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Pelham the archbishop of Canterbury the degree of D.C.L. When the see of Norwich became vacant, he wrote (8 Feb. 1805) from his house in Welbeck Street, London, to Mr. Pitt, stating that he had heard ‘from so many quarters’ of his nomination for that bishopric, that he could ‘no longer refrain expressing his gratitude,’ as it would be ‘a lasting obligation.’ A dry answer was immediately sent back by Pitt, that the report ‘had arisen without his knowledge, and that he could not have the satisfaction of promoting his wishes’ (, Life of Pitt, iv. 253–4). In 1807 he was transferred to the diocese of Exeter, being installed on 28 Sept. 1807, and holding with it the archdeaconry of Exeter and the treasurership of the cathedral, to which was annexed a residential stall. In this position he ‘continued for thirteen years, expecting higher preferment.’ His desires were realised in October 1820, when he was made bishop of Lincoln. An epigram on his greed for lucrative office is given in Gronow's ‘Reminiscences’ (1889 ed. ii. 80–1), and attributed to Canning; but the diarist is mistaken in saying that it was penned on Pelham's attempt to succeed Tomline at Winchester, as the see was not vacated by that divine until the close of 1827. ‘Winton,’ in the epigram, is probably a mistake for ‘Lincoln.’ Pelham was also clerk of the closet to the king. He caught cold while attending the funeral of the Duke of York in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on 19 Jan. 1827; died of pleurisy at Connaught Place, London, on 7 Feb., and was buried in the family vaults at Laughton in Sussex on 15 Feb.

Pelham was the author of two sermons and a charge. He is described as urbane in his manners, punctual in the discharge of business, and impartial in the distribution of patronage. When raised to the episcopal bench he nearly went down on his knees to George III to be permitted to dispense with his wig, but the king was inexorable (, Essays, 1873 ser., ii. 40).

He married, on 14 Dec. 1792, Mary, third daughter of Sir Richard Rycroft. She died, without issue, at Connaught Place, on 30 March 1837.

Jekyll notes that the bishop and his wife were in 1818 daily attendants at the dinners given by the prince-regent in the pavilion at Brighton. She was haughty in her style, and in the palace at Exeter ‘never rises from her seat to receive the visitors’ (Letters, p. 67). His portrait, by Joseph Slater, was lithographed by Isaac Slater.

[Gent. Mag. 1827 pt. i. p. 269, 1837 pt. i. p. 553; Oliver's Bishops of Exeter, pp. 166, 274, 287; Le Neve's Fasti, i. 221, 280, 283, 383, 397, 416, 432, ii. 29, iii. 42; Notes and Queries, 5th ser. ii. 213; Richard Polwhele's Reminiscences, i. 137, 155.] 

PELHAM, HENRY (1695?–1754), statesman, was the younger son of Thomas, fourth baronet, first baron Pelham [q. v.], by his second wife, Lady Grace Holles, youngest daughter of Gilbert, third earl of Clare, and sister of John Holles, duke of Newcastle [q. v.] He was educated at Westminster School, and at Hart Hall, Oxford, where he matriculated on 6 Sept. 1710, at the age of fifteen, but did not graduate. He was gazetted a captain in Brigadier Dormer's regiment on 22 July 1715, and served as a volunteer at the defeat of the rebels at Preston in November following. Shortly after the suppression of the rebellion, Pelham visited the continent, returning to England in October 1717. During his absence he was elected for Seaford at a by-election in February 1717. He acted as a consistent supporter of the whig party under Walpole and Townshend, with both of whom he was connected by marriage. On 6 May 1720 he made his maiden speech in the House of Commons, while moving an address of thanks to the king (Parl. Hist. vii. 648–9), and on the 25th of the same month he was appointed treasurer of the chamber. On 3 April 1721 he became one of the lords of the treasury. At the general election in the spring of 1722 he was returned to the House of Commons for Sussex, which he continued to represent for the rest of his life. Resigning his seat at the treasury board, he was appointed secretary at war on 1 April 1724. He was sworn a member of the privy council on 1 June 1725 (London Gazette, 1725, No. 6377), but the statement that he was admitted to Walpole's cabinet appears to be incorrect (see, Memoirs, 1884, iii. 358–9). Pelham frequently proved of service to the ministry as a mediator between his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, and Walpole, whose mutual jealousy led to frequent disputes. On 8 May 1730 he was promoted to the more lucrative post of paymaster of the forces. On 11 Feb. 1732 he became involved in an altercation with Pulteney during a debate in the house, and a duel was only prevented by the interposition of the speaker (Journals of the House of Commons, xxi. 796). In defiance of the popular clamour, Pelham supported Walpole's excise scheme in the spring of 1733, and on the evening after the last debate on that measure he extricated Walpole from the attack of a well-dressed mob in the lobby of the House of Commons (, Memoirs of the Pelham Administration, 1829, i. 10 n.) At the general election