Editing Althorp (section)

===Social and cultural hub===
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| footer = [[John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer]] and his daughter [[Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire]] were noted for their lavish spending and social connections
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John served as Member of Parliament for [[Warwick (UK Parliament constituency)|Warwick]] from 1756 to 1761. He was renowned for his heavy spending on his political pursuits and campaigns, "indulging in the fiercely competitive and heinously expensive business of fighting elections to Parliament – which effectively meant bribing people to vote for his candidate rather than that of another magnate".{{Sfn|Spencer|1998|p=35}} He spent £120,000 in one campaign alone and spent heavily on his estates, building [[Spencer House, London|Spencer House]] in London. He also wore expensive fashionable attire such as "diamond-buckled shoes". Althorp frequently hosted parties attended by the political and cultural elite, and it became known as a place of indulgence and festivities. At dinners and picnics in the gardens, John hired musicians to play French horns and organised unusual spectacles to entertain guests, such as a "[[Hooray Henry|Hooray Henry Olympics]]", as Charles Spencer calls it, with a donkey race for Lord Fordwick, dance competitions offering a [[Guinea (British coin)|guinea]] as the first prize, and sack races with the first prize of 30 shillings.{{Sfn|Spencer|1998|p=37}} The Christmas of 1755 was a grand affair. John celebrated his 21st birthday with a ball at the house on 20 December during which he secretly married 18-year-old [[Georgiana Spencer, Countess Spencer|Margaret Georgiana Poyntz]]; the couple did not inform anyone for several days.<ref name="Oak Room">{{cite web|url=http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-home/oak-bedroom |title=The Oak Bedroom |publisher=Spencerofalthorp.com |access-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406012519/http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-home/oak-bedroom |archive-date=6 April 2015 }}</ref> Around 5,000 guests were invited to a celebration party organised by the Spencers in a shed on the village green in the nearby village of [[Brington, Northamptonshire|Brington]], consuming some 11,000 pints of beer. Althorp was "buzzing with activity", and France's top chefs were brought to Althorp to cater for the family and their guests during the week.{{Sfn|Spencer|1998|p=38}}  He was created Baron Spencer of Althorp and Viscount Spencer by George III on 3 April 1761, and on 1 November 1765, he was given the title Viscount Althorp and made the first [[John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer|Earl Spencer]].{{sfn|Debrett|1840|p=681}} He was also High Steward of [[St Albans]] in 1772 and Mayor of St Albans in 1779.{{Sfn|Spencer|1998|p=35}} John's daughter, [[Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire]], was also known for her liberal spending, and although she became one of Britain's most prominent socialites in the late 18th century, with many political and literary connections,{{sfn|Smith|2013|p=49}} she suffered from a gambling addiction and had an eating disorder.{{sfn|Foreman|2001|p=xvi}}

[[File:George John Spencer 2nd Earl Spencer 1774 76.jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|George John, 2nd Earl Spencer]], by [[Sir Joshua Reynolds]]]]
John's son [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|George John, 2nd Earl Spencer]] inherited Althorp after his father's death in 1783. He served as Whig MP for [[Northampton (UK Parliament constituency)|Northampton]] from 1780 to 1782 and for [[Surrey]] from 1782 to 1783 before accepting the title of 2nd Earl Spencer. He was later [[Home Secretary]] from 1806 to 1807 under [[William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville|Lord Grenville]] in the [[Ministry of All the Talents]]. Extremely interested in literary pursuits, he developed one of the largest private libraries in Europe at Althorp.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=72}} He was the instigator and first President of the [[Roxburghe Club]] (an exclusive [[Bibliophilia|bibliophilic]] club), founded in 1812, President of the [[Royal Institution]] from 1813 to 1827,{{sfn|James|1993|p=53}} and Commissioner of the [[Record Commission|Public Records]] in 1831, among other literary pursuits.{{sfn|Cooper|1833|p=7}} In later life, his collecting habit had become an obsession, and he attempted to collect every volume ever published in Britain.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=72}} Such was his desire to obtain as complete a collection as possible, that when [[Napoleon]] instigated the [[German mediatisation|secularisation of religious houses in south Germany]], Spencer used the local British agent and [[Benedictine monk]], [[Alexander Horn]] to acquire many of their rare books and manuscripts.<ref name="ODNB1">{{cite ODNB|id=51261|title=Horn, Alexander (1762–1820)|author=Mark Dilworth}}</ref> Althorp became a major cultural hub of England during his time; at one Christmas, the actor [[David Garrick]], the historian [[Edward Gibbon]], the playwright [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]] and the painter [[Joshua Reynolds]], among other artistic figures attended a party there together.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=73}} However, George John's spending became problematic for the Spencers, especially as at the time they were feeling the impact of the agricultural depressions brought on by the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. By the time of his death in 1834 he had amassed a debt of £500,000, which he passed onto his son, [[John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer]].{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=73}}

The 3rd Earl became an active statesman, serving as [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] under [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Lord Grey]] and [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne|Lord Melbourne]] from 1830 to 1834. Along with [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]], he led the fight to pass the [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Bill of 1832]], making more than twenty speeches, and is generally considered the architect of its victory.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Charles-Spencer-3rd-Earl-Spencer|title=John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref> Despite his debts, in respect for his father, John managed to retain the massive book collection, and also continue to run the other Spencer houses at Wimbledon and Spencer House in London, as well as his farm in [[Wiseton]] and shooting retreat in Norfolk. He achieved this mainly by far less extravagant living, spending much of the year at Wiseton where the running costs were £1,200 compared with the £5,000 needed to run Althorp and pay the staff of 40 in the house.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=75}} As a result, Althorp was largely abandoned during the late 1830s and early 1840s. John also leased out his lands and gardens and sold land in [[Buckinghamshire]] and [[Bedfordshire]], repaying all the debt by the time of his death in 1845, and beginning to run his properties at a profit. His son [[Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer]], who owned Althorp from 1845 until his death in 1857, also retained the collection.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=78}}

[[John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer]], known as the Red Earl, inherited Althorp in 1857. He served as a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] politician and was a close friend of British prime minister [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]], who he served under in all four of his cabinets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-family/john-poyntz-fifth-earl-spencer |title=John Poyntz, Fifth Earl Spencer |publisher=Spencerofalthorp.com |access-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402081715/http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-family/john-poyntz-fifth-earl-spencer |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> Although politically successful, John fell into hard times financially and was forced to eventually sell much of the enormous library collection in 1892 to [[Enriqueta Rylands]], who was building the [[University of Manchester]] Library.<ref name=library.manchester.ac.uk>{{cite web|title=George John, 2nd Earl Spencer |url=http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/firstimpressions/Pioneers-of-Print/George-John%2C-2nd-Earl-Spencer |publisher=University of Manchester |access-date=30 March 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207170053/http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/firstimpressions/Pioneers-of-Print/George-John,-2nd-Earl-Spencer/ |archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref> After dying childless in 1910, John passed Althorp to his half brother, [[Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer]], who served as [[Lord Chamberlain]] from 1905 to 1912 in the Liberal administrations headed by [[Henry Campbell-Bannerman|Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman]] and [[H. H. Asquith]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}