Pelham-Clinton family, Dukes of Newcastle under Lyne of Clumber

The Dukes of Newcastle under Lyne were Lords of the Manor of Newark in Nottinghamshire. They had a longstanding connection with the town, and were extremely influential there, dominating local politics from the early eighteenth century onwards. Though traditionally important landholders, under the 2nd Duke of Newcastle there was a significant consolidation of family property in Newark. By 1832, the 4th Duke was being described as 'principal owner' in the town.

The 2nd Duke of Newcastle under Lyne purchased properties in Stodman Street, Newark in 1768 and 1783 respectively. It is likely that in one of these purchases the premises at 32 Stodman Street were conveyed to him. By the turn of the twentieth century these premises were well established as a furniture showroom. Ultimately, the property passed to Marks and Spencer, whose Newark store has remained on the Stodman Street site.

From the guide to the Deeds and documents relating to property in Stodman Street and St Mark's Lane, Newark, Nottinghamshire, 1880-1902, 1880-1902, (The University of Nottingham)

Henry Fiennes Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln (1720-1794) succeeded his uncle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle under Lyne (also 4th Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne) in 1768. From this date he took the additional surname Pelham and made Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire his principal seat. Through Thomas Pelham-Holles (1693-1768) he also inherited property in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Middlesex, while the bulk of the Pelham estates in Sussex and the 1st Duke's private papers were left to the direct male heir, Thomas Pelham of Stanmer, 1st Earl of Chichester (and 2nd Baron Pelham, 1728-1805).

Thomas Pelham-Holles had inherited the Pelham estates in Sussex and, through his uncle John Holles, 3rd Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne (and 4th Earl of Clare, 1662-1711), the Holles/Clare estates in Middlesex, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, together with the Cavendish properties of Nottingham Castle and Clumber Park. Holles had acquired these Cavendish properties by his marriage in 1690 to Lady Margaret Cavendish (1661-1716), daughter and co-heir of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne (1630-1691). The major Cavendish/Newcastle properties, however, passed through Lady Henrietta Cavendish (1694-1755), daughter of the 3rd Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and wife of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford (1689-1741), to their daughter, Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715-1785). On her marriage in 1734 to William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1709-1762), they became part of the Portland of Welbeck estates and were inherited through the Cavendish-Bentinck family along with the records which form part of the Portland Collections.

By Henry Pelham-Clinton's marriage in 1744 to his cousin Catherine Pelham (1727-1760), the daughter of Henry Pelham (1696-1754), he inherited part of the Pelham estates in Sussex (sold in 1767 and 1772) and his father-in-law's private papers. In addition to these inheritances, Henry Pelham-Clinton also acquired estates in Lincolnshire, the Bedford Levels and Oatlands, near Weybridge in Surrey, from the Clinton Earl of Lincoln side of his family.

On the 2nd Duke of Newcastle under Lyne's death in 1794 his son Thomas Pelham-Clinton (1752-1795) inherited but his early death left his son Henry, 4th Duke of Newcastle under Lyne (1785-1851) a minor and the estate to be administered by trustees. During the nineteenth century the Middlesex (Clare Market in London) estates were sold, while the Nottinghamshire estates were extended. Worksop Manor was purchased from the Duke of Norfolk in 1839 (sold again in 1890), the Yorkshire estates were sold in the 1830s and an estate in Cardiganshire, Hafod, bought in 1835 and sold in 1841. The 4th Duke's marriage in 1807 to Georgiana Mundy (1789-1822) brought further Nottinghamshire properties to the family, while his grandson, Henry Pelham Alexander Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke (1834-1879), by his marriage in 1861 to Henrietta Adele Hope (1843-1913), added estates in Surrey, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and County Monaghan, Ireland - as well as the additional surname, Hope.

The house at Clumber, mostly dating from after 1879 when a serious fire had destroyed a large part of the original building, was demolished in 1938. The building materials and many of the contents, including the library and rare manuscripts, were then sold to raise money. A smaller replacement house was planned but never built and the grounds were eventually put up for sale and purchased by the National Trust in 1946. The Gloucestershire properties had already been sold in 1911 by Henry Pelham Archibald Douglas Pelham-Clinton-Hope, 7th Duke (1864-1928) and in the 1950s the 9th Duke, Henry Edward Hugh Pelham-Clinton-Hope, (1907-1988) moved to Wiltshire making Boyton, the former Fane estate, the family's principal seat. The dukedom became extinct on his death in 1988.

The Newcastle (Clumber) Collection also includes some earlier papers relating to the Cavendish and Holles, Dukes of Newcastle upon Tyne families and their estates, inherited by the 2nd Duke through both Thomas Pelham-Holless and Henry Pelham. Papers relating to the Cavendish and Holles families, the Dukes of Newcastle upon Tyne, are also to found at The University of Nottingham in the Portland (Welbeck) Collection (Pw). (See also article by R.J. Olney 'The Portland Papers' in Archives, XIX, 82, October 1989).

From the guide to the Newcastle (Clumber) Collection, 1200-1942, (The University of Nottingham)