# Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham

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British noblewoman (1720–1803)

"Countess of Chatham" redirects here. For the wife of her son, the 2nd Earl, see [Mary Pitt, Countess of Chatham](/source/Mary_Pitt%2C_Countess_of_Chatham).

The Countess of Chatham Portrait by William Hoare, c. 1766 Born Hester Grenville (1720-11-08)8 November 1720 London, England Died 9 April 1803(1803-04-09) (aged 82) Burton Pynsent, Somerset, England Spouse The Earl of Chatham ​ ​ (m. 1754; died 1778)​ Issue Hester Stanhope, Viscountess Mahon John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham Lady Harriet Eliot William Pitt the Younger Hon James Charles Pitt Parents Richard Grenville Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple

**Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham** ([née](/source/Birth_name#Maiden_and_married_names) **Grenville**; 8 November 1720 – 9 April 1803) was the wife of [William Pitt the Elder](/source/William_Pitt_the_Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham, who was [prime minister of Great Britain](/source/Prime_minister_of_Great_Britain) from 1766 to 1768.[1]

The sister of [George Grenville](/source/George_Grenville), who was prime minister from 1763 to 1765, she was also the mother of Prime Minister [William Pitt the Younger](/source/William_Pitt_the_Younger) and a niece of the noted [Whig](/source/Whig_(British_political_party)) politician [Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham](/source/Richard_Temple%2C_1st_Viscount_Cobham), who had served as her husband's mentor.

Chatham and [Elizabeth Grenville](/source/Elizabeth_Grenville), her sister-in-law, are the only two women in British history to have been both the wife of a prime minister and the mother of another prime minister.

## Early life

Born on 8 November 1720 in London, she was the only daughter of [Richard Grenville](/source/Richard_Grenville_(1678%E2%80%931727)) and [Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple](/source/Hester_Grenville%2C_1st_Countess_Temple).[1]

## Marriage

At 34, Lady Hester married [Whig](/source/Whigs_(British_political_party)) politician [William Pitt](/source/William_Pitt%2C_1st_Earl_of_Chatham) on 16 November 1754 at her home in [Argyle Street, London](/source/Argyle_Street%2C_London), by [Francis Ayscough](/source/Francis_Ayscough) under special licence.[1][2] They had five children:

- [Lady Hester Pitt](/source/Hester_Stanhope%2C_Viscountess_Mahon) (19 October 1755 – 20 July 1780), who married [Viscount Mahon](/source/Charles_Stanhope%2C_3rd_Earl_Stanhope), later the 3rd [Earl Stanhope](/source/Earl_Stanhope), on 19 December 1774; three children, including the traveler and Arabist [Lady Hester Stanhope](/source/Lady_Hester_Stanhope).

- [John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham](/source/John_Pitt%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Chatham) (9 October 1756 – 24 September 1835), who married [The Hon. Mary Townshend](/source/Mary_Pitt%2C_Countess_of_Chatham); no issue.

- Lady Harriet Pitt (18 April 1758 – 1786),[3] who married [The Hon. Edward James Eliot](/source/Edward_James_Eliot), oldest son of the [1st Baron Eliot](/source/Edward_Craggs-Eliot%2C_1st_Baron_Eliot), in 1785; one child.

- [Hon. William Pitt the Younger](/source/William_Pitt_the_Younger) (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806), who also served as prime minister; never married.

- Hon. James Charles Pitt (1761 – 13 November 1780), [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) officer and died in [Antigua](/source/Antigua); never married.

On 4 December 1761, she was created "Baroness Chatham", of [Chatham](/source/Chatham%2C_Medway), in the County of [Kent](/source/Kent)", with remainder to her sons by William Pitt. Her husband was created [Earl of Chatham](/source/Earl_of_Chatham) in 1766.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECokayne143_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECokayne143_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECokayne143_1-2) [Cokayne](#CITEREFCokayne), p. 143.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Williams, Basil](/source/Basil_Williams_(historian)) (1915). ["VIII: Gloom and Sunshine"](https://archive.org/details/lifeofwilliampi01will/page/246/mode/2up). *The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham*. Vol. 1. Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 247.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** *The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760*. 10 May 1758.

### Sources

- [Cokayne, George](/source/George_Cokayne); et al., *[The Complete Peerage](/source/The_Complete_Peerage)*, vol. III

- Larsen, Ruth M. "Pitt [née Grenville], Hester, countess of Chatham and suo jure Baroness Chatham". *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/89688](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F89688). (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

## External links

- Media related to [Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hester_Pitt,_Countess_of_Chatham) at Wikimedia Commons

- Lundy, Darryl, [*Person Page*](http://thepeerage.com/p1251.htm#i12505), retrieved 5 March 2017

Peerage of the United Kingdom New creation Baroness Chatham 1761–1803 Succeeded by John Pitt

v t e Spouses of British prime ministers Great Britain Catherine Walpole Maria Walpole Catherine Pelham Harriet Pelham-Holles Mary Stuart Elizabeth Grenville Mary Watson-Wentworth Hester Pitt Anne FitzRoy Elizabeth FitzRoy Anne North Louisa Petty Dorothy Bentinck United Kingdom Ursula Addington Anne Grenville Jane Perceval Louisa Jenkinson Mary Jenkinson Joan Canning Sarah Robinson Catherine Wellesley Mary Grey Julia Peel Frances Russell Emma Smith-Stanley Emily Temple Mary Anne Disraeli Catherine Gladstone Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil Charlotte Campbell-Bannerman Margot Asquith Margaret Lloyd George Lucy Baldwin Anne Chamberlain Clementine Churchill Violet Attlee Clarissa Eden Dorothy Macmillan Elizabeth Douglas-Home Mary Wilson Audrey Callaghan Denis Thatcher Norma Major Cherie Blair Sarah Brown Samantha Cameron Philip May Marina Wheeler Carrie Johnson Hugh O'Leary Akshata Murty Victoria Starmer Category:GBR Category:UK

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Other SNAC Yale LUX

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