Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St JohnArms of St John: Argent, on a chief gules two mullets or"Turf, with Jockey up, at Newmarket", painting c.1766 by George Stubbs of one of Bolingbroke's famous racehorses. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection[1]
Bolingbroke was educated at Eton College, Berkshire.[3] He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron St John of Battersea on 19 June 1748. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Viscount St John on 26 November 1748.[3]
"Bully," as he was called by his contemporaries, is best known for his extravagant lifestyle and the racehorses he bred. On 8 September 1757 he married Lady Diana Spencer,[3] elder daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, after making a joking proposal to her in one of London's pleasure gardens. Bolingbroke's insistence on maintaining a bachelor's lifestyle (which included lavish spending, a string of mistresses, heavy drinking and gambling) after their marriage, coupled with verbal and, possibly, physical spousal abuse, led to a bitter separation between Bully and the popular and artistic Lady Diana. Bolingbroke brought divorce proceedings against his wife for her criminal conversation with Topham Beauclerk, with whom she bore a child.
Things worsened for Viscount Bolingbroke after his divorce. The damages he won from Beauclerk were paltry compared to the mountain of debt he acquired. Rather than economize he chose to sell his prized racehorse. Even before his divorce his tight finances led to his sponsoring changes in law that allowed inheritors to sell off family properties. Once the law was passed he set about selling property that had been in his family for centuries.
In 1763, he sold the estate of Battersea, Surrey to Viscount Spencer. Eventually, he begged for and received a post as Lord of the Bedchamber in the court of King George III—a post he'd previously held while still married to Lady Diana, but given up due to a combination of disinterest and indolence. In the meantime he never stopped searching for an heiress old enough or unattractive enough (and therefore desperate to marry) to wed a man of questionable finances and reputation.
Viscount Bolingbroke found himself overshadowed by his wife even after their marriage ended. Bolingbroke was not especially popular outside of a certain set while Lady Diana's circle included the eccentric and intelligent Dr Samuel Johnson and the fashionable political hostess, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.
^ abcdefgG. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, pp. 207, 208.
frederick, john, viscount, bolingbroke, viscount, john, december, 1732, 1787, british, viscount, landowner, father, john, john, viscount, john, half, brother, henry, john, viscount, bolingbroke, 1678, 1751, mother, anne, furnese, younger, brother, general, hen. Frederick St John 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke 3rd Viscount St John 21 December 1732 5 May 1787 was a British Viscount and landowner His father was John St John 2nd Viscount St John half brother of Henry St John 1st Viscount Bolingbroke 1678 1751 2 3 His mother was Anne Furnese 3 and his younger brother General the Hon Henry St John 1738 1818 Frederick St John 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke 3rd Viscount St JohnArms of St John Argent on a chief gules two mullets or Turf with Jockey up at Newmarket painting c 1766 by George Stubbs of one of Bolingbroke s famous racehorses Yale Center for British Art Paul Mellon Collection 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Death 3 Children 4 Quotes 5 Titles 6 ReferencesBiography editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Frederick St John 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bolingbroke was educated at Eton College Berkshire 3 He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron St John of Battersea on 19 June 1748 He succeeded to the title of 3rd Viscount St John on 26 November 1748 3 Bully as he was called by his contemporaries is best known for his extravagant lifestyle and the racehorses he bred On 8 September 1757 he married Lady Diana Spencer 3 elder daughter of Charles Spencer 3rd Duke of Marlborough after making a joking proposal to her in one of London s pleasure gardens Bolingbroke s insistence on maintaining a bachelor s lifestyle which included lavish spending a string of mistresses heavy drinking and gambling after their marriage coupled with verbal and possibly physical spousal abuse led to a bitter separation between Bully and the popular and artistic Lady Diana Bolingbroke brought divorce proceedings against his wife for her criminal conversation with Topham Beauclerk with whom she bore a child Things worsened for Viscount Bolingbroke after his divorce The damages he won from Beauclerk were paltry compared to the mountain of debt he acquired Rather than economize he chose to sell his prized racehorse Even before his divorce his tight finances led to his sponsoring changes in law that allowed inheritors to sell off family properties Once the law was passed he set about selling property that had been in his family for centuries In 1763 he sold the estate of Battersea Surrey to Viscount Spencer Eventually he begged for and received a post as Lord of the Bedchamber in the court of King George III a post he d previously held while still married to Lady Diana but given up due to a combination of disinterest and indolence In the meantime he never stopped searching for an heiress old enough or unattractive enough and therefore desperate to marry to wed a man of questionable finances and reputation Viscount Bolingbroke found himself overshadowed by his wife even after their marriage ended Bolingbroke was not especially popular outside of a certain set while Lady Diana s circle included the eccentric and intelligent Dr Samuel Johnson and the fashionable political hostess Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire Death editHe died on 5 May 1787 aged 54 Children editSir George Richard St John 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke 5 March 1761 11 December 1824 Lady Henriette St John 1 August 1762 April 1834 married Henry Towcester in 1792 General Hon Frederick St John 20 December 1765 19 November 1844 Quotes editLord Chesterfield said he was by his talents no way unworthy to bear his uncle s name and had true and solid good sense real taste and knowing a great deal 3 Cokayne and Gibbs said for the last six years of his life he was out of his mind 3 Titles edit1748 Baron St John of Battersea 1748 Viscount St John of Battersea 1751 Baronet St John of Lidiard TregozeReferences edit Turf with Jockey up at Newmarket YCBA Collections Search Stepneyrobarts co uk a b c d e f g G E Cokayne with Vicary Gibbs H A Doubleday Geoffrey H White Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden editors The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom Extant Extinct or Dormant new ed 13 volumes in 14 1910 1959 reprint in 6 volumes Gloucester U K Alan Sutton Publishing 2000 volume II pp 207 208 Peerage of Great BritainPreceded byHenry St John Viscount Bolingbroke1751 1787 Succeeded byGeorge St JohnPreceded byJohn St John Viscount St John1749 1787 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick St John 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke amp oldid 1168709630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
