First Rockingham ministry

The first Rockingham ministry was a British ministry headed by the Marquess of Rockingham from 1765 to 1766 during the reign of King George III. The government was made up mainly of his followers known as the Rockingham Whigs. The most influential member of the government was the Duke of Newcastle, a former Prime Minister, who served as Lord Privy Seal. It is often referred to as the only government ever to have been made up almost entirely of members of the Jockey Club, with Rockingham himself being a prominent patron and follower of the turf. Rockingham was noted for his ignorance of foreign affairs, and his ministry failed to reverse the growing isolation of Britain within Europe (Simms 2008, p. 520).

First Rockingham ministry
1765–1766
Rockingham (after Joshua Reynolds)
Date formed	13 July 1765
Date dissolved	30 July 1766
People and organisations
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	Lord Rockingham
Total no. of members	12 appointments
Member party	Rockingham Whigs
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Grenvillites
History
Legislature term(s)	12th GB Parliament
Predecessor	Grenville ministry
Successor	Chatham ministry

The Rockingham ministry fell in 1766 and was replaced by one headed by William Pitt, later the Earl of Chatham.

Cabinet

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office
First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	The Marquess of Rockingham*	13 July 1765	30 July 1766
Lord Chancellor	The Earl of Northington	16 January 1761	30 July 1766
Lord President of the Council	The Earl of Winchilsea	12 July 1765	30 July 1766
Lord Privy Seal	The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	1765	1766
Chancellor of the Exchequer	William Dowdeswell	16 July 1765	2 August 1766
Secretary of State for the Northern Department	The Duke of Grafton	12 July 1765	14 May 1766
	Henry Seymour Conway	23 May 1766	20 January 1768
Secretary of State for the Southern Department Leader of the House of Commons	Henry Seymour Conway	12 July 1765	23 May 1766
Secretary of State for the Southern Department	The Duke of Richmond	23 May 1766	29 July 1766
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Earl of Egmont	1763	1766
Master-General of the Ordnance	Marquess of Granby	1763	1770
Minister without Portfolio	The Duke of Cumberland	1765	1766

Changes

• October 1765 – The Duke of Cumberland (also the uncle of King George III) dies.
• May 1766 – The Duke of Grafton resigns from the cabinet. Henry Seymour Conway succeeds him as Northern Secretary, and the Duke of Richmond succeeds Conway as Southern Secretary.

Ministers not in Cabinet

• Lord Chamberlain – The Duke of Portland

References

• Browning, Reed (1975). The Duke of Newcastle. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-01746-5.
• Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980). British Historical Facts: 1760–1830. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-0-333-21512-8.
• Hibbert, Christopher (1999). George III: A Personal History. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-025737-3.
• Simms, Brendan (2008). Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-028984-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)