| Charles Marsham, 1st Earl of Romney | |
| Office1: | Member of Parliament for Kent |
| Term1: | 1774–1790 |
| Office2: | Member of Parliament for Maidstone |
| Term2: | 1768–1774 |
| Birth Date: | 28 September 1744 |
| Education: | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Father: | Robert Marsham |
| Relatives: | Jacob Marsham (brother) Robert Marsham (grandfather) |
| Children: | 2+, including Charles |
Charles Marsham, 1st Earl of Romney (28 September 1744 – 1 March 1811), known as The Lord Romney between 1793 and 1801, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1790, inherited his peerage in 1793 and was created Earl of Romney in 1801.
Romney was the son of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney, and Priscilla, daughter and heiress of Charles Pym. He was educated at Eton College (1753-63) and entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1763. He succeeded his father to the barony on 16 November 1793.[1] In 1793 Charles inherited his grandfather's huge sugar plantations, jointly known as "Romney's", on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. The property had been part of his father's marriage settlement to his mother in 1742.[2]
Romney was returned to Parliament for Maidstone in 1768, a seat he held until 1774, and then represented Kent from 1774 to 1790. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Kent from 1797 to 1808. [1]
In 1799 he entertained King George III at his seat Moat House, when the King reviewed about six thousand of the Kentish Volunteers.[3] A Doric-style temple was constructed in Mote Park to commemorate the occasion.
Lord Romney married Lady Frances Wyndham (born 9 July 1755, died 15 January 1795), daughter of Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, on 30 August 1776.[4] They had two surviving children:[5]
Lady Romney died in January 1795 at the age of 39. Lord Romney died in March 1811, aged 66, and was succeeded in the earldom and other titles by his son, Charles.[1]
Romney was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766.[6]
In 1801 Romney was created Viscount Marsham, of the Mote in the County of Kent, and Earl of Romney.[6]