John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Sandwich
PC
Master of the Buckhounds
In office
1783–1806
MonarchGeorge III
Prime MinisterWilliam Pitt the Younger
Henry Addington
Preceded byThe Earl of Jersey
Succeeded byThe Earl of Albemarle
Personal details
Born26 January 1744 (1744-01-26)
Died6 June 1814 (1814-06-07) (aged 70)
NationalityBritish
Political partyTory
Spouse(s)(1) Lady Elizabeth Montague-Dunk (d. 1768)
(2) Lady Mary Powlett
Children8 (two illegitimate)
Parent(s)John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
Dorothy Fane

John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, PC (26 January 1744 – 6 June 1814), styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke until 1792, was a British peer and Tory politician.

Background and education

Montagu was the eldest son of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, by the Honourable Dorothy Fane, third surviving daughter of Charles Fane, 1st Viscount Fane. He was educated at Eton. In 1761, at the age of 17, he joined the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards as a captain.

Political career

In 1765, Hinchingbrooke entered Parliament as Tory Member of Parliament (although he supported the Fox-North Coalition of 1783) for Brackley, a seat he held until 1768,[1] and then represented Huntingdonshire from 1768 to 1792, when he succeeded his father in the earldom.[2] He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1771[3] to 1782, as Master of the Buckhounds from 1783 to 1806 and as Joint Postmaster General from 1807 to 1814. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1771.[3]

Family

Lord Sandwich married firstly his distant cousin Lady Elizabeth Montague-Dunk, only daughter of the 2nd Earl of Halifax, 8 March 1766. Lady Elizabeth died in 1768 and Sandwich married Lady Mary Powlett, daughter and co-heir of Admiral Harry Powlett or Paulet, 6th and last Duke of Bolton. Lord Sandwich lived and was a rural landowner at Hinchingbrooke House today in north Cambridgeshire and held other farming interests. His eldest child, John George Montagu, by his first wife died in 1790. Lord Sandwich died in June 1814, aged 70, and was succeeded by his eldest son by his second wife, George.[4] William is thought to be named after his uncle, William Augustus, who died at Lisbon in 1776.

Lord Sandwich had two children by his first wife, Lady Elizabeth Montague-Dunk:

  • Caroline Montagu, died July 1782
  • Hon. John George Montagu, born 3 April 1767, died 29 November 1790

After Lady Elizabeth's death on 1 July 1768, Lord Sandwich married Lady Mary Powlett on 25 April 1772:

Lord Sandwich also had two illegitimate children, a daughter called Harriet Montagu, who married James Grant, son of Sir Ludovic Grant of Dalvey, 6th Bt. and William Augustus Montagu who rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy.[7]

Ancestry

  • In Sandwich-Carrots!—dainty Sandwich-Carrots (1796), James Gillray caricatured Lord Sandwich slipping money into the pocket of an attractive carrot-seller, said to be one of his usual amusements.
    In Sandwich-Carrots!—dainty Sandwich-Carrots (1796), James Gillray caricatured Lord Sandwich slipping money into the pocket of an attractive carrot-seller, said to be one of his usual amusements.
  • Schedule of rental of the estates of John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich and PETER DE SALIS, in the Manor of Clare in County of Armagh, 1802.
    Schedule of rental of the estates of John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich and PETER DE SALIS, in the Manor of Clare in County of Armagh, 1802.
  • Hinchingbrook House, Huntingdon, 1787. Formerly the home of Oliver Cromwell's family.
    Hinchingbrook House, Huntingdon, 1787. Formerly the home of Oliver Cromwell's family.

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 4)
  3. ^ a b "No. 11116". The London Gazette. 5 February 1771. p. 1.
  4. ^ From the title of a painting in the Inner Hall of Hinchingbrooke House, Huntingdon.
  5. ^ Margaret Mary Pearson (1956). Bright Tapestry. Harrap. p. 22.
  6. ^ William Anderson (1877). The Scottish nation; or, the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours and Biographical History of the People of Scotland by William Anderson. p. 421.
  7. ^ thepeerage.com John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Brackley
1765–1768
With: Robert Wood 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire
1768–1792
With: The Earl Ludlow 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
1771–1782 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Master of the Buckhounds
1783–1806 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Joint Postmaster General
(with the Earl of Chichester)
1807–1814 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Sandwich
1792–1814 		Succeeded by