James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, 7th Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranborne, Baron Cecil of Essendon, Knight of the Garter, Privy Councillor, Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn, Launceston and Plympton Erle., 7th Earl of Salisbury from 1780, 1st Marquess of Salisbury from 1789, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, 1771–1823, Treasurer of the Household, 1780–1782, 1783–1804, Joint Postmaster General, 1816–1823, 1793., British peer and court/political figure., 7th Viscount Cranborne, Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1771 to 1823, Lord Chamberlain from 1783 to 1804, Joint Postmaster-General from 1816 to 1823, Knight of the Garter from 1793, Privy Counsellor.
Dates: 4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823
Biography
Georgian peer and politician who succeeded his father in 1780 and was created Marquess of Salisbury in 1789. His marriage and the later adoption of the Gascoyne name and arms established the armorial form used by the modern Salisbury marquesses.
Notes / Sources
Cracroft's Peerage, Marquess of Salisbury — https://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/salisbury1789.htm
Wikimedia Commons, Marquesses of Salisbury arms — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Coats_of_arms_of_Marquesses_of_Salisbury
House Cecil of Salisbury overview — https://wappenwiki.org/index.php/House_Cecil_of_Salisbury
Family / Armorial Context
Family / cadet branch: Salisbury marquessate, later Gascoyne-Cecil
Father: James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury
Mother: Elizabeth Keet, daughter of Edward Keet of Canterbury
Spouse(s): Lady Emily Mary Hill, daughter of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire
Children / next generation: James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury; Lady Georgiana Cecil, later Baroness Cowley; Lady Emily Cecil, later Marchioness of Westmeath
Armorial Registry
Cecil of Salisbury — James Cecil, 7th Earl and 1st Marquess of Salisbury: pre-Gascoyne Cecil achievement
Branch: Salisbury line; first Marquessate of Salisbury
Issued / recorded: 1789
Cecil of Salisbury and Hatfield — James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, pre-Gascoyne Salisbury achievement
Branch: Salisbury of Hatfield; first Marquessate of Salisbury
Issued / recorded: 1789
Cecil-Gascoyne-Cecil of Salisbury — James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury
Branch: Salisbury marquessate; Hatfield House; Gascoyne-Cecil formation
Issued / recorded: 1789
Record history (latest 1)
- Updated crest/arms.
3 Sep 2026, 07:17 UTC · Registry system
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