Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull

Who was Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull?

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, KG, PC, was an English aristocrat.

He had been the member of parliament for East Retford before his accession to the peerage as fifth Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1690. While serving as one of the commissioners for the union with Scotland he was created Marquess of Dorchester in 1706, and took a leading part in the business of the House of Lords. He was made a privy councillor and in 1715 was created Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull; afterwards serving as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. The Duke was a prominent figure in the fashionable society of his day.

He was twice married, and had five daughters, among whom was Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Lady Caroline Pierrepont who married Thomas Brand, MP, and Evelyn Pierrepont who married John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower and was mother of Gertrude, Duchess of Bedford; and one son, William, Earl of Kingston, who died of smallpox, aged 20, in July 1713. He was succeeded by his grandson Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.