William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG,PC (21 May 1790 – 18 January 1858), styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was an English peer, courtier and Whig politician. Known as the "Bachelor Duke", he served as Lord Chamberlain from 1827 to 1828 and again from 1830 to 1834. The Cavendish banana is named after him.[1]
Devonshire was also Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire between 1811 and 1858[6] and carried the globus cruciger at George IV's coronation. However, increasing deafness from an early age prevented him from taking an even greater part in public life.[3]
Other interests
Devonshire had a major interest in gardening and horticulture, and devoted himself sedulously to the care and nurture of his vast estates. His major projects including the wholesale rebuilding of the village of Edensor, and significant improvement to his several stately houses and their gardens. He befriended Sir Joseph Paxton, then employed at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chiswick Gardens, located close to Devonshire's London estate Chiswick House, and appointed him his head gardener at Chatsworth House in 1826, despite Paxton being only in his early twenties at the time. Paxton greatly expanded the gardens at Chatsworth, including the construction of a 277 foot long conservatory, which served as a model for The Crystal Palace constructed in London's Hyde Park.
Devonshire, himself a keen horticulturalist, was elected President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1838, a position in which he served for twenty years until his death.[7] It was this interest which led him to establish the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as a national botanic garden.[7] The world's most commercially exploited banana, the Cavendish, was named in his honour. He had acquired an early specimen, which he raised in his glasshouse, and this plant is the progenitor of almost all the worldwide varieties of Cavendish banana.[8]
Devonshire was also patron of The Derby Town and County Museum and Natural History Society. In that position, he was instrumental in the creation of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in 1836.[9]
He also travelled extensively.
In 1845, Cavendish published a book called Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick. It was privately printed and provided a history of the Cavendish family's two primary estates: Chatsworth House and Hardwick Hall; the handbook was praised by author Charles Dickens.[10][11]
Personal life
St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC (1790–1858)Shield of arms of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC
Much of Devonshire's private correspondence, including letters to his mistresses (one of whom he installed nearby), was destroyed by his Victorian relatives. He intended to marry Lady Caroline Ponsonby, his cousin, but she married William Lamb, which he found devastating.[1]