Evelyn Pierrepont
EVELYN PIERREPONT (c. 1655-1726), 5th earl and 1st duke of Kingston, another brother had been member of parliament for East Retford before his accession to the peerage. While serving as one of the commissioners for the union with Scotland he was created marquess of Dorchester in 1706, and took a leading part in the business of the House of Lords. He was made a privy councillor and in 1715 was created duke of Kingston; afterwards serving as lord privy seal and lord president of the council. The duke, who died on the 5th of March 1726, was a prominent figure in the fashionable society of his day. He was twice married, and had five daughters, among whom was Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (q.v.), and one son, William, earl of Kingston (d. 1713).
The latter's son, EVELYN PIERREPONT (1711-1773), succeeded his grandfather as second duke cf Kingston. When the rebellion of 1745 broke out he raised a regiment called " Kingston's light horse," which distinguished itself at Culloden. The duke, who attained the rank of general in the army, is described by Horace Walpole as " a very weak man, of the greatest beauty and finest person in England." He is chiefly famous for his connexion with Elizabeth Chudleigh, who claimed to be duchess of Kingston (q.v.). The Kingston titles became extinct on the duke's death without children on the 23rd of September 1773, but on the death of the duchess in 1788 the estates came to his nephew Charles Meadows (1737-1816), who took the name of Pierrepont and was created Baron Pierrepont and Viscount Newark in 1796, and Earl Manvers in 1806. His descendant, the present Earl Manvers, is thus the representative of the dukes of Kingston.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
