The funeral honours of Sir John Spencer, Kt. (1546–1599). He displays both the Despencer arms, adopted after c. 1595 and the blue and white arms granted in 1504.
The House was founded in the 15th century by Henry Spencer (died c. 1478), from whom all members descend. In the 16th century, the claim arose that the Spencers were a cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer, though this theory has since been debunked, in particular by J. Horace Round in his essay The Rise of the Spencers. The Spencers were first granted a coat of arms in 1504, "Azure a fess Ermine between 6 sea-mews' heads erased Argent," but this bears no resemblance to the arms used by the family after c. 1595, which were derived from the Despencer arms, "Quarterly Argent and Gules in the second and third quarters a Fret Or overall on a Bend Sable three Escallops of the first" (the scallops standing for the difference as a cadet branch). Round argued that the Despencer descent was fabricated by Richard Lee, a corrupt Clarencieux King of Arms. Citing Round, The Complete Peerage dismissed the alleged Despencer descent as an "elaborate imposture" which "is now incapable of deceiving the most credulous."
Rise to wealth
A close relative of Henry Spencer (died c. 1478) was John Spencer, who in 1469 had become feoffee (trustee) of Wormleighton in Warwickshire and a tenant at Althorp in Northamptonshire in 1486. His nephew, Sir John Spencer (died 1522), first made a living by trading in livestock and other commodities and eventually saved enough money to purchase both the Wormleighton and Althorp lands. Wormleighton was bought in 1506, the manor house was completed in 1512. In 1508, Spencer also purchased the estate of Althorp with its moated house and several hundred acres of farmland. He had grazed sheep here from the 1480s. Impressed by the quality of the land, he eventually bought it and rebuilt the house in 1508. At that time, his estate and mansion in Warwickshire were considerably larger, and the house in Wormleighton was four times the size of Althorp. In 1511, he made further purchases to acquire the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin, from Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset. By putting down roots at Althorp, Spencer provided what was to become a home for the next 19 generations. In 1519, he was knighted by King Henry VIII, died three years later and was buried in the new family chapel at Great Brington.
The Spencers rose to opulent prominence during the 16th century. Sir John Spencer's grandson Sir John Spencer (d. 1586) was a Knight of the Shire for Northamptonshire. The Spencers' administration of their Northamptonshire and Warwickshire estates was admired and often emulated by gentlemen all over England. Sheep from their pastures were purchased for breeding and it is probable that the family's success as farmers was rarely equalled in the century.
In the late 16th century, the latter Sir John Spencer's grandson Sir Robert Spencer (1570–1627) represented Brackley in Parliament. In 1601, he was made a Knight of the Garter, and created Baron Spencer, of Wormleighton, in the Peerage of England in 1603. During the reign of King James I he was reputed to be the richest man in England. The humble origins of the Spencers as sheep farmers once caused a heated exchange of words between wealthy yet then upstart Spencers with the more established Howards whose FitzAlan ancestors had been the Earls of Arundel since the 13th century. During a debate in the House of Peers, Lord Spencer was speaking about something that their great ancestors had done when suddenly the Earl of Arundel cut him off and said "My Lord, when these things you speak of were doing, your ancestors were keeping sheep". Lord Spencer then instantly replied, "When my ancestors as you say were keeping sheep, your ancestors were plotting treason."
Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer, was succeeded in his peerage and estates by his eldest surviving son, William. He had previously represented Northamptonshire in Parliament. Two of his sons received additional peerages: His eldest son, Henry (1620–1643), succeeded as 3rd Baron Spencer in 1636 and was created Earl of Sunderland in the Peerage of England in 1643. The younger son, Robert (1629–1694), sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679 and was created Viscount Teviot in the Peerage of Scotland in 1685.
The senior branch of the Spencers (later known as the Spencer-Churchill family) is currently represented by Jamie Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough, direct descendant via the eldest male-line of Sir John Spencer, who was knighted by King Henry VIII in 1519 while the cadet branch of the family, the Spencers of Althorp who descends via the male-line from the younger son of the 3rd Earl Sunderland is represented by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer.
In 1817, George Spencer, 5th Duke of Marlborough, obtained permission to assume and bear the additional surname of Churchill in addition to his own surname of Spencer, in order to perpetuate the name of his illustrious great-great-grandfather. At the same time he received Royal Licence to quarter his paternal arms of Spencer with the coat of arms of Churchill. The modern Dukes of Marlborough thus originally bore the surname "Spencer". The double-barrelled surname of "Spencer-Churchill" as used since 1817 has remained in the family to this day, though some members have preferred to style themselves merely "Churchill". The 7th Duke of Marlborough was the paternal grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), the British prime minister. The latter's widow, Clementine (1885–1977), was created a life peeress in her own right as Baroness Spencer-Churchill in 1965.
The family seat of the Dukes of Marlborough is Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Most Spencer-Churchills are interred in the churchyard of St Martin's Church, Bladon, a short distance from the palace; only the Dukes and Duchesses are buried in the Blenheim Palace chapel.
Simple arms of the Spencer Dukes of Marlborough before they changed their name to "Spencer-Churchill" and took the modern arms.Spencer-Churchill Duke of Malborough coat of armsSir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime minister, grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough
This line of the family descends from Francis Spencer, younger son of the 4th Duke of Marlborough. In 1902, his grandson, the 3rd Baron, was created Viscount Churchill. Holders of these titles include
The 9th Earl Spencer, then Viscount Althorp, married Victoria Lockwood, a British fashion model, in 1989. They divorced in 1997. He married his third wife Karen Gordon, a Canadian philanthropist, in 2011.
George Spencer (1799–1864), son of the 2nd Earl Spencer. He was first an Anglican priest, converted to Catholicism to become a Roman Catholic priest as Father Ignatius, worked as a missionary and is now a candidate for beatification.
Many members of the Spencer family have also been knights or dames of the Order of the Garter. The following is a list is of all Spencer members of this order, across all branches of the family, along with their year of investiture.
Robert Spencer 1640–1702 2nd Earl of Sunderland, 4th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
John Churchill 1650–1722 1st Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge
Henrietta Churchill 1681–1733 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, Marchioness of Blandford, Countess of Marlborough, Lady Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baroness Churchill of Sandridge
Charles Spencer 1675–1722 3rd Earl of Sunderland, 5th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Robert Spencer 1701–1729 4th Earl of Sunderland, 6th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Charles Spencer 1706–1758 3rd Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 5th Earl of Sunderland, 7th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
George Spencer 1739–1817 4th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 6th Earl of Sunderland, 8th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
John Spencer 1734–1783 1st Earl Spencer, Viscount Spencer, and Baron Spencer of Althorp
George Spencer-Churchill 1766–1840 5th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 7th Earl of Sunderland, 9th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
George Spencer-Churchill 1793–1857 6th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 8th Earl of Sunderland, 10th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
John Winston Spencer-Churchill 1822–1883 7th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 9th Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Georgiana Poyntz 1799–1851
Frederick Spencer 1798–1857 4th Earl Spencer, Viscount Spencer, and Baron Spencer of Althorp
George Charles Spencer-Churchill 1844–1892 8th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 10th Earl of Sunderland, 12th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill 1871–1934 9th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 11th Earl of Sunderland, 13th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
John Albert William Spencer-Churchill 1897–1972 10th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 12th Earl of Sunderland, 14th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Victor Alexander Spencer 1890–1973 2nd Viscount Churchill, 4th Baron Churchill of Wychwood
Richard Spencer 1888–1956
Albert Spencer 1892–1975 7th Earl Spencer, Viscount Spencer, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, 2nd Viscount Althorp
John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill 1926–2014 11th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 13th Earl of Sunderland, 15th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Victor George Spencer 1934–2017 3rd Viscount Churchill, 5th Baron Churchill of Wychwood
Richard Spencer 1926–2020 6th Baron Churchill of Wychwood
Edward John Spencer 1924–1992 8th Earl Spencer, Viscount Spencer, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, 3rd Viscount Althorp
Viscountcy Churchill extinct, 2017
Charles James Spencer-Churchill b. 1955 12th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Marlborough, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, and Baron Churchill of Sandridge, 14th Earl of Sunderland, 16th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Michael Spencer b. 1960 7th Baron Churchill of Wychwood
David Anthony Spencer b. 1970 Heir Presumptive to Wychwood
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