George Grenville Papers

William L. Clements Library
The University of Michigan
George Grenville Papers

Grenville, George, 1712-1770

Papers, 1755-1757
62 items

Biographical information:

George Grenville entered Parliament in 1741, sitting for the borough of Buckingham, the constituency which he represented for 29 years. Initially Grenville was allied with his brother Lord Temple and his future brother-in-law William Pitt. In the Pelham ministry he was made a lord of the admiralty in 1744 and a lord of the treasury in 1747. With the formation of Newcastle's administration, Grenville, was appointed treasurer of the navy and became a member of the Privy Council in 1754. Although Grenville in his early career was dominated by Temple and Pitt, and frequently overshadowed by them, he did earn the reputation in the House of Commons as an effective speaker and a capable man of business. Grenville's tenure as treasurer of the navy was interrupted twice: in 1755 he was dismissed for criticism of government foreign policy; he returned to office in 1756 with the Devonshire ministry but resigned the following year when Pitt and Temple were dismissed; he then returned to office in June, 1757, and continued to hold that position until 1762.

Scope and Contents:

Political correspondence of George Grenville, British statesman.

This collection is concentrated on the two years 1756 and 1757; none of it relates to Grenville's position in the Bute ministry or to his own tenue as first lord of the treasury and architect of the Stamp Act. It contains valuable correspondence with Pitt and Temple relating to the negotiations for the Devonshire ministry; letters relating to Admiral Byng's failure to take Minorca; and correspondence and reports from Charles Jenkinson describing the maneuvers of the French and British fleets and land forces in the beginning of the Seven Years War.

Provenance:

Purchased, 1937

Additional notes:

The collection has been published in The Correspondence of Richard Grenville, Earl Temple, and the Right Honourable George Grenville, ed. William James Smith, 4 vols. (London, 1852).