Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

=== Backbencher  ===
[[File:Britannia-between-Death-and-the-Doctors-Gillray.jpeg|thumb|In ''Britannia between Death and the Doctor's'' (1804), Gillray caricatured Pitt as a doctor kicking Addington (the previous doctor) out of Britannia's sickroom.]]

Shortly after leaving office, Pitt supported the new administration under Addington, but with little enthusiasm; he frequently absented himself from Parliament, preferring to remain in his [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports|Lord Warden]]'s residence of [[Walmer Castle]]—before 1802 usually spending an annual late-summer holiday there, and later often present from the spring until the autumn.

From the castle, he helped organise a local [[British Volunteer Corps|Volunteer Corps]] in anticipation of a French invasion, acted as colonel of a battalion raised by [[Trinity House]]—he was also a Master of Trinity House—and encouraged the construction of [[Martello tower]]s and the [[Royal Military Canal]] in [[Romney Marsh]]. He rented land abutting the Castle to farm on which to lay out trees and walks. His niece [[Lady Hester Stanhope]] designed and managed the gardens and acted as his hostess.

The [[Treaty of Amiens]] in 1802 between France and Britain marked the end of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. Everyone expected it to be only a short truce. By 1803, war had broken out again with [[French Consulate|France]] under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. Although Addington had previously invited him to join the Cabinet, Pitt preferred to join the Opposition, becoming increasingly critical of the government's policies. Addington, unable to face the combined opposition of Pitt and Fox, saw his majority gradually evaporate and resigned in late April 1804.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=526}}
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