolingbroke Act 1714]] ([[1 Geo. 1. St. 2]]. c. 16).{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=184}}

Halifax, the titular head of the administration, died in 1715 and by 1716 Walpole was appointed to the posts of [[First Lord of the Treasury|First Commissioner (Lord) of the Treasury]] and [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. He was a member of the ''Board of General Officers'' established in 1717 to investigate the abuse of pay. Walpole's fellow members, appointed by the Prince of Wales (later [[George II of Great Britain|George&nbsp;II]]), included [[William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath]], Secretary at War; General Lumley; General Erle; and [[Sir Philip Meadowes]], Controller of the Army and [[Knight Marshal]] of the King's Palace,<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Oldmixon |first1=Mr (John) |title=The History of England: During the Reigns of King William and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, King George I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvsiAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA627 |publisher=T. Cox |year=1735 |location=Great Britain |page=627|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=Seccombe-DNB00>{{cite DNB |wstitle=Meadows, Philip |volume=37 |last=Seccombe |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Seccombe |pages=192–194 |short=1}}</ref>{{efn|Sir Philip Meadows Jnr. (d.&nbsp;1757) – the son of Sir Philip Meadows Snr. (d.&nbsp;1718) – was a commissioner of excise from 1698 to 1700, was on 2&nbsp;July 1700 appointed knight-marshal of the king's household, and formally knighted by William&nbsp;III on 23&nbsp;Dec. 1700 at Hampton Court.&nbsp;...<ref name=Seccombe-DNB00/>
}}
whose daughter, Mary Meadows,<ref>{{cite web |title=Household of Queen Caroline 1727–37 |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/publications/office/queencaroline#maid |publisher=University of London) The Institute of Historical Research (IHR, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU |access-date=4 March 2013 |quote=Maid of Honour – 172; Meadows, Mary. Transferred from household of Princess 1727. First occ. 1728 (Chamberlayne (1728), pt. iii, 264).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (Earl Manvers – Lineage) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_U8AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA685 |work=Baronetage |publisher=Henry Colburn |year=1839 |pages=684–685 |access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref> was [[maid-of-honour]] to Walpole's friend, [[Caroline of Ansbach|Queen Caroline]]. A keen huntsman, Walpole built for himself Great Lodge (Old Lodge) in [[Richmond Park]]. Philip Medows, the deputy ranger of the park and son of Walpole's political ally, Sir Philip Meadowes, lived at Great Lodge after Walpole had vacated it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=William |title=Noes and Queries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0oAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA370 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=370 |access-date=13 April 2014 |year=1858}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Arthur |title=Meadows Pedigree – Collins's Peerage of England; Genealogical, Biographical, and Historical, Volume 5 |url=https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerage05brydgoog |publisher=F. C. and J. Rivington, Otridge and son |year=1812 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerage05brydgoog/page/n732 722]–723 |access-date=9 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

In his new political positions, and encouraged by his advisers, Walpole introduced the [[sinking fund]], a device to reduce the national debt.<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|pp=184, 186}}.</ref> The Cabinet of which he was a member was often divided over most important issues. Normally, Walpole and Townshend were on one side, with Stanhope and [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland]] on the other. Foreign policy was the primary issue of contention; George I was thought to be conducting foreign affairs with the interests of his German territories, rather than those of Great Britain, at heart. The Stanhope–Sunderland faction, however, had the King's support. In 1716 Townshend had been removed from the important post of [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department|Northern Secretary]] and put in the lesser office of [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=185}}

Even this change did not appease Stanhope and Sunderland, who secured the dismissal of Townshend from the Lord-Lieutenancy in April 1717.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=185}} On the next day, Walpole resigned from the Cabinet to join the Opposition "because I could not connive at some things that were carrying on",<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|p=185}} cites ''Parl. Hist.'' (9 May 1717) vii. 460.</ref> and by joining the opposition he did not intend "to make the king uneasy or to embarrass his affairs."<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|p=185}} cites ''Parl. Hist.'' (16 April 1717) vii. 449.</ref> This began the [[Whig Split]], dividing the dominant party for three years. In the new Cabinet, Sunderland and Stanhope (who was created an Earl) were the effective heads.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} Walpole reversed his earlier support for the [[Impeachment of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford|impeachment of Robert Harley]], the former first minister, and joined with the Tory opposition in securing an acquittal in July&nbsp;1717.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hill, Brian W. |year=1998 |title=Robert Harley. Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister |publisher=Yale University Press |page=330}}</ref>

Soon after Walpole's resignation, a bitter family quarrel between the King and the Prince of Wales, split the royal family. Walpole and others who opposed the Government often congregated at [[Leicester Square#History|Leicester House]], the home of the Prince of Wales, to form political plans.<ref>{{cite web|title=George II|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_ii_king.shtml|website=BBC History|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref>

Walpole also became an adviser and close friend of the Prince of Wales's wife, [[Caroline of Ansbach|Caroline]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} In 1720 he improved his position by bringing about a reconciliation between the Prince of Wales and the King.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/dec/03/books.monarchy|title=Diaries reveal passions at the court of King George|last=Thorpe|first=Vanessa|date=3 December 2006|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

Walpole continued to be an influential figure in the House of Commons.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Walpole-1st-Earl-of-Orford |author= Plumb, John |author-link=John H. Plumb |title=Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford |at=prime minister of Great Britain |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> He was especially active in opposing one of the Government's more significant proposals, the [[Peerage Bill]], which would have limited the power of the monarch to create new [[peerage]]s.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=186}} Walpole brought about a temporary abandonment of the bill in 1719<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica"/> and the outright rejection of the bill by the House of Commons.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} This defeat led Stanhope and Sunderland to reconcile with their opponents;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/walpole-robert-1676-1745|title=Walpole, Robert (1676–1745), of Houghton, Norf. |website=www.historyofparliamentonline.org|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> Walpole returned as Paymaster of the Forces{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} and Townshend was appointed [[Lord President of the Council]]. By accepting the position of Paymaster, however, Walpole lost the favour of the Prince of Wales (the future King George II), who still harboured disdain for his father's Government.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.historyhome.co.uk/people/walpole-r.htm |title=Sir Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford (1676–1745) |website=historyhome.co.uk |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

==Premiership (1721–1742) <!-- linked from redirects [[Premiership of Robert Walpole]], [[Premiership of Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford]], [[Premiership of Sir Robert Walpole]], [[Prime ministership of Robert Walpole]], [[Prime ministership of Sir Robert Walpole]] -->==
{{Infobox administration
| image = File:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford by Arthur Pond.jpg
| name = Premiership of Robert Walpole
| term_start = 3 April 1721
| term_end = 11 February 1742
| premier = <!-- Robert Walpole -->
| premier_link = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister of Great Britain]]
| cabinet = [[Walpole ministry]]
| party = [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]
| election = <!-- N/A -->
| monarch = [[George I of Great Britain|George I]] and [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]
| seat = [[10 Downing Street]]
| predecessor = ''Office established''
| successor = [[Premiership of the Earl of Wilmington| Earl of Wilmington]]
}}

Soon after Walpole returned to the Cabinet, Britain was swept by a wave of over-enthusiastic speculation which led to the [[South Sea Bubble]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} The Government had established a plan whereby the South Sea Company would assume the national debt of Great Britain in exchange for lucrative bonds. It was widely believed that the company would eventually reap an enormous profit through international trade in cloth, agricultural goods, and [[History of slavery|slaves]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://saskiaregina.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/the-birth-of-modern-politics-the-rise-of-rober-walpole/|title=The Birth Of Modern Politics: The Rise of Robert Walpole|date=2 February 2015|work=Plantagenet Lions|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> Many in the country, including Walpole himself (who sold at the top of the market and made 1,000 per cent profit), frenziedly invested in the company. By the latter part of 1720, however, the company had begun to collapse as the price of its shares plunged.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}}<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/South-Sea-Bubble/|title=The South Sea Bubble of 1720|author= Stewart, Terry|work=Historic UK|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

In 1721 a committee investigated<ref name="auto1"/> the scandal, finding that there was corruption on the part of many in the Cabinet. Among those implicated were [[John Aislabie]]{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), [[James Craggs the Elder]] (the [[Postmaster General]]), [[James Craggs the Younger]] (the [[Secretary of State for the Southern Department|Southern Secretary]]), and even Lords Stanhope and Sunderland (the heads of the Ministry). Both Craggs the Elder and Craggs the Younger died in disgrace; the remainder were impeached for their corruption. Aislabie was found guilty and imprisoned, but the personal influence of Walpole saved both Stanhope and Sunderland. For his role in preventing these individuals and others from being punished, Walpole gained the nickname of "The Screen",<ref name=Coxe-1789>Letter from [[St John Brodrick (died 1728)|St John Brodrick]] to [[Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton|Lord Midleton]], 24 May 1721. Coxe (1798), ii. 216–217.</ref>{{efn|
"''After all the pains that have been taken to detect the villanys of the directors and their friends, I am afraid they will at last flip thro' their fingers, and that nothing further will be done as to confiscation, hanging, &c. There certainly is a majority in the house of commons, that are willing to do themselves and the kingdom justice; but they act so little in concert together [...] He [ [[Thomas Brodrick (1654–1730)|Thomas Brodrick]] ] is [...] the spring that gives motion to the whole body; and the only man that either can or will set matters in a true light, and expose and baffle the schemes of the'' skreen'', &c. The house were five hours in a committee [...] and were amuse'd and banter'd [...] by questions and amendments propos'd by the skreen, &c. so that they rose at last without coming to any resolution. [...] the kingdom is like to be very happy, when the skreen, and the gentleman [Sunderland] with the bloody nose, act in perfect concert together''."<ref name=Coxe-1789/>
}}
or "Screenmaster-General".<ref name=UK-hist-blog-2014-11-20>{{cite web |title=Sir Robert Walpole (Whig, 1721–1742) |series=History of government |date=20 November 2014 |website=Government of the United Kingdom |type=blog |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/11/20/sir-robert-walpole-whig-1721-1742/ |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

The resignation of Sunderland and the death of Stanhope in 1721 left Walpole as the most important figure in the administration.<ref name=UK-hist-blog-2014-11-20/> On 3 April 1721 he was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons.<ref name=UK-hist-blog-2014-11-20/><ref>{{cite web |last=Marples |first=Alice |date=1 April 2021 |title=Sir Robert Walpole: Britain's first Prime Minister |url=https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/sir-robert-walpole-britains-first-prime-minister/ |access-date=2 April 2022 |website=The National Archives blog |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Walpole's ''de facto'' tenure as "prime minister" is often dated to his appointment as First Lord of the Treasury in 1721,{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} though he himself rejected that title (it was originally a term of abuse), stating in 1741: "I unequivocally deny that I am sole and prime minister."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Blick |first1=Andrew |last2=Jones |first2=George |date=1 January 2012 |title=The Institution of Prime Minister |website=[[gov.uk]] |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2012/01/01/the-institution-of-prime-minister |access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> His brother-in-law Lord Townshend served as Secretary of State<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/people/charles-townshend-9509445|title=Charles Townshend |website=Biography|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> for the Northern Department and controlled the nation's foreign affairs. The two also had to contend with the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Lord Carteret]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville |series=British statesman |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Carteret-2nd-Earl-Granville |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> Townshend and Walpole were thus restored to power and "annihilated the opposing faction".{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}}

===First term===
{{Further|Walpole–Townshend ministry}}
Under the guidance of Walpole, [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] attempted to deal with the financial crisis brought on by the [[South Sea Bubble]]. The estates of the directors of the [[South Sea Company]] were used to relieve the suffering of the victims, and the stock of the company was divided between the [[Bank of England]] and [[East India Company]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=187}} The crisis had gravely damaged the credibility of the King and of the Whig Party, but Walpole defended both with skilful oratory in the House of Commons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/walpole_robert.shtml|title=BBC – History – Historic Figures: Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745)|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

Walpole's first year as prime minister was also marked by the discovery of a [[Atterbury Plot|plot]] formed by [[Francis Atterbury]], the [[bishop of Rochester]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=188}} The exposure of the scheme crushed the hopes of the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] whose previous attempts at rebellion (most notably the risings of 1715 and 1719) had also failed. The Tory Party was equally unfortunate even though Lord Bolingbroke, a Tory leader who fled to France to avoid punishment for his Jacobite sympathies, was permitted to return to Britain in 1723.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Saint-John-1st-Viscount-Bolingbroke|title=Henry Saint John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke {{!}} British politician|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>
[[File:William Hogarth (1697-1764) - Speaker Arthur Onslow Calling upon Sir Robert Walpole to Speak in the House of Commons - 1441463 - National Trust.jpg|thumb|Speaker [[Arthur Onslow]] calling upon Sir Robert Walpole to Speak in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] by [[William Hogarth]]]]

During the remainder of George I's reign, Walpole's ascendancy continued; the political power of the monarch was gradually diminishing and that of his ministers gradually increasing.<ref name="BBC - History - George I">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_i_king.shtml|title=BBC – History – George I|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> In 1724 the primary political rival of Walpole and Townshend in the Cabinet, Lord Carteret, was dismissed from the post of Southern Secretary and once again appointed to the lesser office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In Ireland, Lord Carteret used his power to secretly aid in the controversy over [[William Wood (Mintmaster)|Wood's Halfpence]] and support ''[[Drapier's Letters]]'' behind the scenes and cause harm to Walpole's power.<ref>{{cite book |first=Oliver W. |last=Ferguson |title=Jonathan Swift and Ireland}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2014}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Irvin |last=Ehrenpreis |title=Jonathan Swift |volume=III}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2014}} Walpole was able to recover from these events by removing the patent. However, Irish sentiment was situated against the English control.<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Coxe |year=1978 |title=Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford }}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2014}}

Townshend, working with the king, helped keep Great Britain at peace, especially by negotiating a treaty with France and [[Prussia]] in 1725. Walpole was not consulted and stated that Townshend was "too precipitate" in his actions.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=190}} Great Britain, free from Jacobite threats, from war, and from financial crises, grew prosperous, and Robert Walpole acquired the favour of George I.<ref name="BBC - History - George I"/> In 1725 he persuaded the king to revive the [[Order of the Bath|Knighthood of the Bath]] and was himself invested with the order,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/awards-and-accreditation/content/103542 |title=This month in history: Sir Robert Walpole becomes Britain's first prime minister |website=The Gazette }}</ref>{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=190}} and in 1726 was made a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/awards-and-accreditation/content/100022|title=Hall of fame: Robert Walpole, Britain's first PM |website=thegazette.co.uk |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> earning him the nickname "Sir Bluestring".{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=190}} His eldest son was granted a barony.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford – Person – National Portrait Gallery |website=npg.org.uk |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp125183/robert-walpole-2nd-earl-of-orford |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

===Second term===
{{Further|Walpole ministry}}

Walpole's position was threatened in 1727 when George I died and was succeeded by [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]. For a few days it seemed that Walpole would be dismissed but, on the advice of [[Caroline of Ansbach|Queen Caroline]], the King agreed to keep him in office. Although the King disliked Townshend, he retained him as well. Over the next years Walpole continued to share power with Townshend but the two clashed over British foreign affairs, especially over policy regarding [[Austria]]. Gradually Walpole became the clearly dominant partner in government. His colleague retired on 15 May 1730 and this date is sometimes given as the beginning of Walpole's unofficial tenure as prime minister. Townshend's departure enabled Walpole to conclude the [[Treaty of Vienna (1731)|Treaty of Vienna]], creating the [[Anglo-Austrian alliance]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/memoirslifeanda00coxegoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/memoirslifeanda00coxegoog/page/n28 19]|quote=robert walpole treaty of vienna.|title=Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole: Earl of Orford|last=Coxe|first=William|date=1816|publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown|language=en}}</ref>

====Opposition====
Walpole, a polarising figure, had many opponents, the most important of whom were in the [[Country Party (Britain)|Country Party]], such as Lord Bolingbroke (who had been his political enemy since the days of Queen Anne)<ref>{{cite book |first=Isaac |last=Kramnick |year=1992 |title=Bolingbroke and His Circle: The Politics of Nostalgia in the Age of Walpole}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2014}} and [[William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath|William Pulteney]] (a capable Whig statesman who felt snubbed when Walpole failed to include him in the Cabinet).<ref>{{cite ODNB |first=Stuart |last=Handley |first2=M. J. |last2=Rowe |first3=W. H. |last3=McBryde |date=October 2007 |title=Pulteney, William, earl of Bath (1684–1764) |id=22889 |mode=cs2}}</ref> Bolingbroke and Pulteney ran a periodical called ''The Craftsman'' in which they incessantly denounced the Prime Minister's policies.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Simon |last=Varey |date=April 1993 |title=The Craftsman |journal=Prose Studies |volume= 16 |issue=1 |pages=58–77 |doi=10.1080/01440359308586487}}</ref> Walpole was also satirised and parodied extensively; he was often compared to the criminal [[Jonathan Wild]] as, for example, [[John Gay]] did in his farcical ''[[The Beggar's Opera|Beggar's Opera]]''. Walpole's other enemies included [[Jonathan Swift]],<ref>{{cite book |first=J.A. |last=Downie |year=1986 |title=Jonathan Swift: Political Writer}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2014}} [[Alexander Pope]], [[Henry Fielding]], and [[Samuel Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A petition to remove Sir Robert Walpole (part&nbsp;1) |website=samueljohnson.com |url=http://www.samueljohnson.com/debates/174107.html |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

====Support====
[[Image:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford with Henry Bilson-Legge, by Stephen Slaughter.jpg|left|thumb|Walpole with his secretary, [[Henry Bilson-Legge]], by [[Stephen Slaughter]]]]

Walpole secured the support of the people and of the House of Commons with a policy of avoiding war. He used his influence to prevent George II from entering the [[War of the Polish Succession]] in 1733, because it was a dispute between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. He boasted, "There are 50,000 men slain in Europe this year, and not one Englishman."<ref>{{cite book|author=C. Grant Robertson|title=England under the Hanoverians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG7Nls67aQC&pg=PA66|year=1921|page=66}}</ref> By avoiding wars, Walpole could lower taxes. He reduced the national debt with a sinking fund, and by negotiating lower interest rates. He reduced the land tax from four shillings in 1721, to 3s in 1728, 2s in 1731 and finally to only 1s in 1732. His long-term goal was to replace the land tax, which was paid by the local gentry, with excise and customs taxes, which were paid by merchants and ultimately by consumers. Walpole joked that the landed gentry resembled hogs, which squealed loudly whenever anyone laid hands on them. By contrast, he said, merchants were like sheep, and yielded their wool without complaint.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. W. Ward |title=The Cambridge Modern History: Volume VI: the Eighteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMgFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA46|year=1909|page=46|publisher=University Press |isbn=9780521078146}}</ref> The joke backfired in 1733 when he was defeated in a major battle to impose [[Excise Bill|excise taxes]] on wine and tobacco. To reduce the threat of smuggling, the tax was to be collected not at ports but at warehouses. This new proposal, however, was extremely unpopular and aroused the opposition of the nation's merchants. Walpole agreed to withdraw the bill before Parliament voted on it, but he dismissed the politicians who had dared to oppose it in the first place. Thus, Walpole lost a considerable element of his Whig Party to the Opposition.<ref name=Langford-1998/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 28–33}}

After the general elections of 1734, Walpole's supporters still formed a majority in the House of Commons although they were less numerous than before. He maintained both his parliamentary supremacy and his popularity in [[Norfolk]], his home county. In May&nbsp;1734, he presented a new silver [[Ceremonial mace|mace]] "weighing 168&nbsp;ounces, gilt, and finely exchased, to the city of Norwich – on the cup part of it are Sir Robert's arms, and the arms of the city; it was first carried before Mayor Philip Meadows&nbsp;Esq. on the 29th of May".<ref name=brithist-Norwich-37>{{cite report |chapter=The city of Norwich, chapter&nbsp;37: Of the city in the time of King George&nbsp;II |year=1806 |title=An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk |volume=3, the History of the City and County of Norwich, Part&nbsp;I |pages=443–454 |place=London |publisher=W. Miller |via=british-history.ac.uk |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol3/pp443-454#h3-0002 |access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>{{efn|In 1734, a new silver mace, weighing 168 ounces, gilt and finely exchased, was presented to the city by the right honourable Sir&nbsp;Rob. Walpole; on the cup part of it are Sir&nbsp;Robert's arms, and the arms of the city; it was first carried before the Mayor on 29 May.<ref name=brithist-Norwich-37/>
}}<ref>{{cite web |author1=Taylor |author2=Taylor |author3=Fairfax |author4=Fairfax-Meadows |year=1840 |title=The Suffolk Bartholomeans: A Memoir of the Ministerial and Domestic History |series=Illustrative Outline of the Meadows Pedigree |publisher=W. Pickering |pages=4–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqkzAQAAIAAJ&q=Mayor+Norwich+philip+Meadows+Esq.&pg=PA2 |access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref> However, despite these great occasions, Walpole's broader popularity had begun to wane.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=195–196}}<!-- See "The growing weakness of Walpole's position now became apparen" --> In 1736 an increase in the tax on gin inspired riots in London. The even more serious [[Porteous riots]] broke out in Edinburgh after the King pardoned a captain of the guard (John Porteous) who had commanded his troops to shoot a group of protesters. Though these events diminished Walpole's popularity,{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=195–196}} they failed to shake his majority in Parliament. Walpole's domination over the House of Commons was highlighted by the ease with which he secured the rejection of Sir John Barnard's plan to reduce the interest on the national debt. Walpole was also able to persuade Parliament to pass the [[Licensing Act 1737]] under which London theatres were regulated.<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|pp=195–196}} 10 Geo. II, c. 28.</ref> The act revealed a disdain for Swift, Pope, Fielding, and other literary figures who had attacked his government in their works.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crean |first=P.J. |year=1938 |title=The Stage Licensing Act of 1737 |journal=Modern Philology |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=239–255 |jstor=434130 |doi=10.1086/388315 |s2cid=159897178}}</ref>

While the "[[Country Party (Britain)|country party]]" attacked Walpole relentlessly, he subsidised writers and lesser-known journalists such as [[William Arnall]] and Bishop [[Benjamin Hoadly]] as well as two men he named to the role of [[poet laureate]], [[Laurence Eusden]] and [[Colley Cibber]]. They defended Walpole from the charge of evil political corruption by arguing that corruption is the universal human condition. Furthermore, they argued, political divisiveness was also universal and inevitable because of selfish passions that were integral to human nature. Arnall argued that government must be strong enough to control conflict, and in that regard, Walpole was quite successful. This style of "court" political rhetoric continued through the 18th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Thomas |last=Horne |date=October–December 1980 |title=Politics in a corrupt society: William Arnall's defense of Robert Walpole |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=41 |number=4 |pages=601–614 |jstor=2709276|doi=10.2307/2709276 }}</ref>

===Decline===
[[File:The Stature of a Great Man or the English Colossus cph.3b03411.jpg|thumb|upright|1740 political cartoon depicting Walpole as the [[Colossus of Rhodes]], alluding to his reluctance to engage Spain and France militarily]]
[[File:The Solicitor Committed, or the Dumb Screen (BM 1868,0808.3700).jpg|thumb|Satire on [[Nicholas Paxton]], solicitor to the Treasury, and his refusal to answer questions from the Committee of Secrecy enquiring into the conduct of Robert Walpole.]]
The year 1737 saw the death of Walpole's close friend [[Caroline of Ansbach|Queen Caroline]]. Though her death did not end his personal influence with George&nbsp;II, who had grown loyal to the Prime Minister during the preceding years, Walpole's domination of government continued to decline. His opponents acquired a vocal leader in the [[Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] who was estranged from his father, the King. Several young politicians including [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt the Elder]] and [[George Grenville]] formed a faction known as the "[[Patriot Whigs|Patriot Boys]]" and joined the Prince of Wales in opposition.<ref>{{cite book |first=Keith |last=Laybourn |author-link=Keith Laybourn |year=2001 |title=British Political Leaders: A biographical dictionary |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=IolLcc5htJoC&pg=PA319 319]–320}}</ref>

Walpole's failure to maintain a policy of avoiding military conflict eventually led to his fall from power.<ref>{{cite book |first=J.H. |last=Plumb |year=1960 |title=Sir Robert Walpole; the Making of a Statesman: The King's Minister |publisher=Cresset Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brYNAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2014}} Under the [[Treaty of Seville (1729)]], Great Britain agreed not to trade with the Spanish colonies in North America. Spain claimed the right to board and search British vessels to ensure compliance with this provision. Disputes, however, broke out over trade with the [[West Indies]].{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} Walpole attempted to prevent war but was opposed by the King, the House of Commons, and by a faction in his own Cabinet. In 1739 Walpole abandoned all efforts to stop the conflict and commenced the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]] (so called because [[Robert Jenkins (master mariner)|Robert Jenkins]], a Welsh mariner, claimed that a Spaniard inspecting his vessel had severed his ear).{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

Walpole's influence continued to dramatically decline even after the war began. In the [[1741 British general election|1741 general election]] his supporters secured an increase in votes in constituencies that were decided by mass electorates but failed to win in many [[rotten borough|pocket boroughs]] (constituencies subject to the informal but strong influence of patrons). In general, the government made gains in England and [[Wales]] but this was not enough to overturn the reverses of the [[1734 British general election|1734 election]] and further losses in [[Cornwall]] where many constituencies were obedient to the will of the Prince of Wales (who was also [[Duke of Cornwall]]). These constituencies returned members of parliament hostile to the Prime Minister. Similarly, the influence of the [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll|Duke of Argyll]] secured the election of members opposed to Walpole in some parts of Scotland. Walpole's new majority was difficult to determine because of the uncertain loyalties of many new members, but contemporaries and historians estimated it as low as fourteen to eighteen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Speck |first=W. A. |year=1977 |title=Stability and Strife: England, 1714–1760 |publisher=Harvard U. Press |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mKVPUNbbeUEC&pg=PA235 235]–238}}</ref>

In the new Parliament, many Whigs thought the ageing Prime Minister incapable of leading the military campaign. Moreover, his majority was not as strong as it had formerly been, his detractors – such as William Pulteney, earl of Bath, and Lord Perceval – being approximately as numerous as his supporters. Behind these political enemies were opposition Whigs, Tories and Jacobites. Walpole was alleged to have presided over an immense increase in corruption and to have enriched himself enormously whilst in office. Parliamentary committees were formed to investigate these charges.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Sir Robert Walpole |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/robert-walpole |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> In 1742 when the House of Commons was prepared to determine the validity of a by-election in [[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]], Walpole and others agreed to treat the issue as a [[motion of no confidence]]. As Walpole was defeated on the vote, he agreed to resign from the Government. The news of the naval disaster against Spain in the [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias]] also prompted the end of his political career. King George&nbsp;II wept on his resignation and begged to see him frequently.<ref name=Brtna-primes>{{cite web |title=British Prime Ministers: Sir Robert Walpole |website=britannia.com |url=http://www.britannia.com/gov/primes/prime1.html |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> As part of his resignation the King agreed to elevate him to the House of Lords as the [[Earl of Orford]], Viscount Walpole and [[Baron Walpole]] of Houghton in the County of Norfolk, this occurred on 6 February 1742. Five days later he formally relinquished the seals of office.<ref name=Langford-1998>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Langford |year=1998 |title=A Polite and Commercial People: England, 1727–1783 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9-b81opKYREC&pg=PA56 56]}}

Although no longer First Lord of the Treasury, Walpole remained politically involved as an advisor. His former colleagues were still pleased to see him, perhaps in part because he retained the king's favour. After his resignation, his main political roles were to support the government by means of advice, to dole out some patronage and to speak on the ministry's behalf in the Lords.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Oates, Jonathan |year=2006 |title=Sir Robert Walpole after his Fall from Power, 1742–1745 |journal=History |volume=91 |issue=302 |pages=218–230|doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.2006.00364.x }}</ref>

==Later life==
[[File:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford by Arthur Pond.jpg|thumb|left|Robert Walpole by [[Arthur Pond]], 1742]]
Lord Orford was succeeded as prime minister by [[Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington|Lord Wilmington]] in an administration whose true head was [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Lord Carteret]]. A committee was created to inquire into Walpole's ministry but no substantial evidence of wrongdoing or corruption was discovered. Though no longer a member of the Cabinet, Orford continued to maintain personal influence with George II and was often dubbed the "Minister behind the Curtain" for this advice and influence. In 1744 he managed to secure the dismissal of Carteret and the appointment of [[Henry Pelham]] whom he regarded as a political protégé. He advised Pelham to make use of his seat in the Commons to serve as a bridge between the King and Parliament, just as Walpole had done.{{sfnp|Browning|1975|p=117}}<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jonathan |last=Aotes |date=April 2006 |title=Sir Robert Walpole after his fall from power, 1742–1745 |journal=History |volume=91 |issue=302 |pages=218–230 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229x.2006.00364.x}}</ref>

During this time, Walpole also made two interventions in the Lords. The first was in January 1744 in the debate on Hanoverian troops being kept in British pay. Walpole prevented them from losing the troops. In his second intervention, Walpole, with fear of a Jacobite-inspired invasion in February 1744, made a speech on the situation. Frederick, Prince of Wales, usually hostile to Walpole, warmly received him at his court the next day, most likely because his father's throne, and the future of the whole Hanoverian dynasty, was at risk from the Stuart Pretender.<ref name="npg.org.uk">{{cite web |title=Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford |website=National Portrait Gallery |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw04757/Robert-Walpole-1st-Earl-of-Orford |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

Along with his political interests in his last years, Walpole enjoyed the pleasures of the hunt. Back at his recently rebuilt country seat in Houghton, Norfolk, such pastimes were denied him due to "dismal weather".<ref>BL Add. MS 63750, fo. 34r.</ref> He also enjoyed the beauties of the countryside. His art collection gave him particular pleasure. He had spent much money in the 1720s and 1730s in building up a collection of Old Masters from all over Europe. Walpole also concerned himself with estate matters.<ref name="npg.org.uk"/>

His health, never good, deteriorated rapidly toward the end of 1744. Walpole died in London on 18 March 1745 from a bladder stone, aged 68 years, and was buried at the [[St Martin at Tours' Church, Houghton|Church of St Martin at Tours]] on the [[Houghton Hall|Haughton]] estate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church of St.&nbsp;Martin, Houghton, Norfolk |website=British Listed Buildings |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101077787-church-of-st-martin-houghton |access-date=11 May 2017}}</ref> His earldom passed to his eldest son Robert who was in turn succeeded by his only son George. Upon the death of the third Earl, the earldom was inherited by the first Earl's younger son [[Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford|Horace Walpole]], who is now remembered for his many thousands of insightful letters, published in 48&nbsp;volumes by [[Yale University Press]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Smith, W. H. |year=1983 |title=Horace Walpole's Correspondence |periodical=The Yale University Library Gazette |volume=58 |issue=1/2 |pages=17–28}}</ref> The title died with him in 1797.

==Legacy==
[[File:Walpole's reign2.jpg|thumb|''Walpole's reign'', a contemporary political satire]]

Walpole exercised a tremendous influence on the politics of his day. The Tories became a minor insignificant faction, and the Whigs became a dominant and largely unopposed party. His influence on the development of the uncodified [[constitution of the United Kingdom|constitution of Great Britain]] was less momentous, even though he is regarded as Great Britain's first prime minister.<ref name=Brtna-primes/> He relied primarily on the favour of the King, rather than the support of the House of Commons. His power stemmed from his personal influence instead of the influence of his office. Most of his immediate successors were, comparatively speaking, extremely weak. It would take several decades more for the premiership to develop into the most powerful and most important office in the country.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

Walpole's strategy of keeping Great Britain at peace contributed greatly to the country's prosperity. Walpole also managed to secure the position of the [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian dynasty]], and effectively countervailed Jacobitism. The Jacobite threat ended, soon after Walpole's term ended, with the defeat of the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|rebellion of 1745]]. Later in the century, the Whig MP [[Edmund Burke]] "admitted him into the whig pantheon".<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Taylor |first=Stephen |orig-year=2004 |date=January 2008 |title=Walpole, Robert, first earl of Orford (1676–1745) |id=28601 |mode=cs2}}</ref> Burke wrote:

{{blockquote|He was an honorable man and a sound Whig. He was not, as the Jacobites and discontented Whigs of his time have represented him, and as ill-informed people still represent him, a prodigal and corrupt minister. They charged him in their libels and seditious conversations as having first reduced corruption to a system. Such was their cant. But he was far from governing by corruption. He governed by party attachments. The charge of systematic corruption is less applicable to him, perhaps, than to any minister who ever served the crown for so great a length of time. He gained over very few from the Opposition. Without being a genius of the first class, he was an intelligent, prudent, and safe minister. He loved peace; and he helped to communicate the same disposition to nations at least as warlike and restless as that in which he had the chief direction of affairs. ... With many virtues, public and private, he had his faults; but his faults were superficial. A careless, coarse, and over familiar style of discourse, without sufficient regard to persons or occasions, and an almost total want of political decorum, were the errours {{sic}} by which he was most hurt in the public opinion: and those through which his enemies obtained the greatest advantage over him. But justice must be done. The prudence, steadiness, and vigilance of that man, joined to the greatest possible lenity in his character and his politics, preserved the crown to this royal family; and with it, their laws and liberties to this country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burke |first=Edmund |year=1962 |title=An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs |publisher=The Library of Liberal Arts |pages=62–63}}</ref>}}

[[Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield|Lord Chesterfield]] expressed scepticism as to whether "an impartial Character of Sr Robert Walpole, will or can be transmitted to Posterity, for he governed this Kingdom so long that the various passions of Mankind mingled, and in a manner incorporated themselves, with every thing that was said or writt concerning him. Never was Man more flattered nor more abused, and his long power, was probably the chief cause of both".{{sfnp|Franklin|1993|p=114}} Chesterfield claimed he was "much acquainted with him both in his publick and his private life":

{{blockquote|In private life he was good natured, chearfull, social. Inelegant in his manners, loose in his morals. He had a coarse wit, which he was too free of for a man in his station, as it is always inconsistent with dignity. He was very able as a Minister, but without a certain elevation of mind ... He was both the ablest Parliament man, and the ablest manager of a Parliament, that I believe ever lived ... Money, not prerogative, was the chief engine of his administration, and he employed it with a success that in a manner disgraced humanity ... When he found any body proof, against pecuniary temptations, which alass! was but seldom, he had recourse to still a worse art. For he laughed at and ridiculed all notions of publick virtue, and the love of one's country, calling them the ''chimerical school boy flights of classical learning''; declaring himself at the same time, ''no Saint, no Spartan, no reformer''. He would frequently ask young fellows at their first appearance in the world, while their honest hearts were yet untainted, ''well are you to be an old Roman? a patriot? you will soon come off of that, and grow wiser''. And thus he was more dangerous to the morals, than to the libertys of his country, to which I am persuaded that he meaned no ill in his heart. ... His name will not be recorded in history among the best men, or the best Ministers, but much much less ought it to be ranked among the worst.{{sfnp|Franklin|1993|pp=114–115}} }}

[[10 Downing Street]] represents another part of Walpole's legacy. George&nbsp;II offered this home to Walpole as a personal gift in 1732, but Walpole accepted it only as the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, taking up his residence there on 22&nbsp;September 1735. His immediate successors did not always reside in Number&nbsp;10 (preferring their larger private residences), but the home has nevertheless become established as the official residence of the prime minister (in his or her capacity as First Lord of the Treasury).<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica"/>

Walpole has attracted attention from heterodox economists as a pioneer of protectionist policies, in the form of tariffs and subsidies to woollen manufacturers. As a result, the industry became Britain's primary export, enabling the country to import the raw materials and food that fueled the industrial revolution.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chang, Ha-Joon |year=2010 |title=23&nbsp;Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London, UK |url=https://archive.org/details/thingstheydontte00chan_740 |url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/thingstheydontte00chan_740/page/n285 70]}}</ref>

Walpole is immortalised in [[St Stephen's Hall]], where he and other notable Parliamentarians look on at visitors to Parliament.<ref name=ssstat>{{cite web |title=St.&nbsp;Stephen's Hall |website=UK Parliament |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palace-s-interiors/st-stephen-s-hall/}}</ref>

Walpole built [[Houghton Hall]] in Norfolk as his country seat.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} He also left behind a [[Walpole collection|collection of art]] which he had assembled during his career. His grandson, [[George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford|the 3rd&nbsp;Earl of Orford]], sold many of the works in this collection to the Russian Empress [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine&nbsp;II]] in 1779. This collection – then regarded as one of the finest in Europe<ref>{{cite book |author=Redford, George |year=1888 |title=Art Sales: A history of sales of pictures and other works of art |place=London, UK |pages=356–357 |section=Sale of the Houghton Gallery}}</ref> – now lies in the [[Hermitage Museum|State Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia. In 2013 the Hermitage loaned the collection to Houghton for display, following the original William Kent hanging plan, which had been recently discovered at Houghton.<ref>{{cite web |title=Houghton revisited |series=Special exhibition |website=www.christies.com |url=https://www.christies.com/events/houghton-revisited/ |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

The nursery rhyme "[[Cock Robin|Who Killed Cock Robin]]?" may allude to the fall of Walpole, who carried the popular nickname "Cock Robin".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Opie |first1=Iona Archibald |last2=Opie |first2=Peter |year=1997 |title=Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860088-6}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2014}}
(Contemporaries satirised the Walpole regime as the "Robinocracy" or as the "Robinarchy".)<ref>
{{cite book |first=Isaac |last=Kramnick |author-link=Isaac Kramnick |year=1992 |title=Bolingbroke and His Circle: The Politics of Nostalgia in the Age of Walpole |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801480010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bolingbrokehisci00kram_0/page/20 20] |url=https://archive.org/details/bolingbrokehisci00kram_0 |url-access=registration |access-date=15 August 2014 |quote=Walpole's system was depicted as a unique form of government, the ''Robinocracy'' or Robinarchy.}}
</ref>

Various locations are named after Walpole, including Walpole Street in [[Wolverhampton]], England;<ref name="historytoday.com"/> and the towns of [[Walpole, Massachusetts]] (founded in 1724), and [[Orford, New Hampshire]] (incorporated in 1761) in the United States.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica"/><ref name="historytoday.com">{{Cite web |title=British Prime Ministers: Sir Robert Walpole |website=historytoday.com |url=https://www.historytoday.com/jh-plumb/british-prime-ministers-sir-robert-walpole |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref>

==Marriages and issue==
===Catherine Shorter===
[[File:ShorterArms.svg|thumb|Arms of Shorter, of Bybrook, Kent: ''Sable, a lion rampant or ducally crowned argent between three battle axes of the last headed of the second''<ref>Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p. 924 "Shorter of London, granted 1687"</ref>]]
On 30 July 1700, Walpole married [[Catherine Walpole|Catherine Shorter]] (1682–1737),<ref name=Cokayne-Doubleday-deWalden-1945>{{cite book |editor1=Cokayne, G. E. |editor2=Doubleday, H. A. |editor3=de&nbsp;Walden, Howard |year=1945 |title=The Complete Peerage, or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times |edition=2nd |place=London|publisher=The St. Catherine Press |volume=10 (Oakham to Richmond) |page=83}}</ref> the eldest daughter<ref>Per inscription on her monument in Westminster Abbey</ref> and co-heiress<ref>All her brothers died unmarried, see "Walpole Pedigree, 1776 Strawberry Hill, Twickenham" [[:File:Walpole Pedigree 1776 Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.png]]</ref> of John Shorter of Bybrook in [[Ashford, Kent]] (the son of Sir John Shorter (1625–1688), Lord Mayor of London) by his wife Elizabeth Philipps (born c. 1664), a daughter of Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet.<ref name=Cokayne-Doubleday-deWalden-1945/> She was described as "a woman of exquisite beauty and accomplished manners".{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=180}} Her £20,000 dowry was, according to Walpole's brother [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole|Horatio Walpole]], spent on the wedding, christenings and jewels.<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|p=180}} cites Horace Walpole's ''Letters'', viii. 423</ref> Her sister and co-heiress Charlotte Shorter married (as his third wife) [[Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway]] (1679–1731/2), by whom she was the mother of [[Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford]] (1718–1794). Sir John Shorter (c. 1625–1688), Lord Mayor of London, married Isabel Birkhead, a sister of Edward Birkhead (d.1662) of Richmond House, Twickenham, Serjeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons in 1648, a Quaker Magistrate and the principal landowner in the parish of Twickenham.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Twickenham Museum |quote=The history centre for Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington and the Hamptons |url=http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.php?aid=93&cid=16&ctid=1}}</ref> Catherine's youngest son Horace later built Strawberry Hill House on land purchased by him at Twickenham. Catherine Shorter died on 20 August 1737 and was buried at Houghton,<ref name=Cokayne-Doubleday-deWalden-1945/> with a monument in the south aisle of the King [[Henry VII Chapel]], [[Westminster Abbey]],{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} erected by her son Horatio, in the form of a life-size white marble statue, a copy by [[Filippo della Valle]] of a Roman statue of [[Livia]] (or ''[[Modesty|Pudicitia]]'') in the [[Villa Celimontana|Villa Mattei]] in Rome.{{efn|
"In five of the niches, on pedestals, are, I. A cart in plaifter bronzed of Catharine Lady Walpole, the model of her statue in Westminster Abbey, executed at Rome by Valory, and taken from the Livia or Pudicitia in the Villa Mattei" (now called Villa Celimontana).<ref>{{cite news |title=A description of the villa of Horace Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole earl of Orford, at Strawberry-hill, near Twickenham |quote=With an inventory of the furniture, pictures, curiosities, &c. |author=Walpole, Horace |year=1774 |page=76 |newspaper=The Tribune |url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofvil00walp/page/76/mode/2up?view=theater |via=archive.org}}</ref>
}}
On the plinth sculpted by [[John Michael Rysbrack]] is the following inscription written by Horace:<ref>See image www.westminster-abbey.org [https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/catherine-lady-walpole]</ref><br />
:To the memory of Catherine Lady Walpole, eldest daughter of John Shorter, Esqr. of Bybrook in Kent and first wife of Sir Robert Walpole, afterwards Earl of Orford, Horace her youngest son consecrates this monument. She had beauty and wit without vice or vanity, and cultivated the Arts without affectation. She was devout, tho' without bigotry to any sect, and was without prejudice to any party tho' the wife of a minister, whose power she esteemed but when she could employ it to benefit the miserable or to reward the meritorious. She loved a private life, tho' born to shine in public; and was an ornament to courts, untainted by them. She died 20 August 1737.<br/>
By Catherine Shorter he had two daughters and three sons:{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}}
* [[Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford]], eldest son and heir, who in 1724 married [[Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton|Margaret Rolle]] (17 January 1709&nbsp;– 13 January 1781), later ''[[suo jure]]'' 15th [[Baron Clinton|Baroness Clinton]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Helen ("Mrs. Paget Toynbee") |last=Toynbee |year=1903 |title=The Letters of Horace Walpole |page=[https://archive.org/details/lettersofhoracew78walp/page/81 81]}}</ref> They had one son{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} [[George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford|George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford and 16th Baron Clinton]] (1730–1791), who left no legitimate children and died insane.
*Katherine Walpole,{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} who died unmarried and without issue;<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Burke |year=1833 |title=A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire |publisher=H. Colburn and R. Bentley |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yeo8AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA262 262]}}</ref>
*Mary Walpole, who on 14 September 1723 married [[George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} They had sons and daughters<ref>{{cite book |last=Eller |first=George |year=1861 |title=Memorials: Archaeological and Ecclesiastical of the West Winch Manors from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period |publisher=Thew & Son |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MKYLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA100 100]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Edmondson |first=Joseph |year=1785 |title=The Present Peerages: With Plates of Arms, and an Introduction to Heraldry; Together with Several Useful Lists Incident to the Work |publisher=J. Dodsley |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zzEwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA58 58]}}</ref> and the Houghton Estate eventually became the inheritance of the Cholmondeley family. She died at [[Aix-en-Provence]] in 1731, and was buried at [[Malpas, Cheshire]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Debrett |first1=John |last2=Collen |first2=G. W. |year=1840 |title=Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. revised, corrected and continued by G. W. Collen |page=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage08debrgoog/page/n223 159]}}</ref>
*[[Edward Walpole]], who died unmarried but had four illegitimate children by his mistress [[Dorothy Clement]]:
**Edward, born in 1737, died in 1771 without issue;
**Laura, the eldest daughter, who married Bishop [[Frederick Keppel (bishop)|Frederick Keppel]];
**[[Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh|Maria Walpole]] (d. 1807) (Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh), the second daughter, who married firstly [[James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave]] and secondly [[Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh]] the brother of King [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]]. 
**Charlotte, the youngest daughter, who married [[Lionel Tollemache, 5th Earl of Dysart]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}}
*[[Horace Walpole|Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford]] (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), of Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham, youngest son, the diarist known to history as "Horace Walpole". He became the 4th and last Earl of Orford on his nephew's death in 1791, and died unmarried and without issue.

===Maria Skerritt===
[[File:HarsickArms.svg|thumb|Arms of Skerritt: ''Or, a chief indented sable''<ref>Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p. 931: "Skerett/Skerit of Peter Tavy, near Tavistock and of Buckland Monachorum, Devon".</ref>]]
Prior to the death of his first wife Walpole took on a mistress, [[Maria Walpole (Skerritt)|Maria Skeritt]] (d. 1738), a fashionable socialite of wit and beauty, with an independent fortune of £30,000,<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|p=205}} cites a letter from Bishop Hare to F. Naylor, 9 March 1738, ''Hare MSS''. p. 238.</ref> the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Skeritt (d. 1738) (''aliter'' Skerret, Skeritt, etc), a wealthy Irish merchant living in Dover Street, Mayfair, London.<ref>{{harvtxt|Leadam|1899|p=205}} cites ''Gent. Mag.'' (1734, p. 50); Hervey, ''Memoirs'', i. 115; Pope, ''Works'', iii. 141 note&nbsp;1; ''Gent. Mag.'' (1738, p. 324).</ref> They had been living together openly in [[Richmond, Surrey|Richmond Park]] and [[Houghton Hall]] since before 1728,{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} and married at some time before March 1738. She died on 4 June 1739 following a miscarriage. Walpole considered her "indispensable to his happiness", and her loss plunged him into a "deplorable and comfortless condition", which led to a severe illness.{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|pp=205–206}} By Maria Skerritt he had one daughter, born before the marriage, but subsequently legitimated:{{efn|
No issue is given in Burke's ''Extinct Peerage'' to this second marriage of Sir Robert Walpole; but in ''Ancient Peerages'' is this:
: "Sir Robert Walpole married, in 1737, Maria, daughter and sole heir of Thomas Skerret, who died in 1738; he had a daughter from her before marriage, Maria, his Majesty's housekeeper at Windsor, and wife of Charles Churchill. She was legitimated, and given the rank of an Earl's daughter."{{full citation|date=January 2023}}
}}
*Maria Walpole,{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}} who after her legitimation acquired the style of the daughter of an earl, as Lady Maria Walpole.<ref>{{cite book |first=Edmund |last=Farrer |year=1908 |title=Portraits in Suffolk houses (West) |publisher=B. Quaritch |page=[https://archive.org/details/portraitsinsuffo00farruoft/page/88 88]}}</ref> In 1746 she married Colonel [[Charles Churchill (of Chalfont)|Charles Churchill]] (1720–1812) of Chalfont, an illegitimate son of General [[Charles Churchill (British Army general)|Charles Churchill]], and became the king's housekeeper at [[Windsor Castle]].{{sfnp|Leadam|1899|p=205}}<ref>{{cite book |first=J. C. D. |last=Clark |date=July 2002 |title=The Memoirs and Speeches of James, 2nd Earl Waldegrave 1742–1763 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52689-0 |pages=46, [https://books.google.com/books?id=X8GrL_g9enMC&pg=PA87 87], 250}}</ref> By Charles Churchill she had daughters including:
**Sophia Churchill, who married her relative [[Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford]] (1752–1822), of the third creation of that earldom, the son of [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford]], son of [[Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton]], 9th brother of Prime Minister [[Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford]].<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Debrett |year=1814 |title=The Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland: In Two Volumes. England |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TiNRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA327 |access-date=30 June 2013 |publisher= G. Woodfall |page=327 }}</ref>
**Mary Churchill, who on 10 May 1777 became the second wife of [[Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan]] (1728–1807), and had issue, before being divorced in 1796 by her husband for "criminal conversation" with Rev. Mr. Cooper.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Cokayne, G. E. |editor2=Gibbs, Vicary |year=1912 |section=Earl Cadogan |title=The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant |edition=2nd |place=London |publisher=The St.&nbsp;Catherine Press |volume=2 (Bass to Canning) |page=462, note&nbsp;(b)}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Baron Delamere]]
*[[List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom]]
*[[Marquess of Cholmondeley]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}} 
* {{acad |id = WLPL695R |name=Walpole, Robert }}
* {{cite journal |last=Aotes |first=Jonathan |date=April 2006 |title=Sir&nbsp;Robert Walpole after his fall from power, 1742–1745 |journal=History |volume=91 |issue=302 |pages=218–230 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229x.2006.00364.x }}
* {{cite book |last=Browning |first=Reed |author-link=Reed Browning |year=1975 |title=The Duke of Newcastle |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-01746-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/dukeofnewcastle0000brow |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Franklin |first=Colin |year=1993 |title=Lord Chesterfield. His character and 'characters' |location=Aldershot |publisher=Scolar Press |page=114}}
* {{cite book |author=Hoppit, Julian |year=2000 |title=A Land of Liberty? England 1689–1727}}
* {{cite book |last=Langford |first=Paul |year=1998 |title = A Polite and Commercial People: England, 1727–1783 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages = 9–58 |quote=Robin's Reign {{gray|[on cover]}} }}
* {{cite book |author=Leadam, Isaac Saunders |year=1899 |title=Sir Robert Walpole – a short biography |publisher=Shamrock Eden |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sir-Robert-Walpole-Short-Biography-ebook/dp/B005HKOH98/ |via=Amazon.com}}
* {{cite DNB |last=Leadam |first=Isaac Saunders |wstitle=Walpole, Robert (1676-1745) |display=Walpole, Robert (1676–1745) |volume=59 |pages=178–207 |mode=cs2}}
* {{cite book |author=O'Gorman, Frank |year=1997 |title=The Long Eighteenth Century: British political and social history 1688–1832}}
* {{cite book |author=Speck, W. A. |year=1977 |title=Stability and Strife: England 1714–1760}}
* {{cite ODNB |last=Taylor |first=Stephen |orig-year=2004 |date=January 2008 |title=Walpole, Robert, first earl of Orford (1676–1745) |id=28601 |mode=cs2}}
* {{cite ODNB |last1=Handley |first1=Stuart |last2=Rowe |first2=M. J. |last3=McBryde |first3=W. H. |date=October 2007 |title=Pulteney, William, earl of Bath (1684–1764) |id=22889 |mode=cs2 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Wikisource author}}
* {{cite book |last=Black |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Black (historian) |year=2001 |title=Walpole in Power |location=Stroud |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=978-0-7509-2523-5 }}
* Blick, Andrew, and George Jones. ''At Power's Elbow: Aides to the Prime Minister from Robert Walpole to David Cameron'' (Biteback Publishing, 2013)
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Orford, Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of | volume= 20 |last1= Courtney |first1= William Prideaux |author1-link= William Prideaux Courtney | pages = 254–256 |short=1}}
* Dickinson, Harry T. (1972) "Walpole and his critics", ''History Today'' (3 June 1972), Vol. 22, Issue 6, pp. 410–419 online.
* {{cite book |last=Dickinson |first=Harry T. |year=1973 |title=Walpole and the Whig Supremacy |location=London |publisher=English Universities Press |isbn=978-0-340-11515-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/walpolewhigsupre0000dick }}
* {{cite book |last=Field |first=Ophelia |title=The Kit-Cat Club: Friends who imagined a nation |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-00-717892-6 }}
* Hartop, Christopher (2014), ''Sir Robert Walpole's Silver'', London: Silver Society, {{ISBN|978-0-9549144-3-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Hill |first=Brian W. |year=1989 |title=Sir Robert Walpole: Sole and Prime Minister |location=London |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |isbn=978-0-241-12738-4 }}
* Holmes, Geoffrey, and Daniel Szechi. ''The age of oligarchy: pre-industrial Britain 1722–1783'' (1993) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=SuEJBAAAQBAJ excerpt]; "The Age of Walpole" pp. 3–88
* Marshall, Dorothy. ''Eighteenth Century England, 1714–1784'' (2nd ed. 1974), pp. 101–191, political narrative
*Murdoch, Tessa (ed.). [[Noble Households|''Noble Households: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses'']] (Cambridge, [[John Adamson (publisher)|John Adamson]], 2006) {{ISBN|978-0-9524322-5-8}} {{OCLC|78044620}}. For an inventory of Houghton Hall two months after Walpole's death in 1745, see pp.&nbsp;170–84.
* {{cite book |last=Pearce |first=Edward |title=The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole |location=London |publisher=Pimlico |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84413-405-2 }}
* [[John H. Plumb|Plumb, J. H.]] "Sir Robert Walpole" ''History Today'' (Oct 1951) 1#10 pp. 9–16
* {{cite book |last=Plumb |first=J. H. |year=1956–1960 |title=Sir Robert Walpole |location=London |publisher=Cresset Press }}; the standard scholarly biography; vol. 1: ''Sir Robert Walpole: The Making of a Statesman'' (1956) to 1722; vol 2: ''Sir Robert Walpole, The King's Minister'' (1960) ends in 1734; vol 3 was never finished; 1972 reprint combined vol 1 and vol 2 as ''Sir Robert Walpole'' {{ISBN|0678035504}}
* {{cite book |last=Plumb |first=J. H. |year=1967 |title=The Growth of Political Stability in England 1675–1725 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan and Co. }}
* {{cite book |last=Rodger |first=N. A. M. |author-link=Nicholas A. M. Rodger |year=2006 |title=Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815 |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-102690-9 }}
* Williams, Basil. ''The Whig Supremacy 1714–1760'' (1939; 2nd ed. 1962) [https://archive.org/details/whigsupremacy171001761mbp online edition]; pp 180–212; covers his ministry 1721–42
* [[Basil Williams (historian)|Williams, Basil]]. "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole" ''English Historical Review'' 15#58 (Apr. 1900), pp.&nbsp;251–276 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/548451 in JSTOR]
** "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole (Continued)" ''English Historical Review'' 15#59 (July 1900), pp.&nbsp;479–494 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/549078 in JSTOR]
** "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole (Continued)" ''English Historical Review'' 59#60 (Oct. 1900), pp.&nbsp;665–698 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/548535 in JSTOR]
** "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole" ''English Historical Review'' 16#61 (Jan. 1901), pp.&nbsp;67–83 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/549509 in JSTOR]
** "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole (Continued)" ''English Historical Review'' 16#62 (Apr. 1901), pp.&nbsp;308–327 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/548655 in JSTOR]
** "The Foreign Policy of England under Walpole (Continued)" ''English Historical Review'' 16#53 (July 1901), pp.&nbsp;439–451 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/549205 in JSTOR]

===Primary sources===
* Coxe, William. ''Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford'' (3 vol 1800) [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28memoirs%20orford%29 online]

== External links ==
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/11/20/sir-robert-walpole-whig-1721-1742/ Robert Walpole's biography on the UK history of government blog]
* [http://www.houghtonhall.com/ Houghton Hall]
* [http://www.cholmondeleycastle.com/ Cholmondeley Castle]
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp03376 Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford] at the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]], London
* [http://www.edwardjdavies.info/PMs/walpole.htm Ancestors of Robert Walpole]

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