View source for Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

{{short description|British statesman (1661–1724)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
| honorific-suffix    = [[Order of the Garter|KG]] [[Privy Council of Great Britain|PC]] [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]
| image               = Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (2).jpg
| imagesize           =
| caption             = Portrait by [[Godfrey Kneller]], 1714
| order1              = [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
| monarch1            = [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]]
| term_start1         = 11 August 1710
| term_end1           = 4 June 1711
| primeminister1      =
| predecessor1        = [[John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)|John Smith]]
| successor1          = [[Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley|Robert Benson]]
| order3              = [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker of the House of Commons]]
| term_start3         = February 1701
| term_end3           = 25 October 1705
| monarch3            = [[William III of England|William III]]<br/>[[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]]
| predecessor3        = [[Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet|Sir Thomas Littleton]]
| successor3          = [[John Smith (Speaker)|John Smith]]
| order2              = [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]]
| monarch2            = [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]]
| term_start2         = 18 May 1704
| term_end2           = 13 February 1708
| predecessor2        = [[Charles Hedges|Sir Charles Hedges]]
| successor2          = [[Henry Boyle, 1st Baron Carleton|Henry Boyle]]
| order               = [[List of English chief ministers|Chief Minister of Great Britain]]<br />[[Lord High Treasurer]]
| monarch             = [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]]
| term_start          = 30 May 1711
| term_end            = 30 July 1714
| predecessor         = ''Commission of the Treasury''
| successor           = [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury|The Duke of Shrewsbury]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1661|12|5|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Covent Garden]], [[Middlesex]], [[Kingdom of England]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1724|05|21|1661|12|5|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Westminster]], [[Middlesex]], [[England]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]
| resting_place       = [[Brampton Bryan]], [[Herefordshire]]
| party               = [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] <br /> [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]]
| parents             = [[Edward Harley (Parliamentarian)|Sir Edward Harley]]<br/>Abigail Stephens
| spouse              = Elizabeth Foley<br/>Sarah Middleton
| children            = 4, including [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward]]
| occupation          =
| signature           =
}}
[[File:Coat of arms of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG.png|thumb|right|220px|Quartered arms of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]]

'''Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer''', [[Order of the Garter|KG]], [[Privy Council of Great Britain|PC]], [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (5 December 1661 – 21 May 1724) was a British statesman of the late [[Stuart dynasty|Stuart]] and early [[Georgian era|Georgian]] periods. He began his career as a [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]], before defecting to a new [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] ministry. He was raised to the [[peerage of Great Britain]] as an [[earl]] in 1711. Between 1711 and 1714 he served as [[Lord High Treasurer]], effectively [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]'s chief minister. He has been called a ''[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]]'',<ref>E. S. Roscoe, ''Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Prime Minister, 1710–14'' (London: Methuen, 1902).</ref> although it is generally accepted that the [[de facto]] first minister to be a prime minister was [[Robert Walpole]] in 1721.

The central achievement of Harley's government was the negotiation of the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] with France in 1713, which brought an end to twelve years of English and Scottish involvement in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. In 1714 Harley fell from favour following the accession of the first monarch of the [[House of Hanover]], [[George I of Great Britain|George I]], and was for a time imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] by his political enemies.

He was also a noted literary figure, serving as a patron of both the [[October Club (Tory Party)|October Club]] and the [[Scriblerus Club]]. [[Harley Street]] is sometimes said to be named after him, although it was his son [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward Harley]] who actually developed the area.

==Early life: 1661–1688==
Harley was born in [[Bow Street]], London, in 1661, the eldest son of [[Edward Harley (Parliamentarian)|Sir Edward Harley]], a prominent landowner in [[Herefordshire]] and his wife Abigail Stephens and the grandson of [[Robert Harley (1579–1656)|Sir Robert Harley]] and his third wife, the celebrated letter-writer [[Brilliana, Lady Harley]]. He was educated at [[Shilton, Oxfordshire|Shilton]], near [[Burford]], in [[Oxfordshire]], in a small school which produced at the same time a [[Lord High Treasurer]] (Harley himself), a [[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor]] ([[Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt|Lord Harcourt]]) and a Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas ([[Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor|Lord Trevor]]). Harley then spent some time at [[Foubert's Academy]], but disliked it.<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian W. Hill|title=Robert Harley: Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister|url=https://archive.org/details/robertharleyspea00hill|url-access=registration|access-date=8 July 2013|year=1988|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-04284-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/robertharleyspea00hill/page/7 7]}}</ref> He entered the [[Middle Temple]] on 18 March 1682, but was never [[called to the bar]].

The principles of [[Whiggism]] and [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformism]] were taught to him at an early age, and he never formally abandoned his family's religious opinions, although he departed from them in politics.

His father was wrongly imprisoned for suspected support for the 1685 [[Monmouth Rebellion]]. Harley wrote afterwards that "we are not a little rejoiced" at Monmouth's defeat.<ref name="Hill, p. 10">Hill, p. 10.</ref>

==Glorious Revolution: 1688–1689==
During 1688 Harley acted as his father's agent in promoting support for William, Prince of Orange and the Protestant cause against the policies of [[James II of England|James II]].<ref name="Hill, p. 10"/> When William [[Glorious Revolution|landed in England]] on 5 November, Sir Edward Harley and his son immediately raised a troop of horse in support of the cause of [[William III of England|William III]], and took possession of the city of [[Worcester, England|Worcester]] on his behalf. Harley was sent to report to William, meeting him at [[Henley on Thames|Henley]]. Harley obtained a commission as a major of militia foot in Herefordshire, which he held for several years.<ref name="Hill, p. 10"/>

==Backbench member of parliament: 1689–1701==
This recommended Robert Harley to the notice of the Boscawen family, and led to his election, in April 1689, as the parliamentary representative of [[Tregony (UK Parliament constituency)|Tregony]], a borough under their control, whilst at the same time acting as [[High Sheriff of Herefordshire]]. He sat for Tregony for one parliament, after which, in 1690, he was elected by the constituency of [[New Radnor (UK Parliament constituency)|New Radnor]], which he represented until his elevation to the peerage in 1711.<ref>House of Commons 1690–1715 Volume 1 p.244</ref> From an early age, Harley paid particular attention to the conduct of public business, taking special care over the study of the forms and ceremonies of the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]].

Harley supported the [[Toleration Act 1688|Toleration Bill]] during its passage through the Commons and he hoped for "an equal settlement of religion" to be achieved by the inclusion of Presbyterians in the Church of England. However, this was not adopted.<ref>Hill, pp. 17–18.</ref> He also helped to defeat a Tory amendment to the [[Bill of Rights 1689|Bill of Rights]] that would have enabled James II's son [[James Francis Edward Stuart]] to inherit the crown if he converted to Protestantism. On 14 May, Harley delivered his [[maiden speech]] in which he reminded the House of recent Tory persecutions (such as the harsh punishment of Monmouth's followers) and said that this injustice must be remedied.<ref>Hill, p. 18.</ref>

After a series of French victories in Flanders during the early years of the [[Nine Years' War]], Harley believed that the subordination of English soldiers to Dutch officers was the cause of the heavy English casualties. He, therefore, proposed a motion that future appointments of English foot regiments should be manned by Englishmen, which the House passed on 23 November 1692.<ref>Hill, p. 30.</ref> He also opposed [[John Somers, 1st Baron Somers|Lord Somers]]' proposed Abjuration Bill. If passed, this would have compelled office-holders to take an oath against recognising James II as the lawful king upon penalty of dismissal and imprisonment on the first refusal, with the penalties of high treason upon the second refusal.<ref name="Hill, p. 31">Hill, p. 31.</ref>

During the early 1690s, Harley became a leader, second only to [[Paul Foley (ironmaster)|Paul Foley]], of the 'Old Whigs' who were willing to cooperate with Tories in pursuing 'Country Party' measures against the ministerial or court Whigs in office, the so-called [[Whig Junto]].<ref>Hill, p. 26, pp. 33–34.</ref> In December 1690 he was elected to the Commission of Public Accounts to "examine, take and state" the accounts of the realm since William's accession, as expenditure had ballooned.<ref>Hill, p. 24.</ref>

Harley supported a Bill to exclude from the Commons holders of government office and [[placemen]] in an effort to weaken court patronage. In taking part in the debates, Harley wrote: "I hope we have shown the parts of honest men and lovers of our country".<ref name="Hill, p. 31"/> He also supported the [[Meeting of Parliament Act 1694|Triennial Bill]] to limit the maximum life of a Parliament to three years. In the Commons in early 1693, he claimed that long parliaments were not as representative as short-lived ones and he drew from his pocket a copy of King William's Declaration of 1688 in which he had promised frequent parliaments.<ref>Hill, p. 32.</ref>

In 1696 Harley advocated the founding of a Land Bank that would serve the agricultural interest as the [[Bank of England]] served the monied interest.<ref>Hill, pp. 44–45.</ref>

After the [[1698 English general election|general election of 1698]], Harley emerged as the leader of the combined Country Whig-Tory opposition alliance against the Junto, or what Harley called the 'New Country Party'. Also in this year, he began his association with [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Sidney Godolphin]], and through him ultimate entry into the circle around Princess Anne.<ref>Hill, p. 55.</ref>

In November 1698 and in January 1700 Harley was approached by the ministry to accept office in the government, on the latter occasion being offered the Secretaryship of State. He refused on both occasions as he did not want to serve with the Whigs.<ref>Hill, p. 58, pp. 59–60.</ref> Upon the death of Anne's only surviving child, [[Prince William, Duke of Gloucester]], in July 1700, King William III became concerned with the succession. William believed it was imperative that the crown should go to [[Sophia, Electress of Hanover]], or her descendants, should Anne die without child. He wrote to Harley and summoned him to an audience, where he asked Harley what demands the Commons would make in order to be persuaded to pass a Bill incorporating the new line of succession. It was agreed that the Bill would include further limitations of the monarch's power.<ref>Hill, p. 63.</ref> Afterwards, William approved his election as Speaker of the House of Commons.

==Speaker of the House of Commons: 1701–1705==
After the general election of February 1701, he held the office of [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker]] during three consecutive Parliaments until March 1705. From 18 May 1704, he combined this office with that of the [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]], displacing [[Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham|The Earl of Nottingham]].

As Speaker of the first Parliament, Harley oversaw the passage of the [[Act of Settlement 1701]], as previously agreed with King William. Harley was pleased that both the Whigs and the Tories had agreed on placing further limits on the power of the crown and he was reported to have said that "he hoped in a little time our infamous distinctions and parties, but particularly [[Jacobitism]], should be wholly abolished and extirpated".<ref>Hill, p. 66.</ref>

==Northern Secretary: 1704–1708==
Harley was an early practitioner of '[[Spin (propaganda)|spin]]'; he recognised the political importance of careful management of the media. In 1703 Harley first made use of [[Daniel Defoe]]'s talents as a political writer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marshall |first=Alan |date=2023 |title=Robert Harley as Secretary of State and his Intelligence Work: 1702–1708 |journal=History |volume=108 |issue=381 |pages=328–352 |language=en |doi=10.1111/1468-229X.13360 |s2cid=258875615 |issn=0018-2648|doi-access=free }}</ref> This proved so successful that he was later to employ both [[Delarivier Manley]] and [[Jonathan Swift]] to pen pamphlets for him for use against his many opponents in politics.

During the time of his office, the [[Act of Union 1707]] with [[Scotland]] was brought about. At the time of his appointment as Secretary of State, Harley had given no outward sign of dissatisfaction with the Whigs, and it was mainly through [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Marlborough's]] influence that he was admitted to the ministry.

For some time, so long indeed as the victories of the great English general cast a glamour over the policy of his friends, Harley continued to act loyally with his colleagues. But in the summer of 1707, it became evident to [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin]] that some secret influence behind the throne was shaking the confidence of the Queen in her ministers. The sovereign had resented the intrusion into the administration of the impetuous [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland|Lord Sunderland]], and had persuaded herself that the safety of the [[Church of England]] depended on the fortunes of the Tories. These convictions were strengthened in her mind by the new favourite [[Abigail Masham]] (a cousin of the [[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough|Duchess of Marlborough]] through her mother, and of Harley on her father's side), whose coaxing contrasted favourably in the eyes of the Queen with the haughty manners of her old friend, the Duchess of Marlborough.

[[File:RobertHarley1710.jpg|thumb|left|Robert Harley by Jonathan Richardson, {{circa|1710}}.]]

Both the Duchess and Godolphin were convinced that this change in the disposition of the queen was due to the influence of Harley and his relatives, but he was permitted to remain in office. Later, an ill-paid and poverty-stricken clerk, [[William Gregg (clerk and spy)|William Gregg]], in Harley's office, was found to have given the French enemy copies of many documents which should have been kept from the knowledge of all but the most trusted advisers of the court, and it was found that through the carelessness of the head of the department the contents of such papers became the common property of all in his service. The celebrated author [[Daniel Defoe]], then an employee of Harley's, had warned that his lax security was an invitation to treason.<ref>[[s:Gregg, William (DNB01)|DNBO1 reference to William Gregg]]</ref> The Queen was informed by Godolphin and Marlborough that they would no longer serve with Harley. They did not attend her next council, on 8 February 1708, and when Harley proposed to proceed with the business of the day the [[Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset|Duke of Somerset]] drew attention to their absence. The Queen found herself forced (11 February) to accept the resignations of both Harley and [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke]].

Thomson criticizes Harley's tenure at the Northern Department, calling him "culpably negligent in the conduct of his business".   In addition to citing the lax security already mentioned, Thomson writes that Harley "so arranged matters that the unhappy clerks in his office could not begin work until midnight or a little before and so were unable to leave till dawn.  Even where there was nothing to do, they were kept in attendance until about three in the morning".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Secretaries of State: 1681-1782 |first=Mark A. |last=Thomson |url=https://archive.org/details/secretariesofsta0000thom/page/18/mode/2up |publisher=Frank Cass |location=London |year=1932 |pages=19}}</ref>

==Opposition: 1708–1710==
Harley was forced from office, but his cousin Abigail, who had recently married, continued in the Queen's service. Harley employed her influence without scruple, and not in vain. The cost of the protracted war with France, and the danger to the national church, the chief proof of which lay in the prosecution of [[Henry Sacheverell]], were the weapons which he used to influence the masses of the people. Marlborough himself could not be displaced, but his relations were dismissed from their posts in turn. When the greatest of these, Lord Godolphin, was ejected from office on 10 August 1710, five commissioners to the treasury were appointed; among them was Harley as [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]].

==Chancellor of the Exchequer: 1710–1711==
It was the aim of the new chancellor to frame an administration from the moderate members of both parties, and to adopt with but slight changes the policy of his predecessors; but his efforts were doomed to disappointment.<ref>Hill, p. 131.</ref> The Whigs refused to join an alliance with him, and the Tories, who were successful beyond their wildest hopes at the polling booths, could not understand why their leaders did not adopt a policy more favourable to the interests of their party.
[[File:Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke; Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford; Francis Atterbury by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|right|Oxford (right), together with his friend and ally [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke]] and a portrait of [[Francis Atterbury]]. Engraving after a painting by [[Godfrey Kneller|Sir Godfrey Kneller]].]]
The clamours of the wilder spirits, the country members who met at the October Club, began to be re-echoed even by those who were attached to the person of Harley, when, through an unexpected event, his popularity was restored at a bound. A French refugee, the former [[abbé]] La Bourlie (better known by the name of the [[Antoine de Guiscard|Marquis de Guiscard]]), was being examined before the [[Privy Council of Great Britain]] on a charge of treason, when he stabbed Harley in the breast with a penknife (8 March 1711). Fortunately for Harley, he had a taste for fine clothes, and on that occasion was wearing an ornate gold brocade [[waistcoat]]: it seems that the knife stuck in one of the ornaments.  Why Guiscard was allowed to enter the room carrying a weapon is still something of a mystery, but, as the Gregg affair demonstrated, Harley was notoriously lax in matters of security, and it is likely that Guiscard had not been properly searched. To a man in good health, the wounds would not have been serious, but the minister had been suffering from ill health and [[Jonathan Swift|Swift]] had penned the prayer, "Pray God preserve his health, everything depends upon it". The joy of the nation on his recovery knew no bounds. Both Houses presented an address to the crown, a suitable response came from the Queen, and on Harley's reappearance in the Lower House, the Speaker made an oration which was spread by broadsheet through the country.

One of the most pressing problems at this time was the major crisis in public finance caused by the need to pay for the war against France.<ref name="Hill, p. 134">Hill, p. 134.</ref> The architect of Great Britain's finance was [[George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax|Lord Halifax]], and he wrote to Harley on the day that the new Treasury board met: "Your great abilities and your knowledge of the Revenue, will soon make you master of all the business, but how you will restore credit, and find money for the demands that will be upon you exceeds my capacity".<ref>Hill, p. 136.</ref> Harley in 1711 created the [[South Sea Company]] to handle the national debt—it proved highly successful (at first—the notorious "bubble" began in 1720).<ref>Roscoe, 1902, pp 146–51.</ref> He succeeded in restoring confidence under his tenure; whereas the Jacobite invasion scare of 1708 and the alarm caused by the Queen's illness in early 1714 both caused runs on the bank, Godolphin's fall did not precipitate one.<ref name="Hill, p. 134"/>

==Lord High Treasurer: 1711–1714==
On 23 May 1711 the minister became '''Baron Harley''', of Wigmore in the County of Hereford, and '''Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer''' (the latter, despite its form, being a single peerage). Harley claimed the title of Oxford because of his relationship through marriage to the previous holders, the De Veres. The title of Earl Mortimer was added in case a claim was laid to the Oxford earldom.<ref>Hill, p. 152.</ref> On 29 May he was appointed [[Lord Treasurer]], and on 25 October 1712 became a [[Knight of the Garter]].

A further attempt was made on his life in November with the [[Bandbox Plot]], in which a hat-box, armed with loaded pistols to be triggered by a thread within the package was sent to him; the assassination attempt was forestalled by the prompt intervention of [[Jonathan Swift]].

With the sympathy which these attempted assassinations had evoked, and with the skill which the Lord Treasurer possessed for conciliating the calmer members of either political party, he passed several months in office without any loss of reputation. He rearranged the nation's finances, and continued to support her generals in the field with ample resources for carrying on the campaign, though his emissaries were in communication with the French King, and were settling the terms of a peace independently of England's allies. After many weeks of vacillation and intrigue, when the negotiations were frequently on the point of being interrupted, the preliminary peace was signed, and in spite of the opposition of the Whig majority in the [[House of Lords]], which was met by the creation of twelve new peers nicknamed [[Harley's Dozen]], the much-vexed [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)|Treaty of Utrecht]] was brought to a conclusion on 31 March 1713. The Whig cry of "[[No Peace Without Spain]]", was not sufficient to block Parliamentary approval of the Treaty.
[[File:RobertHarleyInColour.jpg|thumb|left|Robert Harley pictured carrying the white staff of the [[Lord High Treasurer]].  Portrait by [[Jonathan Richardson]].]]

While these negotiations were under discussion, the friendship between Harley (Oxford) and [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke|St John]], the latter who had become [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department|Secretary of State]] in September 1710, was fast changing into hatred. The latter had resented the rise in fortune which the stabs of Guiscard had secured for his colleague Harley, and when he was raised to the peerage with the title of Baron St John and Viscount Bolingbroke, instead of with an Earldom, his resentment knew no bounds. The royal favourite, Abigail, whose husband had been called to the Upper House as Baron Masham, deserted her old friend and relation for his more vivacious rival. The [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]]s found that, although the Lord Treasurer was profuse in his expressions of goodwill for their cause, no steps were taken to ensure its triumph, and they no longer placed reliance on promises which were repeatedly made and repeatedly broken. Even Harley's (Oxford's) friends began to complain of his dilatoriness, and to find some excuse for his apathy in ill health, aggravated by excess in the pleasures of the table and by the loss of his favourite child. The confidence of Queen Anne was gradually transferred from Oxford to Bolingbroke; on 27 July 1714 the former surrendered his staff as lord treasurer, and on 1 August the queen died.

==Imprisonment: 1715–1717==
{{Main|Impeachment of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford}}
On the accession of [[George I of Great Britain]], the defeated minister retired to [[Herefordshire]], but a few months later his impeachment<ref>[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lords-jrnl/vol20/pp97-112#h3-0012 Earl of Oxford and E. Mortimer impeached.] at the journal of the [[House of Lords]].</ref> was decided upon and he was committed to the [[Tower of London]] on 16 July 1715. He was accused of [[high treason]] and [[high crimes and misdemeanours]], with the [[death penalty]] a distinct possibility. Many of the charges related to his negotiation of the [[Treaty of Utrecht]]. Further charges were added regarding his alleged secret plotting with the [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] claimant [[James Francis Edward Stuart|James]].<ref>Hill p.227-228</ref> His political allies St John and Ormonde both fled to France before they could be arrested on similar grounds and entered the service of James. Initially, he was in ill health, suffering from [[pneumonia]] and was cared for by his wife Sarah who remained with him during the first weeks of his imprisonment.<ref>Hill p.228</ref>

Not long after he was detained a major [[Jacobite rising of 1715|Jacobite Rising]] occurred and was defeated. Interrogators of Jacobite prisoners tried to discover if there was a connection with Harley in the plan, but none could be established.<ref>Hill p.229</ref> This significantly delayed Harley's trial, as priority was given to the leading rebels, several of whom were executed. This may have benefited him as the angry mood amongst Whigs against him had calmed by 1717.<ref>Hill p.229</ref>

Harley also benefited from the [[Whig Split]] between rival factions led by [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|James Stanhope]] and [[Robert Walpole]]. Walpole and his supporters went into opposition and joined with the Tories to attack Stanhope's government on many issues.

After an imprisonment of nearly two years, Harley was formally acquitted of the charges of high treason and high crimes and misdemeanours for which he had been impeached two years earlier, and allowed to resume his place among the peers.

==Later life: 1717–1724==
Immediately following his release Oxford was informed by George I that he was no longer welcome at court.<ref>Hill p.230</ref> He joined with the Tory lords to oppose the new [[Whig Oligarchy]] in Parliament, in alliance with the Opposition Whigs. In 1719 they joined together in opposition to Stanhope's [[Peerage Bill]] which was defeated. After this Lord Oxford increasingly took little part in public affairs, and died almost unnoticed in London on 21 May 1724.

==Literary importance==
Harley's importance to literature cannot be overstated. As a patron of the arts, he was notable. As a preservationist, he was invaluable. He used his wealth and power to collect an unparalleled library. He commissioned the creation of ballad collections, such as [[The Bagford Ballads]], and he purchased loose poems from all corners. He preserved [[Renaissance]] literature (particularly poetry), [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] literature that was then incomprehensible, and a great deal of [[Middle English]] literature. His collection, with that of his son [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward, 2nd Lord Oxford and Mortimer]], was sold to Parliament in 1753 for the [[British Museum]] by the Countess of Oxford and Countess Mortimer and her daughter, the Duchess of Portland; it is known as the [[Harley Collection]].<ref>[http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/TourCollFound.asp Illuminated manuscripts: a guide to the British Library’s collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002104240/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/TourCollFound.asp |date=2 October 2019 }} British Library Illuminated Manuscripts; The Foundation Collections</ref>

When he was in office, Harley promoted the careers of [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Alexander Pope]], and [[John Gay]]. He also wrote ''with them'' as a member of the [[Scriblerus Club]]. He, along with [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke|The 1st Viscount Bolingbroke]], contributed to the literary productions of the Club. His particular talent lay in poetry, and some of his work (always unsigned) has been preserved and may be found among editions of Swift's poetry. Additionally, he likely had some hand in the writing of ''[[The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus]],'' though it is impossible to tell how much.

In the opinion of the historian [[David C. Douglas]], in Harley's time "the whole company of scholars looked up to Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, as the great [[Maecenas]] of English medieval learning, and they were right to do so, for he was the correspondent and benefactor of very many of them, and he deserved their gratitude as surely as he earned through his book-collecting the thanks of posterity".<ref>David C. Douglas, ''English Scholars. 1660–1730. Second, revised edition'' (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1951), p. 263.</ref>

==Family==
[[File:Brampton Bryan Hall (geograph 3907060).jpg|thumb|Brampton Bryan Hall]]
In May 1685 Harley married as his first wife Elizabeth, a daughter of [[Thomas Foley (c. 1641–1701)|Thomas Foley]], and they had four children before she died in November 1691:<ref name="Cracroft">{{cite web|title=Oxford, Earl of, and Mortimer, Earl (GB, 1711 – 1853)|url=http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index1637.htm|work=Cracroft's Peerage|access-date=1 January 2011|date=31 January 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228205726/http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index1637.htm|archive-date=28 December 2010}}</ref>
* Abigail (1685? - 15 July 1750), who married [[George Hay, 8th Earl of Kinnoull|George Hay, later 8th Earl of Kinnoull]] in 1709.
* [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward]] (2 June 1689-16 June 1741), who married [[Henrietta Harley, Countess of Oxford and Mortimer|Henrietta Cavendish Holles]] and succeeded as 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.
* Elizabeth (2 June 1689-20 November 1713), who married [[Peregrine Osborne, 3rd Duke of Leeds|Peregrine Osborne, later 3rd Duke of Leeds]] in 1712; and
* Robert, who died in infancy in 1690.

They lived at [[Brampton Bryan Hall]], which he inherited from his father in 1700.

After Elizabeth's death, Harley married Sarah (died 17 June 1737), daughter of Simon Middleton of [[Edmonton, London|Edmonton]], London, on 18 September 1694. They had no children.<ref name="Cracroft" /> He died in 1724 at his house in [[Albemarle Street]], [[Westminster]], and was buried in the churchyard of St Barnabas, [[Brampton Bryan]], Herefordshire.

==See also==
* [[Early-18th-century Whig plots]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [[Brian W. Hill]], ''Robert Harley: Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988). {{ISBN|0-300-04284-1}}
* E. S. Roscoe, ''Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Prime Minister, 1710–14'' (London: Methuen, 1902). Appendices: I. Swift's character of the Earl of Oxford.--II. Money lent to the Queen by the Earl of Oxford.--III. Note on the manuscripts and letters of and relating to Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford. [https://archive.org/details/robertharleyear00roscuoft online]
* [[W. A. Speck]], ‘[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12344 Harley,  Robert, first earl of Oxford and Mortimer  (1661–1724)]’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2007, accessed 18 January 2011.

==Further reading==
===Biographies===
* Biddle, Sheila. ''Bolingbroke and Harley'' (London: Allen & Unwin, 1975).
* Downie, J. A. ''Robert Harley and the Press'' (Cambridge University Press, 1979).
* Hamilton, Elizabeth. ''The Backstairs Dragon: A Life of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1969).
* McInnes, Angus. ''Robert Harley: Puritan Politician'' (Littlehampton Book Services, 1970).
* Miller, O.B. ''Robert Harley Earl of Oxford. The Stanhope Prize Essay, 1925'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 1925).

===Background studies===
* Bennett, Gareth Vaughan. "Robert Harley, the Godolphin ministry, and the bishoprics crisis of 1707." ''The English Historical Review'' 82.325 (1967): 726–746. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/561098 in JSTOR]
* Cobbett, William, Thomas B. Howell, and J. Thomas, ''State Trials'' (London: 1809–26, part of a 34 vol. series).
* Feiling, Keith. ''A History of the Tory Party, 1640–1714'' (1924).
* Davies, Godfrey. "The Fall of Harley in 1708." ''The English Historical Review'' 66.259 (1951): 246–254. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/556688 in JSTOR]
* Gregg, Edward. ''Queen Anne'' (1980)
* [[Geoffrey Holmes (historian)|Geoffrey Holmes]], 'Harley, St John and the Death of the Tory Party', in Geoffrey Holmes (ed.), ''Britain after the Glorious Revolution 1689–1714'' (London: Macmillan, 1969), pp.&nbsp;216–237.
* Holmes, Geoffrey S., and William Arthur Speck. "The Fall of Harley in 1708 Reconsidered." ''The English Historical Review'' 80.317 (1965): 673–698. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/559307 in JSTOR]
* Holmes, Geoffrey. ''British politics in the age of Anne'' (A&C Black, 1987).
* Hoppit, Julian. ''A land of liberty?: England 1689–1727'' (Oxford UP, 2000).
* Johnson, Richard R. "Politics Redefined: An Assessment of Recent Writings on the Late Stuart Period of English History, 1660 to 1714." ''The William and Mary Quarterly'' (1978): 691–732. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1923211 in JSTOR]
* [[William Edward Hartpole Lecky]]. ''History of England in the Eighteenth Century''. London, 1878–90
* [[Thomas B. Macaulay]], ''History of England'' (London, 1855).
* McInnes, Angus. "The Appointment of Harley in 1704." ''The Historical Journal'' 11.2 (1968): 255–271. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637782 in JSTOR]
* MacLachlan, A. D.  'The Road to Peace 1710–13', in Geoffrey Holmes (ed.), ''Britain after the Glorious Revolution 1689–1714'' (London: Macmillan, 1969), pp.&nbsp;197–215.
* Roberts, Clayton. "The Fall of the Godolphin Ministry." ''The Journal of British Studies'' 22.1 (1982): 71–93. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/175657 in JSTOR]
* [[Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope]], ''History of England, Comprising the Reign of Queen Anne until the Peace of Utrecht'' (London: 1870).
* Snyder, Henry L. "Godolphin and Harley: A Study of Their Partnership in Politics." ''The Huntington Library Quarterly'' (1967): 241–271. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3816612 in JSTOR]
* Sundstrom, Roy A. ''Sidney Godolphin: Servant of the state'' (University of Delaware Press, 1992).
* Trevelyan, G.M.  ''England under Queen Anne'' (3 v 1930–34).
{{EB1911|wstitle=Oxford, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of| volume= 20 |last1= Courtney |first1= William Prideaux |author1-link= William Prideaux Courtney |  pages = 403&ndash;404 |short=1}}

==External links==
* {{NPG name|name=Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford}}
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22Robert%20Harley%22 Works relating to Robert Harley] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* {{UK National Archives ID}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford And Mortimer, Robert Harley, 1st Earl Of}}
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