- 1st Duke of Marlborough
- Marquess of Blandford
- Member of Parliament for Woodstock (1844-1857)
- Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (1842-1857)
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John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Sunderland, Marquess of Blandford, was born 2 June 1822 in Garboldisham Hall, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom to George Spencer-Churchill (1793-1857) and Jane Stewart (1798-1844) and died 4 July 1883 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, England, United Kingdom of unspecified causes. He married Frances Anne Emily Vane (1822-1899) 12 July 1843 in St. George's Street, Mayfair, England, United Kingdom.

Garter encircled arms of John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, as displayed on his Order of the Garter stall plate in St. George's Chapel.
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough KG, PC (2 June 1822 – 4 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and nobleman. He was the paternal grandfather of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Dukedom of Marlborough[]

Arms of Churchill
Duke of Marlborough is a title of English Peerage created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill the noted military leader. The name of the dukedom refers to Marlborough in Wiltshire. A good number of their descendants have married into many of the other noble hours of England.
The title Marquess of Blandford is used as the courtesy title for the Duke's eldest son and heir. The Duke's eldest son's eldest son can use the courtesy title Earl of Sunderland, and the duke's eldest son's eldest son's eldest son (not necessarily the eldest great-grandson) the title Lord Spencer of Wormleighton (not to be confused with Earl Spencer).
Background and education[]
John Spencer-Churchill was born at Garboldisham Hall, Norfolk, the eldest son of George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough, and Lady Jane Stewart, daughter of Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway. He was educated at Eton College and Oriel College, Oxford.
He commenced his career as a Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars in 1842. [1]
Political career[]
Spencer-Churchill was Member of Parliament for Woodstock from 1844 to 1845 and again from 1847 to 1857. He was responsible for the "Blandford Act" of 1856, enabling populous parishes to be divided for purposes of Church work.[2] In 1857 he succeeded his father in the dukedom and entered the House of Lords.
He served under Lord Derby as Lord Steward of the Household from 1866 to 1867, and under Derby and later Benjamin Disraeli as Lord President of the Council—with a seat in the cabinet—from 1867 to 1868. He was an influential Freemason;[3] he was sworn of the Privy Council in 1866, and made a Knight of the Garter in 1868. On the formation of Disraeli's second cabinet in 1874, he was offered, but declined, the Viceroyalty of Ireland.[1] He again held office under Disraeli as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1876 to 1880.[4]
Spencer-Churchill was president of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society for many years. He died suddenly of angina pectoris at 29 Berkeley Square, London, on 4 July 1883. After lying in state at Blenheim Palace, he was buried in the private chapel on 10 July.[1]
Marlborough died on 4 July 1883, aged 61, and was succeeded in the title by his eldest son, George. His wife died sixteen years later, on 16 April 1899, aged 77.
Family[]
On 12 July 1843, Spencer-Churchill married Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane (15 April 1822 – 16 April 1899), eldest daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane-Tempest. They had eleven children:
- George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough (13 May 1844 – 9 November 1892), whose son Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough married into the Vanderbilt family.
- Lord Frederick John Winston Spencer-Churchill (2 February 1846 – 5 August 1850)
- Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill (17 September 1847 – Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, London, 22 January 1927), married 25 May 1868 Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, by whom she had issue.
- Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895), married 15 April 1874 Jennie Jerome. Their issue included Sir Winston Churchill and John Strange Spencer-Churchill.
- Rosamond Jane Frances Spencer-Churchill (1850-1920), married 12 July 1877 William Henry Fellowes (1848-1925), 2nd Baron de Ramsey, by whom she had issue.
- Lady Fanny Octavia Louise Spencer-Churchill (1853-1904), married 9 June 1873 Edward Marjoribanks (1849-1909), 2nd Baron Tweedmouth, by whom she had issue.
- Lady Anne Emily Spencer-Churchill (Lower Brook Street, Mayfair, London, 14 November 1854 – South Audley Street, Mayfair, London, 20 June 1923), married 11 June 1874 James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe, by whom she had issue.
- Lord Charles Ashley Spencer-Churchill (25 Nov 1856 – 11 March 1858)
- Lord Augustus Robert Spencer-Churchill (4 July 1858 – 12 May 1859)
- Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Spencer-Churchill (10 St James's Square, St James's, London, 14 May 1860 – 9 February 1906), married 4 June 1883 Richard George Penn Curzon, 4th Earl Howe, by whom she had issue.
- Lady Sarah Isabella Augusta Spencer-Churchill ( 4 Jul 1865 – 22 October 1929), a war correspondent during the Boer War; married 21 November 1891 Lt. Col. Gordon Chesney Wilson (son of Sir Samuel Wilson, MP), by whom she had issue.
Children
Siblings[]
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Louisa Spencer-Churchill (c1820-1882) | 2 January 1821 | 23 March 1882 | Robert Charles Henry Spencer (1817-1881) |
John Winston Spencer-Churchill (1822-1883) | 2 June 1822 Garboldisham Hall, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom | 4 July 1883 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, England, United Kingdom | Frances Anne Emily Vane (1822-1899) |
Alfred Spencer-Churchill (1824-1893) | 24 April 1824 Garboldesham Hall, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom | 21 September 1893 Rutland Gate, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Harriet Louisa Hester Gough-Calthorpe (1832-1901) |
Alan Spencer-Churchill (1825-1873) |
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Almeric Athelstan Spencer-Churchill (1847-1856) | |||
Clementina Augusta Spencer-Churchill (1848-1886) | 4 May 1848 England, United Kingdom | 27 March 1886 Villa Clemntine, Cannes, France | John Charles Pratt, 3rd Marquess Camden (1840-1872) Philip Green (-1904) |
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Edward Spencer-Churchill (1853-1911) | 28 March 1853 | 5 May 1911 | Augusta Warburton (1854-1941) |
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Susan Harriet Elizabeth Churchill (1818-1882) |
Vital Records[]
Blenheim Palace Burial[]

resting place at Blenheim Palace.
- Location : Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England.
- John Winston Spencer-Churchill at Find A Grave
See also[]
- John Spencer-Churchill
- Spencer-Churchill in Oxfordshire
- wikipedia:en:John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
- John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough at thePeerage
- John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough at Genealogics
- British nobility
- This profile prepared courtesy of World of Scouting Members, helping to preserve our shared heritage.
Portrayals in film and television[]
Marlborough was portrayed by Cyril Luckham in the 1974 Thames TV mini-series Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill.
References[]
- ^ a b c Boase 1887.
- ^
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. "Marlborough, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17. Cambridge University Press. p. 737.
- ^ Churchill, Lord Randolph. "Churchill Freemason". Churchills who were Freemasons. freemasons-freemasonry/com. http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/beresiner7.html.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
External links[]
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by Sir Frederic Thesiger |
Member of Parliament for Woodstock 1844–1845 |
Succeeded by Viscount Loftus |
Preceded by Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill |
Member of Parliament for Woodstock 1847–1857 |
Succeeded by Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by The Earl of Bessborough |
Lord Steward 1866–1867 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Tankerville |
Preceded by The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos |
Lord President of the Council 1867–1868 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Ripon |
Preceded by The Duke of Abercorn |
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1876–1880 |
Succeeded by The Earl Cowper |
Honorary titles | ||
Preceded by The Duke of Marlborough |
Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire 1857–1883 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry Dashwood, Bt |
Peerage of England | ||
Preceded by George Spencer-Churchill |
Duke of Marlborough 1857–1883 |
Succeeded by George Spencer-Churchill |
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