After graduating from
Trinity College, Cambridge in 1679, he spent several years in
Paris, before returning to England. In June 1685, he was commissioned as
captain in a
regiment raised by his uncle, the
Earl of Bath, part of an expansion of the military by
James II following the
Monmouth Rebellion. Knighted by James in 1686, he was promoted
major in 1687 and in August 1688 his regiment was sent to garrison
Plymouth, a key strategic port in the
West Country. His uncle, who was
Governor of the town, defected to
William of Orange after his landing at
Torbay during the November 1688
Glorious Revolution, while Granville was sent to secure
Jersey. In March 1690, he was elected MP for
Lostwithiel, a
borough controlled by his uncle, although he spent little time in the
House of Commons. By now a
lieutenant colonel, his regiment was transferred to
Ostend at the end of 1691 to serve in the
Nine Years War and suffered heavy casualties at
Steenkerque in August 1692. He replaced the Earl of Bath as
colonel of the regiment in October 1693, and returned to England in December, having transferred operational command to
Sidney Godolphin. During the
Siege of Namur in June 1695, he fought a duel with the Marquis de Rade, a French
Huguenot exile and Colonel of the
6th Foot, who died of wounds shortly afterwards. In November 1695, he was elected MP for
Fowey, another borough controlled by the Earl of Bath. His regiment returned to England in early 1696 due to fears of a Jacobite invasion, and in a demonstration of his perceived reliability, on 21 March he was appointed
Governor of Pendennis Castle in
Cornwall. Although the invasion failed to materialise, he and his regiment remained in England until the war ended with the 1697
Peace of Ryswick. Re-elected for Fowey in August 1698, at the next election in January 1701 he stepped down in favour of his cousin
John Granville. When the
War of the Spanish Succession began in July, his regiment was posted to
Flanders; Granville did not accompany it, having been appointed
Governor of Barbados in May 1702, with a salary of £2,000 per annum. This meant he would have to relinquish Pendennis Castle, ownership of his regiment and his army rank, which led to a complex series of negotiations and delayed his departure until March 1703. In the end, he sold his regiment to
William North, 6th Baron North in January, ,
Marlborough approved his promotion to
brigadier general and his brother George replaced him as Governor of Pendennis Castle. Accompanied by his youngest brother Bernard, Granville reached Barbados in June, but his time there was marked by poor health and struggles with the
Parliament of Barbados. A colonial governorship provided many opportunities for personal enrichment and the settlers began complaining to
Parliament of his "tyranny and extortion". Although "honourably acquitted" at a hearing on 20 July 1705, Granville asked Marlborough to approve his recall, which he did; on 15 September 1706, he died of fever on board the ship bringing him home. ==Notes==