As foreign minister he was only a cipher; but he was a man of considerable learning and had some reputation as a writer and a talker. Dudley took an interest in the foundation of the University of London, and his Letters to the Bishop of Llandaff were published by the bishop (Edward Copleston) in 1840. He was created Viscount Ednam and Earl of Dudley in 1827, and when he died unmarried on 6 March 1833 these titles became extinct.
{| border="2" align="center"
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|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
New Creation
|width="40%" align="center"|Earl of Dudley
|width="30%" align="center" rowspan="2"|Followed by:
Extinct
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
William Ward
|width="40%" align="center"|Viscount Dudley and Ward
|}
text originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.