Biography of Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester 1706-1786

In 1705 [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 15] and [her mother] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 15] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 54] and [her grandmother] Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 44]. He the son of Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 66] and Elizabeth Wriothesley Countess Northumberland. They were third cousins.

Around 1706 Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester was born to John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 16] and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 16].

On 9th March 1709 [her grandfather] Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 70] died. He was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son [her father] John [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Duke Montagu, 4th Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire. [her mother] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 19] by marriage Duchess Montagu.

In 1722 Charles Montagu 1st Duke Manchester [aged 60] died. His son [her future husband] William [aged 21] succeeded 2nd Duke Manchester, 5th Earl Manchester, 5th Viscount Mandeville, 5th Baron Montagu of Kimbolton.

On 7th July 1730 [her brother-in-law] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 17] and [her sister] Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 40] and [her mother] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 40]. He the son of George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan [aged 44] and Elizabeth Bruce 3rd Countess Cardigan [aged 41]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

On 5th July 1732 George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan [aged 46] died. His son [her brother-in-law] George [aged 19] succeeded 4th Earl Cardigan, 4th Baron Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire. [her sister] Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu [aged 21] by marriage Countess Cardigan.

1738 Andrea Soldi [aged 35]. Portrait of Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester [aged 32].

Before 21st October 1739 William Montagu 2nd Duke Manchester [aged 39] and Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester [aged 33] were married. She by marriage Duchess Manchester. She the daughter of John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 49] and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 50]. He the son of Charles Montagu 1st Duke Manchester and Doddington Greville Duchess Manchester. They were fourth cousins.

On 21st October 1739 [her husband] William Montagu 2nd Duke Manchester [aged 39] died. His brother [her brother-in-law] Robert [aged 29] succeeded 3rd Duke Manchester, 6th Earl Manchester, 6th Viscount Mandeville, 6th Baron Montagu of Kimbolton. Harriet Dunch Duchess Manchester by marriage Duchess Manchester.

On 29th January 1740 Richard Lumley 2nd Earl Scarborough [aged 53] committed suicide by shooting himself through the roof of the mouth possibly as a result of his having told the Dowager Duchess of Manchester [aged 34], who he had intended to marry the following day, a state secret which she then shared with her grandmother Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 79] who shared it with William Pulteney 1st Earl Bath [aged 55] who shared it with everyone else. His brother Thomas [aged 49] succeeded 3rd Earl of Scarborough, 4th Viscount Lumley, 3rd Baron Lumley. Frances Hamilton Countess Scarborough by marriage Countess of Scarborough. He left his estates to his youngest brother James Lumley [aged 34].

On 4th February 1740 Richard Lumley 2nd Earl Scarborough was buried at the Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair.

In 1743 Edward Hussey-Montagu 1st Earl Beaulieu [aged 22] and Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester [aged 37] were married. She the daughter of John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 53] and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 53].

On 6th July 1749 [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 59] died without surviving male issue. Duke Montagu extinct. His estates were inherited by his daughter [her sister] Mary [aged 38] and her husband [her brother-in-law] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 36] who changed his name to Montagu from Brudenell. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Louis Francois Roubiliac [aged 46]. Erected by his widow, [her mother] Mary Churchill [aged 59], the daughter of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, who stands at the left hand side of the monument.

On 14th May 1751 [her mother] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 61] died. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Louis Francois Roubiliac [aged 48]. Commissioned by her daughter, Lady Mary Montagu. The monument is adorned with figures representing the three fates of Clotho, Atropos and Lachesis, arranged to show the cutting of Mary's life thread, and Lachesis' dismay at it being cut short. Three putti also figure on the monument, one of whom holds the spindle from which the thread was cut.

Clotho: Clotho is one of the Three Fates. She spins the thread of human life.

Atropos: Atropos is one of the Three Fates. She cuts the thread of human life.

Lachesis: Lachesis is one of the Three Fates. She measures the thread of human life.

On 5th November 1766 [her brother-in-law] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 54] was created 1st Duke Montagu. [her sister] Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu [aged 55] by marriage Duchess Montagu. He was the son-in-law of the last Duke of the previous creation [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu.

On 1st May 1775 [her sister] Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu [aged 64] died. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Peter Mathias Van Gelder [aged 33]. Mary's monument is more decorative that her parent's; Rococo. The composition of the monument centres around an ornate funerary Urn, which stands upon a Pedestal containing an inscription to Mary. To the right sits a grief stricken woman, inconsolable over the loss of an aristocrat considered a great benefactor to the poor and needy. In her left arm she cradles a baby, and a second, tearful child sits at her feet. To the right of the woman is that of an older woman draped in a shawl, who gently caresses the hand of the first babe. To the left of the Urn, an angel comforts the mourners, pointing to heaven.

On 8th July 1784 [her husband] Edward Hussey-Montagu 1st Earl Beaulieu [aged 63] was created 1st Earl Beaulieu.

On 20th December 1786 Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester [aged 80] died.

On 25th November 1802 [her former husband] Edward Hussey-Montagu 1st Earl Beaulieu [aged 81] died at Dover Street. He was buried at St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Earl Beaulieu, Baron Beaulieu of Beaulieu in Hampshire extinct.