William Windham (4 June 1810) of

Felbrigg Hall Felbrigg Hall is a 17th-century English country house near the village of that name in Norfolk. Part of a National Trust property, the unaltered 17th-century house is noted for its Jacobean architecture and fine Georgian interior. Outside i ...

in Norfolk, was a British Whig statesman. Elected to Parliament in 1784, Windham was attached to the remnants of the Rockinghamite faction of Whigs, whose members included his friends

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled '' The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-ri ...

and

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...

. Windham soon became noted for his oratory in the House of Commons. An early supporter of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, by late 1791 he shared Burke's hostility to it and became a leading anti-Jacobin. After war was declared on France in early 1793, he broke with the anti-war, pro-Revolution Foxite Whigs to form a small 'Third Party' which was independent of Pitt's government but supportive of the war effort. Like Burke, Windham supported the war as an ideological crusade against Jacobinism and was an enthusiastic supporter of the French ''émigrés'' and a Bourbon restoration. In July 1794 he finally joined Pitt's government as

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

but did not control war policy. He discovered that Pitt did not share his enthusiasm for the Bourbon cause and he argued in Cabinet against a peace agreement with the French Republic. In February 1801 Windham followed Pitt in resigning from the government over the King's rejection of Catholic Emancipation. He was the leading opponent of the new Prime Minister

Henry Addington Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, (30 May 175715 February 1844) was an English Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. Addington is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, a ...

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

peace with France in late 1801 and early 1802. In the Ministry of All the Talents in 1806–7, Windham became Secretary for War and the Colonies, having reconciled with the Foxites. Together with them he resigned from the government, again over Catholic Emancipation. He spent the rest of his life in opposition, dying in 1810.David Wilkinson,
Windham, William(1750–1810)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 14 December 2009.

Early life: 1750–1778

Windham was born in 1750 at No. 6 Golden Square, Soho, London, the son and heir of William Windham, Sr. of Felbrigg Hall, whose ancestors had long been seated in Norfolk, by his second wife, Sarah Lukin. He was a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, who in 1599 had inherited the Felbrigg estate, the seat of the senior line of the family, from his childless relative Thomas Wyndham. Windham was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

from 1757 to 1766, where he was a contemporary of

and where he was noted for the ease with which he acquired knowledge, and for his success in sports. He became known as "Fighting Windham" as he was good with his fists. His father died in 1761 and his guardians became Benjamin Stillingfleet, Dr. Dampier,

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

and a certain Mr. Price of Hereford. At the age of 16 Windham was removed from Eton for fighting. Windham attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1766 and studied under Dr. Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy, and

Robert Simson Robert Simson (14 October 1687 – 1 October 1768) was a Scottish mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow. The Simson line is named after him.Rosebery, ''Windham Papers. Vol. I'', p. 10. He then attended

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, from 1767 to 1771 as a gentleman-commoner, where he was tutored by Robert Chambers. According to

Edmund Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...

, Windham "was highly distinguished for his application to various studies, for his love of enterprise, for that frank and graceful address, and that honourable deportment, which gave a lustre to his character though every period of his life". He took his BA degree in 1771, his MA on 7 October 1782, and was awarded a DCL at the Duke of Portland's installation as Chancellor. He made a tour of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

in 1773 and visited

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

between 1778 and 1780. Windham was a Christian. Before he took a balloon ride, he wrote to George James Cholmondeley on 4 May 1785 a letter that was only to be delivered if he did not survive the trip. It contained Windham's confession of faith:

The best, the greatest, the most solemn office I can render in a letter of this sort, is to extort you to a steady contemplation of divine truths, and a sincere endeavour to confirm in yourself that faith, which after various fluctuations I believe to be the true one, and which, independent of evidence, is supported by too great authorities ever to be rejected with confidence. Whatever may be the diversity of opinion as to the particular nature, I believe
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
to be a person divinely commissioned, and that faith in him affords the fairest hope of propitiating the great author of the world. Cultivate in your mind this persuasion and dwell upon it till it grows into a principle of action. May it avail both to the purposes of final salvation.

Early political career: 1778–1789

In early 1778 Windham first took part in political matters. He felt strongly about the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, writing to

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', ''The ...

on 5 January that "I never felt so much disposition to exert myself before". On 28 January Windham delivered in Norwich his first public speech, where he spoke against the war, and a few days later he wrote a remonstrance against it which was signed by 5,000 people and was presented to the House of Commons. His speech went down well and he was urged to stand for election. Windham stood unsuccessfully for

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

in the election of September 1780. When in 1783 the Duke of Portland formed an administration, he appointed Lord Northington as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Northington offered Windham the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland, which he accepted. However, after only four months in the post, Windham resigned under mysterious circumstances. His contemporaneous diary did record his distrust in his own powers, and disappointment at his limited achievements; he was also probably unwell at the time. On 5 April 1784 Windham was elected to Parliament for Norwich, a seat he would hold until 1802. He took part in the

Impeachment of Warren Hastings The impeachment of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of Bengal, was attempted between 1787 and 1795 in the Parliament of Great Britain. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta, particularly relating to mismanageme ...

and his speeches against him on 1 June 1787 and 22 March 1787 were admired. Though Windham opposed all proposals for parliamentary reform, to which most of the Whigs were committed, he remained in alliance with that party until after the outbreak of the French Revolution. During the Regency Crisis of 1788–89 he spoke in favour of granting George, Prince of Wales full regal powers as Regent. He wrote on 26 November 1788: "If the King of a country is completely out of his mind, whatever sorrow may be felt for that event, the extent of the evil is, however, known: It is, for the time it lasts, just as if the King were dead. The same person must, upon all principles of reason, and all views of the Constitution, carry on the Government, as if the King were actually dead—should he again be restored completely to his senses, the case is then equally clear: he must be restored completely to his government".

French Revolution: 1789–1794

From 12 August 1789 until 6 September, Windham toured France. Upon his return, Windham sent his friend and fellow Whig MP

some books (recommended by a Deputy of the National Assembly) on the general state of public opinion in France in the aftermath of the beginnings of the

. Windham wrote to Burke on 15 September, saying: "My notion has been from the beginning, and is not altered by what I have seen or heard, that the new Constitution will be settled without a struggle. Whether perfect quiet and satisfaction may be established in the country is another question: but it does not appear to me, that there is any near prospect of civil commotion.—Any opinion, however, which I can have upon the subject is, of course, very vague conjecture." When

Henry Flood Henry Flood (1732 – 2 December 1791), Irish statesman, son of Warden Flood, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became proficient ...

introduced a motion for parliamentary reform on 4 March 1790, Windham famously said: "What, would Mr. Flood recommend you to repair your house in this hurricane season?" After reading Burke's ''

Reflections on the Revolution in France ''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' is a political pamphlet written by the Irish statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is fundamentally a contrast of the French Revolution to that time with the unwritten British Const ...

'' in November 1790, Windham wrote in his diary: "Never was there, I suppose, a work so valuable in its kind, or that displayed powers of so extraordinary a sort. It is a work that may seem capable of overturning the National Assembly, and turning the stream of opinion throughout Europe. One would think, that the author of such a work, would be called to the government of his country, by the combined voices of every man in it. What shall be said of the state of things when it is remembered that the writer is a man decried, persecuted, and proscribed; not being much valued, even by his own party, and by half the nation considered as little better than an ingenious madman?" Windham travelled to Paris in September 1791 and he was present at the ceremony in the National Assembly where King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

accepted the new constitution of France. Windham wrote to Mrs. Crewe that the ceremony was "necessarily humiliating...there was somewhat too much of "," and somewhat too little of ""." Windham wished they had been more courteous and added: "I hope that we shall be the people to keep up a little of the "" in our manners, while we lose nothing of the solid advantages and privileges that the new system can promise". In May 1792 Windham wrote to a friend on his opposition to parliamentary reform: "I have in general been far from adverse to the principles and cause of the French Revolution. So much otherwise indeed, that from the beginning almost, Mr. Burke and I have never exchanged a word on the subject. But when an attempt is made to bring the same principles home to us, Principles in a great measure extravagant and false and which at best have no practical application here, I shall ever prove myself as violent an opposer of them as Mr. Burke or any one can be". Windham supported the Royalist uprising in La Vendée and he urged the British government to aid them with the aim of restoring the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

to the throne: "I would, from the beginning, have made this the principal object of the war". In a speech to the Commons, on 30 April 1792, he declared that he would unite with any body of men "who were determined to set their faces against every endeavour to subvert the true principles of the constitution". On 13 November Windham and Burke met Pitt and hinted they and their fellow conservative Whigs would support strong measures; however, Pitt desired "more certain and definite assurances of support from the heads of the party before the meeting of parliament". He still had reservations about completely separating from Fox and he denied in the Commons (on 15 December) that they differed in principles. However, as he said in the Commons on 4 January 1793, he was no longer a systematic opposer of the government. In the aftermath of the execution of Louis XVI, Parliament met in February 1793. Fox and his supporters excused France's actions short of supporting the execution and Fox claimed that the British monarchy was elective and that sovereignty resided with the people. On 9 February war was declared on France and the conservative Whigs met the next day. They decided that a reunion with the Foxites was now out of the question and that they would now call themselves the "Third Party". This faction consisted of only approximately 38 MPs (26 of whom were members of the Whig party), with less than one-fifth of the Whigs as members. In the opinion of the historian Frank O'Gorman, if the Pitt government was to be persuaded to adopt the only anti-Jacobin policies that would be effective, "Windham was the only politician who might seriously undertake to accomplish these ends":

He was possessed of distinguished talents and a disposition so compelling as to endear him to all. The power of his intelligence was disguised by his self-effacing manner as a reserve of strength and firmness which he did not in reality possess. His talents and his nature, allied to unquestioned integrity, gave him a reputation and a standing among his contemporaries which was, perhaps, second only to that of Fox. It was not by accident that Windham was able to rally to him some of the most respectable independents in the House of Commons. Nevertheless, he was peculiarly ill-suited to the role which he was now called upon to play in...1793. He was daunted with the prospect of assuming responsibility for matters of state by the doubts and fears which gnawed away at the determination he could summon in his rare moments of enthusiasm and exuberance. Once his energy had been overcome by the exhaustion of his spirits, he would fall away into lethargy, despair and pessimism. Having formed the "Third Party", he promptly excused himself from leading it. Having committed its members to a distinct support of administration, he escaped to the solitude of Fellbrig, in spite of "the possibility of having lost an opportunity of distinction". He consoled his conscience by toying with the preparation of speeches which he never delivered while he ruminated on his inability to act out the part which he himself had chosen.

On 17 June Pitt offered Windham the office of Secretary at War. In a speech in the Commons that same day, Windham supported Pitt, arguing that intervention in French affairs might become a necessity if a government was formed in Paris "as we might with safety treat with". However, on 19 June he informed Pitt that he would decline his offer, although he added that he might accept office "sometime hence". From 12 July until 6 August, he was in Flanders. Windham was the contact between the conservative Whigs and the government; however, he was still at this time hesitant about joining Pitt's government. In January 1794 began the

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

of the leaders of the British Convention. In response, the radicals proposed another such convention. Therefore, the government decided to arrest leading radicals such as

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

. On 13 May, the day after Hardy's arrest, the Commons voted to appoint a Committee of Secrecy to devise the measures necessary to counter a new convention. Windham was appointed to the Committee, along with Burke (and other conservative Whigs and government supporters), much to Fox's chagrin. The Duke of Portland, on 3 July, urged Windham that, if he took up Pitt's offer of the Secretaryship at War, he could make it "a real efficient Cabinet employment". His friend, Tom Grenville, met Windham that day and he succeeded in persuading Windham to accept office; Portland was therefore able to negotiate with the King a coalition government between the conservative Whigs and Pitt's government.

Secretary at War: 1794–1801

Windham was now Secretary at War in Pitt's government; at the same time, he was created a

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

. He managed to gain a few subsidies for the ''émigrés'' and achieved Cabinet support for the failed

Quiberon expedition The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively ...

. In practice, Windham made himself responsible for all matters related to the Royalists but in the spring of 1796 he relinquished his sole responsibility for this as he was frustrated by the need to constantly refer to other departments when ever he wanted to do something that would help the Royalists. He realised that other Cabinet members did not share his enthusiasm for the Royalist cause and for a Bourbon restoration.O'Gorman, p. 216. In late 1795 the government decided to negotiate peace with France and, although he had consistently opposed negotiations until a decisive victory was achieved, Windham agreed that France remaining a republic should be no obstacle to this. However, by October 1796, Windham had changed his mind, writing to Mrs Crewe: "If I could have been sure that

Lord Malmesbury Earl of Malmesbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1800 for the diplomat James Harris, 1st Baron Malmesbury. The son of the grammarian and politician James Harris, he served as Ambassador to Spain, Prussia, Russia ...

's despicable embassy would succeed and that peace must be the immediate consequence, I should have been out long since". In the dispute between Fitzwilliam and Pitt over Ireland, Windham supported Fitzwilliam and threatened to resign if better policies for governing Ireland were not adopted. Windham acted as the mediator between the two sides. In the aftermath of the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

, Windham supported the union of Ireland with Great Britain, believing that Catholic emancipation would follow. On 7 February 1801 Windham was among those who resigned in protest at the King's veto of

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

Opposition: 1801–1806

Immediately after the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

was signed, the Prime Minister,

, wrote to Windham on 1 October 1801: "I think when I see you...I can satisfy you that it is not clear even upon your own Principles that we are wrong". Windham replied to Addington on the same day:

I can have no idea of the measure in question but as the commencement of a career which, by an easy descent, and step by step, but at no very distant period, will conduct the country to a situation where, when it looks at last for its independence, it will find that it is already gone. I have no idea how the effect of this measure is ever to be recover'd; Chance may do much, but, according to any conception I can form, the Country has received its death blow.

When the preliminaries of the Treaty were debated in the Commons on 3 November 1801, Windham gave a speech that was, according to A. D. Harvey, "the sensation of the evening". He said Addington and Lord Hawkesbury "in a moment of rashness and weakness, have fatally put their hands to this treaty, have signed the death-warrant of their country. They have given it a blow, under which it may languish for a few years, but from which I do not conceive how it is possible for it ever to recover". According to ''The Times'' Windham sat on "the same bench from which Mr. Burke always spoke after separating from Mr. Fox" and an observer said he spoke "like the ghost of Burke". One contemporary said Windham possessed Burke's insanity without his inspiration. When

visited France during the Peace of Amiens he conversed with

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

(on 23 September 1802). Napoleon said he believed Windham's "talents were mediocre and that he was an unfeeling, unprincipled man". Fox immediately defended Windham but Napoleon countered: "It is easy for you who only know public debate. But for me, I detest him and that Pitt who together have attempted my life". Fox assured Napoleon that "Mr Pitt and Mr Windham, like every other Englishman, would shrink with horror from the idea of secret assassination". When Windham lost the Norwich election in June 1802, a seat for the

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

St Mawes St Mawes ( kw, Lannvowsedh) is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of th ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

was found for him. In May 1804 he declined a place in Pitt's new cabinet on the ground that the exclusion of Fox prevented the formation of an administration strong enough to cope with the dangers which threatened the nation, and he offered a general opposition to the measures that Pitt proposed.

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English lan ...

apparently had it on somewhat good authority that Pitt had hated Windham. Windham in turn did not attend Pitt's funeral at Westminster Abbey after his death in January 1806.

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies: 1806–1807

On 5 February 1806 Windham received the seals of office to become Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in

Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...

's Ministry of All the Talents. Windham abolished the ballot for the militia to ensure that only volunteers manned the militia. He also wanted to solve the Army's recruiting shortage by limiting service in the Army to seven years. He increased soldiers' wages from 1 shilling to 1s. 6d. if they re-enlisted after the seven years, and to 2 shillings if they re-enlisted after fourteen years. He also introduced pensions for old soldiers. The Training Act 1806 empowered the government to conscript 200,000 Englishmen a year for twenty four days' military training, although it was not enforced. A general election took place in November 1806, and Windham was elected for the county of Norfolk, but the election was declared void on petition. Instead, he sat for the borough of

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, ...

, to which he had also been elected.

Opposition: 1807–1810

In 1807, when parliament was dissolved, a seat was found for Windham at

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populat ...

. As he had throughout, he supported liberty of religious opinion, and with equal consistency he opposed all outbreaks of religious fanaticism; hence with these convictions in his mind he approved few of the domestic measures of the new ministers. Windham also opposed the

Walcheren Expedition The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...

of 1809, believing instead that the forces sent there "should have been sent to Spain, so as not to leave Buonaparte, when he has settled the Austrian business, to begin, as he did last year, on the banks of the Ebro, but to have driven the whole of the French force out of the peninsula". Writing to Charles Grey in September 1809, Windham voiced his opposition to peace with France, even though Wellington had been driven from Spain back into Portugal. He further argued that "the great thing that is wanted is resistance to the strides that are making, in concurrence with the general tendency of things throughout the world, to turn the country into a democracy".

Support for Old English sports

Windham was opposed to the

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

movement and their attempt to outlaw traditional English sports: "Few subjects agitated...Windham...more than the puritanical and Wilberforcian assault on the traditional sports of Englishmen such as boxing and bull-baiting. Windham's speeches in parliament in defense of such practices seem among his most heart-felt".

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

wrote to

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at a ...

—a leading evangelical moralist—on 15 November 1804: "I really think there scarcely ever were, or can be, two men more different from each other in all their ideas than Windham and myself". Windham said that Wilberforce would delight in sending aristocrats to the guillotine. In the aftermath of the British victory over the French at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

, Windham wrote on the subject of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

in a letter to a friend dated 17 August 1809:

Why are we to boast so much of the ''native'' valour of our troops, as shewn at Talavera, at Vimeira, and at
Maida Maida may refer to: People * Maida Abdallah (born 1970), Tanzanian politician * Maida Arslanagić (born 1984), Croatian handball player * Maida Bryant (1926–2016), New Zealand nurse, politician and community leader * Maida Coleman (born 1954), ...
, yet to discourage all the practices and habits which tend to keep alive the same sentiments and feelings? The sentiments that filled the minds of the three thousand spectators who attended the two pugilists, were just the same in kind as those which inspired the higher combatants on the occasions before enumerated. It is the circumstance only in which they are displayed, that makes the difference. ... Bravery is found in all habits, classes, circumstances, and conditions. But have habits and institutions of one sort no tendency to form it, more than of another? Longevity is found in persons of habits the most opposite: but are not certain habits more favourable to it than others? The courage does not arise from mere boxing, from the mere beating or being beat:—but from the sentiments excited by the contemplation and cultivation of such practices. Will it make no difference in the mass of a people, whether their amusements are all of a pacific, pleasurable, and effeminate nature, or whether they are of a sort that calls forth a continued admiration of prowess and hardihood? But when I get on these topicks, I never know how to stop...

Death

St Margaret's church - memorial - geograph

On 8 July 1809, Windham was returning to

Pall Mall, London Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, ...

from a friend's when he saw a house on fire in Conduit Street. His friend Frederick North lived a few doors away from the burning house and possessed a valuable library. Therefore, with the aid of two or three men, Windham succeeded in removing most of the books before the fire reached North's house. However, when removing some heavy books, he fell and bruised his hip. After a tumour grew in the hip he received medical help but this was ineffectual. On 6 May 1810 the surgeon Henry Cline advised him that an operation was imperative, an opinion shared by four of the six physicians Windham consulted. Before the operation Windham went to some trouble to receive the Sacrament. Cline performed the operation on 17 May and, although it was successful, Windham did not recover from the shock. His last words were to Dr. Lynn, who moved him into a more comfortable position on the night of 3 June: "I thank you; this is the last trouble I shall give you. You fight the battle well, but it will not do". Not long after, he fell asleep and died in the presence of his wife. On 8 June, Windham's body was transported to the family vault at Felbrigg, with a private funeral. In the church window Windham's widow installed a memorial brass with the inscription:

Sacred to the Memory of the Right Honourable William Windham, of Felbrigge, in this County. Born the 14th of May, O.S. 1750, Died the 4th of June, N.S. 1810. He was the only son of William Windham, esqre., by Sarah, relict of Robert Lukin, esqre. He married in 1798 Cecilia, third daughter of the late Commodore Forrest; who erects this Monument in grateful and tender remembrance of him. During a period of twenty-six years he distinguished himself in Parliament by his eloquence and talents; and was repeatedly called to the highest offices of the State. His views and councils were directed more to raising the glory than increasing the wealth of his country. He was above all things anxious to preserve untainted the National Character, and even those National Manners which long habit had associated with that character. As a Statesman, he laboured to exalt the courage, to improve the comforts, and ennoble the profession of a Soldier: As an individual, he exhibited a model of those qualities which denote the most accomplished and enlightened mind. Frank, generous, unassuming, intrepid, compassionate, and pious, he was so highly respected, even by those from whom he most differed in opinion, that, tho' much of his life had passed in political contention, he was accompanied to the grave by the sincere and unqualified regret of his Sovereign and his Country.

Legacy

Windham was greatly influenced by the Whig philosopher

, describing Burke's words as "the source of all good". The Foxite Whig, Lord Holland, considered Burke "the great god of his idolatry".

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

said of Windham after conversing with him: "Such conversation I shall not have again till I come back to the regions of literature; and there Windham is, the_Moon_among_the_lesser_fires.'_Horace,_''Odes''_i._xii._46..html" ;"title="Horace.html" ;"title="the Moon among the lesser fires.' Horace">the Moon among the lesser fires.' Horace, ''Odes'' i. xii. 46.">Horace.html" ;"title="the Moon among the lesser fires.' Horace">the Moon among the lesser fires.' Horace, ''Odes'' i. xii. 46.. Sir James Mackintosh wrote to a friend after meeting Windham in March 1800: "His conversation is full of sense, knowledge and vivacity and his manners very gentle. We talked with equal enthusiasm of Burke and with equal abhorrence of Democrats and Philosophers". Upon hearing of Windham's death, Mackintosh said: "Had Windham possessed discretion in debate, or Sheridan in conduct, they might have ruled their age". Sir

Nathaniel William Wraxall Sir Nathaniel William Wraxall, 1st Baronet (8 April 1751 – 7 November 1831) was an English author and politician. Life He was born in Queen Square, Bristol, the son of a Bristol merchant, Nathaniel Wraxall, and his wife Anne, great-niece of S ...

claimed Windham was:

...one of the most accomplished orators and individuals whom we have beheld in our day...His person was graceful, elegant, and distinguished; slender, but not meagre. The lineaments of his countenance, though they displayed the ravages of the smallpox, were pleasing, and retained a character of animation, blended with spirit and intelligence. Over his whole figure, nature had thrown an air of mind. His manners corresponded with his external appearance; and his conversation displayed the treasures of a highly cultivated understanding. Ardent in his love of civil liberty, for the preservation of which blessing, I believe, he would as cheerfully have shed his blood as did Hampden or Sidney; it was constitutional freedom that he venerated, not a republican and impracticable emancipation from limited monarchial government...To Burke, Windham unquestionably bore some analogy; and on ''his'' shoulders may be said to have descended the mantle of Burke...Windham's talents, brilliant and various as they were, always however appeared to me more adapted to speculative, than to practical life.

Henry Brougham said of Windham:

...a lively wit of the most pungent and yet abstruse description, a turn for subtle reasoning ... familiarity with men of letters and artists as well as politicians...a singularly expressive countenance—all fitted this remarkable person to shine ... uthe was too often the dupe of his own ingenuity; which made him doubt and balance ... His nature ... was to be a follower, if not a worshipper, rather than an original thinker or actor ... Accordingly, first Johnson in private and afterwards Burke on political matters were the deities whom he adored.

The Whig historian

Thomas Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

, in his essay on Warren Hastings that he wrote in 1841, praised Windham: "There, with eyes reverentially fixed on Burke, appeared the finest gentleman of the age, his form developed by every manly exercise, his face beaming with intelligence and spirit, the ingenious, the chivalrous, the high-souled Windham". Lord Rosebery edited Windham's papers in 1913, and said Windham was:

...the finest English gentleman of his or perhaps of all time. Had he lived in the great days of Elizabeth, he would have been one of the heroes of her reign...He was a statesman, an orator, a mathematician, a scholar, and the most fascinating talker of his day...A noble gentleman in the highest sense of the word, full of light, intellect, and dignity, loved and lamented. His best qualities, no doubt, as is often the case, he carried almost to excess; for his cherished independence he led to a morbid craving for isolation. But to the charge of vacillation in public affairs he was not obnoxious; he was always true to his faith. But he chose his masters well, Johnson and Burke; the one gave him his religious, the other his political creed. In life he was brilliant and successful. In oratory, in parliament, in society, he was almost supreme. But he can scarcely be said to survive. He left no stamp, no school, no work. To those, however, who care to disinter his memory he displays character and qualities of excellence, rare at all times, rarest in these.

F. P. Lock has described Windham as "a Norfolk squire of uncommon intellectual gifts and great personal charm. His great failing was chronic indecision".

Boyd Hilton Andrew John Boyd Hilton, FBA (born 1944) is a British historian and a professor and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He specialises in modern British history, from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Hilton was educated at Willi ...

said Windham "was the first in a line of brilliant but maverick right-wing politicians— Lyndhurst,

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

F. E. Smith Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Cha ...

—who operated too far outside the consensus to be effective. He had a scintillating personality, and political convictions so strong that they belied his otherwise scholarly and discriminating characteristics, but he lacked judgement and had a streak of melancholic instability".Boyd Hilton, ''A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England, 1783–1846'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006), p. 82. Windham, a lost early hamlet in

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill ( 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and the 27th most populous municipality in Canada. Ric ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

was named for Windham.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Windham, William 1750 births 1810 deaths People from Felbrigg People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of University College, Oxford Members of Parliament for Norfolk British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

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