Biography of Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu 1711-1775

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

Around 1711 Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu was born to John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu (age 21) and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu (age 21).

On 7th July 1730 George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 17) and Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 19) were married. She the daughter of John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu (age 40) and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu (age 40). He the son of George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan (age 44) and Elizabeth Bruce 3rd Countess Cardigan (age 41). They were fourth cousin once removed.

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

Around 1735 Gavin Hamilton (age 12). Portrait of [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu (age 45) and [her mother] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu (age 45), and Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 24).

On 18th March 1735 [her son] John Montagu 1st Baron Montagu was born to [her husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 22) and Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 24).

On 29th May 1743 [her daughter] Elizabeth Montagu Duchess Buccleuch was born to [her husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 30) and Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 32).

On 17th April 1746 Charles Bruce 4th Earl Elgin 3rd Earl Ailesbury (age 63) was created 1st Baron Bruce of Tottenham in Wiltshire with a special remainder to his nephew [her brother-in-law] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Ailesbury (age 16).

On 6th July 1749 [her father] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu (age 59) died without surviving male issue. Duke Montagu extinct. His estates were inherited by his daughter Mary (age 38) and her husband [her husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 36) who changed his name to Montagu from Brudenell. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Louis Francois Roubiliac (age 46). Erected by his widow, [her mother] Mary Churchill (age 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 (age 61) died. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Louis Francois Roubiliac (age 48). Erected 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.

In 1758 [her brother-in-law] James Brudenell 5th Earl Cardigan (age 32) was appointed Master of the Robes.

In 1760 [her brother-in-law] James Brudenell 5th Earl Cardigan (age 34) was appointed Keeper of the Privy Purse.

In 1760 [her brother-in-law] James Brudenell 5th Earl Cardigan (age 34) and Anne Legge Baroness Brudenell Deene were married. He the son of [her father-in-law] George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan and [her mother-in-law] Elizabeth Bruce 3rd Countess Cardigan. They were half fourth cousin once removed.

On 17th February 1761 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Ailesbury (age 31) and Susanna Hoare Countess Ailesbury (age 28) were married. She by marriage Countess Ailesbury. He the son of [her father-in-law] George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan and [her mother-in-law] Elizabeth Bruce 3rd Countess Cardigan.

On 5th November 1766 [her husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 54) was created 1st Duke Montagu. Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 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 2nd May 1767 [her son-in-law] Henry Scott 3rd Duke Buccleuch (age 20) and [her daughter] Elizabeth Montagu Duchess Buccleuch (age 23) were married at Montagu House Whitehall Palace. She by marriage Duchess Buccleuch. She the daughter of [her husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 54) and Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 56). They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.

On 11th April 1770 [her son] John Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 35) died unmarried. Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire extinct.

On 1st May 1775 Mary Montagu Duchess of Montagu (age 64) died. Monument in St Edmund's Church, Warkton [Map]. Sculpted by Peter Mathias Van Gelder (age 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 23rd May 1790 [her former husband] George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu (age 77) died. Duke Montagu extinct. His brother [her former brother-in-law] James (age 65) succeeded 5th Earl Cardigan, 5th Baron Brudenell of Stonton in Leicestershire. Elizabeth Waldegrave Countess Cardigan (age 31) by marriage Countess Cardigan. On His grandson [her grandson] Henry (age 13) succeeded 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire. [her granddaughter-in-law] Jane Margaret Douglas Baroness Montagu by marriage Baroness Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.

Adeline Horsey Recollections. The wicked Countess and her lover lived at Cliveden [Map] - "the bower of wanton Shrewsbury and of love" - and her spirit is supposed to haunt the beautiful riverside retreat, but I am thankful to say she has never appeared in the old home of her innocent girlhood. Her portrait by Sir Peter Lely hangs in the White Hall at Deene, and is a fine example of the artist's well-known very décolleté style of "robes loosely flowing, hair as free", with the usual mise en scène of a beauty of Charles II's time. The [her former father-in-law] third Earl of Cardigan was Master of the Buckhounds to Queen Anne; he married a [her former mother-in-law] daughter of the Earl of Ailesbury, and their [her former brother-in-law] fourth son inherited the Ailesbury title and estates. Lord Cardigan's [her former husband] eldest son married the heiress of the [her father] Duke of Montagu in 1766¹. He was a friend of Horace Walpole, the influence of whose pseudo-Gothic tastes may still be seen in the south front of Deene [Map], built at this time, and which now incorporates the great ball-room built for me by my dear husband.

Note 1. Married on 7th July 1730. He was created Duke in 1766.