# Godolphin–Marlborough ministry

This is a list of the principal Ministers of the Crown of the Kingdom of England, and then of the Kingdom of Great Britain, from May 1702, at the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne. During this period, the leaders of the ministry were Lord Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough.
On 8 August 1710 Godolphin was dismissed and the Harley ministry took power.

## History

Upon Queen Anne's accession to the English throne in 1702, she appointed Lord Godolphin as Lord High Treasurer and the Duke of Marlborough as Master-General of the Ordnance (among other numerous appointments). They would lead this coalition of Tories and Whigs until 1708, one year after the Act of Union formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. There were three phases to the ministry. From 1702 to 1704 the ministry was largely Tory – Godolphin and Marlborough themselves were Tories, as were the Earl of Nottingham and Sir Charles Hedges, the Secretaries of State. After Nottingham's resignation in 1704, Godolphin and Marlborough turned for support to the "Country" Whigs, led by Speaker Robert Harley. Not long after, the Whig complexion of the ministry grew, as Godolphin sought the support of Harley's opponents, the second Whig Junto, bringing the Earl of Sunderland in to replace Hedges as Secretary of State in 1706, and other Junto allies like Sir William Cowper began to be appointed to positions of power. The leading ministers looked favourably on the Junto's strong support for the War of the Spanish Succession. Harley at this point began to turn against the ministry and towards the opposition Tories, and his resignation in 1708 left the government largely in the hands of the Junto for its last two years, with Sunderland as Secretary of State, Lord Somers as Lord President of the Council, the Earl of Orford as First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Earl of Wharton as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The ministry finally collapsed in 1710 when Queen Anne turned to Harley and the Tories, dismissing Godolphin and the Junto Whigs, and, soon after, Marlborough himself.

## List of ministers

| Office | Office | Name | Appointed |
| First Lord of the Treasury | First Lord of the Treasury | Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin | 8 May 1702 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Chancellor of the Exchequer | Henry Boyle | 29 March 1701 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Chancellor of the Exchequer | John Smith | 11 February 1708 |
| Lord President of the Council | Lord President of the Council | Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery | 9 July 1702 |
| Lord President of the Council | Lord President of the Council | John Somers, 1st Baron Somers | 25 November 1708 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Sir John Leveson-Gower | 12 May 1702 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby | 1 June 1706 |
| Master-General of the Ordnance | Master-General of the Ordnance | John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough | 1 July 1702 |
| Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham | 2 May 1702 |
| Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Sir Charles Hedges | 18 May 1704 |
| Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland | 3 December 1706 |
| Secretary of State for the Southern Department | Secretary of State for the Southern Department | William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth | 15 June 1710 |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Sir Charles Hedges | 2 May 1702 |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Robert Harley | 18 May 1704 |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Secretary of State for the Northern Department | Henry Boyle | 13 February 1708 |
| Lord Privy Seal | Lord Privy Seal | John Sheffield, 1st Marquess of Normanby | 27 April 1702 |
| Lord Privy Seal | Lord Privy Seal | John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 21 March 1705 |
| President of the Board of Trade | President of the Board of Trade | Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth | 12 June 1702 |
| President of the Board of Trade | President of the Board of Trade | Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford | 25 April 1707 |
| Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Prince George of Denmark | 20 May 1702 |
| Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Queen Anne | 28 October 1708 |
| Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke | 29 November 1708 |
| Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Lord High Admiral / First Lord of the Admiralty | Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford | 8 November 1709 |
| Secretary at War | Secretary at War | George Clarke | 3 March 1692 |
| Secretary at War | Secretary at War | Henry St John | 20 April 1704 |
| Secretary at War | Secretary at War | Robert Walpole | 25 February 1708 |
| Treasurer of the Navy | Treasurer of the Navy | Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet | 29 May 1699 |
| Treasurer of the Navy | Treasurer of the Navy | Robert Walpole | 21 January 1710 |
| Paymaster of the Forces | at Home | John Howe | 4 January 1703 |
| Paymaster of the Forces | Abroad | Charles Fox | 4 January 1703 |
| Paymaster of the Forces | Abroad | James Brydges | April 1705 |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Secretary of State for Scotland | John Erskine, Earl of Mar | 1 May 1707 |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Secretary of State for Scotland | James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry | 3 February 1709 |