Duke of Manchester

Dukedom of Manchester
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer).
Creation date	13 April 1719
Monarch	George I
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester
Present holder	Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke
Remainder to	the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Manchester Viscount Mandeville Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
Former seat(s)	Kimbolton Castle Tandragee Castle

Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester.

Origin

The Montagu family is descended from Drogo de Montaigu, who was a companion of William, Duke of Normandy, alias William the Conqueror. Montagu participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, which subsequently would remove the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, Norman aristocracy, to which the Montagus themselves belonged.

Charles, 1st Duke of Manchester, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller

In 1333 William, Earl of Salisbury, became Sovereign King of Mann, establishing the Royal House of Montagu.

The judge Sir Edward Montagu's grandson, Sir Henry Montagu (c. 1563–1642), who served as Lord Chief Justice as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Privy Seal, was in 1620 raised to the Peerage of England as Viscount Mandeville, with the additional title Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, of Kimbolton in the County of Huntingdon. In 1626, he was made Earl of Manchester. It is said that the title referred not to the city of Manchester, but to Godmanchester in Huntingdonshire. The word "God" was deliberately excluded from the title, as Henry thought it would be blasphemous for him to be known as "Lord Godmanchester". However, this is not the case, as the patent roll of 1626 grants the title of "Earl of Manchester in the county of Lancaster".

His son, the 2nd Earl, was a prominent Parliamentary General during the Civil War, but later supported the restoration of Charles II. His son, the 3rd Earl, represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons. His son was the 4th Earl, who in 1719 was created Duke of Manchester.

Descent

Charles, 1st Duke of Manchester, was succeeded by his eldest son. The 2nd Duke notably served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. He was childless, and on his death, the titles passed to his younger brother, the 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He was Ambassador to France and served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. His son, the 5th Duke, was Governor of Jamaica between 1827 and 1830 also held office as Postmaster General. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He represented Huntingdon in the House of Commons as a Tory.

His eldest son, the 7th Duke, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bewdley and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th Duke. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. In the twentieth century, mismanagement and profligacy resulted in the wholesale depletion of the Dukedom's estates. Generational instability caused further damage to the family's honour: both the 11th and 12th Dukes built extensive criminal records.

The titles are currently held by the 13th Duke, who succeeded his father in 2002, who in his turn had succeeded his elder brother.

Seats

Kimbolton Castle in 1880, the former seat of the Dukes of Manchester

The principal estate of the Dukes of Manchester was Kimbolton Castle. It was sold, together with 50 acres of parkland, by the 10th Duke in 1951, and is now a private school. A remaining 3,250 acres of the estate were sold by his eldest son and heir in 1975. The other family seat was Tandragee Castle, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was sold in 1955, and the remaining estate in 1975, and is now the headquarters of Tayto (NI) Ltd., a potato crisp manufacturer.

Arms

The arms of the Duke of Manchester have the following blazon: Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Argent, 3 fusils conjoined in fess gules (Montagu); 2nd & 3rd: or an eagle displayed vert beaked and membered gules (Monthermer). The fusils or diamond shapes in the Montagu arms were originally intended to represent a range of mountains, as the name comes from the old French mont agu meaning "pointed hill".

Titles and styles

The Duke of Manchester holds the subsidiary titles Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, and Baron Montagu of Kimbolton. When the 2nd Duke of Montagu in 1749 died without male issue, the 3rd Duke of Manchester, and his heirs, became heirs general of Drogo de Montaigu, of the Kings of Mann, of the Earls of Salisbury, and of the Barons de Monthermer. They are also heraldic heirs of the latter. The only potential heirs to the Earldom and other subsidiary titles were the Dukedom to become extinct, would be heirs male of the Hon. James Montagu, third son of the 1st Earl.

The Duke of Manchester is styled Your Grace (spoken style) or His Grace (reference style), alternatively Sir.

The heir apparent to the Dukedom takes the courtesy title Viscount Mandeville, and the heir apparent's heir apparent, when such exists, is styled The Honourable. This is due to the 17th Century practice of adding a number of new lesser titles to "fill in" when creating a new higher title, so the older a dukedom or an earldom, the more likely the second title is to be a much lower one, thus skipping steps. Since the next most senior subsidiary title to the Dukedom of Manchester is the Earldom of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville is used as the peer's heir apparent (so that there would be no confusion between the Duke and his heir apparent). As the heir apparent to a substantive/courtesy viscount is not accorded a courtesy peerage, Viscount Mandeville's son (who doesn't exist) is styled The Honourable.

Burial place

Many members of the Montagu family (Earls and Dukes of Manchester) are buried at St Andrew’s Church, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire. Several Montagu monuments still exist in the South Chapel, while the Montagu vault (extended in 1853) is located beneath the North Chapel.

Viscount Mandeville (1620)

Created by Charles I of England
#	Name	Life span	Period	Spouse	Notes	Other titles
1	Henry Montagu	c. 1563 – 1642	1620–1642	(1) Catherine Spencer (2) Anne Halliday, née Wincot (3) Margaret Crouch		Baron Montagu of Kimbolton

Earls of Manchester (1626)

Created by Charles I of England
#	Name	Life span	Period	Spouse	Notes	Other titles
1	Henry Montagu	c. 1563 – 1642	1626–1642	(1) Catherine Spencer (2) Anne Halliday, née Wincot (3) Margaret Crouch		Viscount Mandeville Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
2	Edward Montagu	1602–1671	1642–1671	(2) Lady Anne Rich	Son of the preceding
3	Robert Montagu	1634–1683	1671–1683	Anne Yelverton	Son of the preceding
4	Charles Montagu	c. 1662 – 1722	1683–1722	Dodington Greville	Son of the preceding

Dukes of Manchester (1719)

Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester, wife of the 8th Duke. By John Singer Sargent.

Sidney Montagu, the 11th Duke, and his wife, the Duchess Andrea, by Allan Warren

Created by George I of Great Britain
#	Name	Life span	Period	Spouse	Notes	Other titles
1	Charles Montagu	c. 1662 – 1722	1719–1722	Dodington Greville		Earl of Manchester, Viscount Mandeville, Baron Montagu of Kimbolton
2	William Montagu	1700–1739	1722–1739	Lady Isabella Montagu	Son of the preceding
3	Robert Montagu	1710–1762	1739–1762	Harriet Dunch	Brother of the preceding
4	George Montagu	1737–1788	1762–1788	Elizabeth Dashwood	Son of the preceding
5	William Montagu	1771–1843	1788–1843	Lady Susan Gordon	Son of the preceding
6	George Montagu	1799–1855	1843–1855	(1) Millicent Sparrow (2) Harriet Sydney Dobbs	Son of the preceding
7	William Montagu	1823–1890	1855–1890	Countess Louisa of Alten	Son of the preceding
8	George Montagu	1853–1892	1890–1892	Consuelo Yznaga	Son of the preceding
9	William Montagu	1877–1947	1892–1947	(1) Helena Zimmerman (2) Kathleen Dawes	Son of the preceding
10	Alexander Montagu	1902–1977	1947–1977	(1) Nell Vere Stead (2) Elizabeth Fullerton	Son of the preceding
11	Sidney Montagu	1929–1985	1977–1985	(1) Adrienne Valerie Christie (2) Andrea Joss	Son of the preceding
12	Angus Montagu	1938–2002	1985–2002	(1) Mary Eveleen McClure (2) Diane Pauline Plimsaul (3) Anne-Louise Taylor (4) Biba Jennians	Brother of the preceding
13	Alexander Montagu	born 1962	from 2002	(1) Marion Stoner (2) Wendy Dawn Buford (3) Laura Smith	Son of the preceding

Line of succession

1. Lord Kimble William Drogo Montagu (b. 1964), younger son of the 12th Duke
2. William Anthony Drogo Montagu (b. 2000), only son of Lord Kimble
3. Michael Anthony Montagu (b. 1955), great-great-grandson of Lord Robert Montagu, second son of the 6th Duke, through his second son Robert Acheson Cromie Montagu
4. Henry Robert Sanderson Montagu (b. 1935), first cousin once removed of Michael Montagu
5. Cyril John Sanderson Montagu (b. 1937), younger brother of Henry Montagu
6. Graeme Peter Montagu (b. 1967), elder son of Cyril Montagu
7. Christopher John Montagu (b. 1968), younger son of Cyril Montagu
8. Gerard Philip Sanderson Montagu (b. 1940), younger brother of Henry and Cyril Montagu
9. Matthew Gerard Montagu (b. 1976), only son of Gerard Montagu
10. Robert Drogo Montagu (b. 1947), great-grandson of Lord Robert Montagu through his fourth son Henry Bernard Montagu
11. James Drogo Montagu (b. 1975), only son of Robert Montagu
12. Christopher Bernard Montagu (b. 1950), younger brother of Robert Montagu
13. David William Montagu (b. 1976), elder son of Christopher Montagu
14. Oliver George Drogo Montagu (b. 2009), only son of David Montagu
15. Thomas Edward Montagu (b. 1979), younger son of Christopher Montagu

Family tree

Montagu family tree: Viscounts Mandeville, Earls and Dukes of Manchester

Further reading

• Kidd, Charles, and Williamson, David (editors): Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 1990 edition. New York, St Martin's Press, 1990,