10 May 2023 marked the 300th anniversary of the death of William Cowper, Earl Cowper, a rarity among political lawyers in that he served two terms as lord chancellor. Currently, the History of Parliament has two published accounts of his career, one covering the period when he was a member of the House of Commons, and one covering the House of Lords under Queen Anne. The last stage of his life will be covered in the volumes currently under preparation. Dr Stuart Handley considers his significance.

Cowper was born on 24 June 1665, six months after his father had succeeded to the family baronetcy. He was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1682 and contracted a favourable marriage in 1686 to Judith Booth, the heiress of a London Grocer. Two years later, after being called to the Bar, Cowper conducted his first case in King’s Bench, before Lord Chief Justice Holt.

Cowper took up arms for William of Orange, and this, plus good contacts among the Whig elite, ensured his promotion to King’s Counsel in 1689. In the general elections of 1695 and 1698 he joined his father in being elected for Hertford. Meanwhile, Cowper had excelled himself in the House, being particularly effective in arguing for the attainder of Sir John Fenwick in November 1696, and in the summation at the murder trial of Lord Mohun in March 1699.

The electoral partnership was broken in 1701 when Cowper declined to join his father again at Hertford. This may have been because of the fall-out from the trial and acquittal of his brother, Spencer Cowper, in 1699 for the murder of a Quaker heiress, which destroyed the Cowper interest in the town. Cowper was then returned for Parliament at a by-election in March 1701 for Bere Alston in Devon, under the auspices of the earl of Stamford and the Drake family, retaining the seat until December 1705, when his brother Spencer was returned in a by-election, following Cowper’s promotion to the lord keepership, at the age of 40. Queen Anne’s sensitivity to his youthful appearance, specifically wearing his own hair, ensured that he felt obliged to get a haircut and wore a wig.

Cowper’s wife had died earlier in 1705, leaving no children, although by this time Cowper had fathered several illegitimate offspring with Elizabeth Cullen (leading to rumours of a bigamous marriage). In September 1706 Cowper married for a second time, his new wife being Mary Clavering.

At the end of November 1706, he succeeded his father as third baronet. In December he was created Baron Cowper, and in May 1707 became lord chancellor. At the end of the year he declined to accept the traditional New Year’s gifts attendant upon the office.

Cowper served the Whig ministry until 1710, presiding over the trial of Dr. Henry Sacheverell in Westminster Hall, an event which precipitated the ministry’s fall and the return of the Tories to power under the leadership of Robert Harley, later earl of Oxford. Harley made strenuous attempts to retain Cowper in office, but ultimately failed.

Cowper remained out of central office until the Hanoverian Succession, but he did retain the lord lieutenancy of Hertfordshire, which he had acquired following the death of the earl of Essex, until 1712. During his years in opposition he defended the previous ministry’s conduct of the war in Spain, and opposed the issue of ‘restraining orders’ to the duke of Ormond in 1712, a stance viewed favourably in Hanover.

Following the death of Queen Anne, Cowper was named as a regent by George I, charged with the governance of the kingdom until his arrival. He attended the first privy council of the reign on 1 August 1714 and signed the new monarch’s proclamation. Following the king’s arrival in September he was re-appointed lord chancellor. Cowper’s inability to speak French, appeared to risk reducing his influence with George, but he got round this dilemma by writing detailed memoranda to be translated by his wife into French and then transmitted to the German minister, Bernstorff, for the king’s use.

Nevertheless, Cowper found the political circumstances of the new regime somewhat challenging, particularly as the death of several figures such as the earl of Halifax and marquess of Wharton removed several longstanding allies. Given the close relationship between Cowper and the Prince of Wales, cemented by his wife’s place in the Princess’ household, he was particularly vexed by the split in the Royal Family which led to the removal of the Prince and his family from Court. Having secured a promotion in the peerage in March 1718, Cowper surprised everyone by resigning the following month on the grounds of ill-health and fatigue.

Subsequently, the reconciliation of the Royal Family in April 1720, and the rise to power of Walpole and Townshend, saw Cowper lead a determined opposition, in 1721-3, which turned the traditional device of the parliamentary protest into an instrument of opposition. Cowper signed 53 out of 64 protests in this period and was widely perceived to be the author of many of them. However, Cowper’s health was beginning to fail and the opposition campaign dissolved upon his death on 10 October 1723.

SNH

Further reading
The House of Commons 1690-1715, edited by Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley and D.W. Hayton (Cambridge, 2002), iii. 762-71.
The House of Lords 1660-1715, edited by Ruth Paley (Cambridge, 2016), ii. 765-77.