Matthew Montagu, 4th Baron Rokeby (23 November 1762 – 1 September 1831), FRS, known as Matthew Robinson until 1776, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, and briefly a baronet and Peer of the Realm.

Early life

Montagu was born Matthew Robinson on 23 November 1762 and was baptised in the parish of St Andrew Holborn. He was the second son of Jane ( Greenland) Robinson and Morris Robinson, an attorney of the

Six Clerks The Six Clerks' Office was a public legal office that served the equity (law), equitable jurisdiction of the England and Wales, English Court of Chancery in London, England, until the mid-19th century. The Office The Office was in Chancery Lane, n ...

Office in Chancery of London. He was the younger brother of

Morris Robinson, 3rd Baron Rokeby Morris Robinson, 3rd Baron Rokeby (14 July 1757 – 10 May 1829), was a British politician. Early life Robinson was born on 14 July 1757 and was baptised in the parish of St Andrew Holborn. He was the eldest son of Jane ( Greenland) Robinson a ...

and nephew of

Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby (Baptised, York 12 April 1713 – 30 November 1800), FRS, was an English landowner, politician and nobleman. In later life, he was considered an eccentric. Early life Lord Rokeby was born Matthew Robinson i ...

. He was the favoured nephew of Elizabeth (Robinson) Montagu (widow of Edward Montagu, grandson of the

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, Order of the Garter, KG Privy Council of England, PC Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Justice of the Peace, JP (27 July 162528 May 1672) was an English military officer, politician and diplomat, who fought f ...

), at whose request he took the name of Montagu on 3 June 1776 by

Royal Licence Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in advance of inheriting her estate at Sandleford Priory in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and elsewhere. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

from 1775 to 1780 and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1780.

Career

A "faithful follower of Pitt", Montagu represented the Cornish constituencies of Bossiney (1786–1790) and

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village th ...

(1790–1795) in the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

; and St Germans (1806–1812) in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. Montagu was a friend and supporter of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

, and thus favoured the abolition of the slave trade. Wilberforce stayed at Sandleford from 27th to the 28th of July, 1789: :27th. Set off for Bath and reached Sandleford. The old lady lizabeth Montaguwonderfully spirited, are all very kind in their reception. 28th. Almost compelled to stay with the Montagus all day. Mrs. Montagu senior has many fine, and great, and amiable qualities. Young Montagu all gratitude and respect and affection to her and of most upright and pure intentions. Wilberforce was at Sandleford one night in July 1791: :Monday 28 July. Off betimes on Sierra Leone business-reached Sandleford (M. Montagu's) in the evening. Dr. Beattie was already arrived. In 1829, he succeeded his brother as 4th

Baron Rokeby Baron Rokeby, of Armagh in the County of Armagh, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1777 for The Most Rev. Dr Richard Robinson, Church of Ireland Lord Primate of All Ireland and Lord Archbishop of Armagh, with remainder ...

in the

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

and the 6th Baronet of

Rokeby Park Rokeby Park is a country house in the Palladian style in the civil parish of Rokeby, in Northern England. It is close to the confluence of the River Tees and River Greta, near Greta Bridge in what is now County Durham. It was historically in the ...

Fellow of the Royal Society

Montagu was elected a fellow in 1795. His proposers were

Arden Arden may refer to: Places ;Australia *Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval ;Canada * Arden, Ontario ;Denmark * Arden, Denmark, a town **Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden ; ...

, Lucas Pepys, J. Rennell, John Sinclair, G. Shuckburgh Evelyn, William Marsden, George, 16th Earl of Morton, Pat Russell,

George Atwood George Atwood ( – 11 July 1807) was an English mathematician who invented the Atwood machine for illustrating the effects of Newton's laws of motion. He was also a renowned chess player whose skill for recording many games of his own and o ...

, John Henniker Major, and C. F. Greville.Royal Society archive
/ref>

Personal life

On 9 July 1785, Montagu married Elizabeth Charlton, daughter and heir of Francis Charlton of Kent. Before her death, she bore him six sons and seven daughters, including: * Edward Montagu, 5th Baron Rokeby (1787–1847), who died unmarried in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. *

Henry Robinson-Montagu, 6th Baron Rokeby General Henry Robinson-Montague, 6th Baron Rokeby, (2 February 1798 – 25 May 1883) was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century. Military career Born the son of the 4th Baron, Rokeby was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards in 18 ...

(1798–1883), who married Magdalen ( Huxley) Croft, the daughter of Thomas Huxley and widow of Frederick Croft. *

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

John Montagu (d. 1848), a Lieutenant-Colonel in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

.L. G. Pine, ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms'' (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 237. * Hon. Elizabeth Montagu (d. 1875), who married Charles Oldfield Bowles, son of Oldfield Bowles, in 1815. * Hon. Catherine Montagu (d. 1865), who married Edward Goulburn, son of Munbee Goulburn and Hon. Susannah Chetwynd (a daughter of the 4th

Viscount Chetwynd Viscount Chetwynd, of Bearhaven in the County of Kerry, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for Walter Chetwynd, with remainder to the issue male of his father John Chetwynd. He was made Baron Rathdowne, in the County of ...

), in 1831. * Hon. Spencer Dudley Montagu (1807–1882), a cricketer who married Anna Louisa Flint, a daughter of Sir C. W. Flint, in 1842. They divorced and he then married Henrietta Elizabeth Harriet Pemberton, a daughter of C. R. Pemberton, in 1868. * Hon. Caroline Montagu (d. 1867), who married William Godolphin Osborne, son of

Francis Osborne, 1st Baron Godolphin Francis Godolphin Osborne, 1st Baron Godolphin (18 October 1777 – 15 February 1850), styled Lord Francis Osborne from 1789 to 1832, was a British politician. Background Osborne was the second son of Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds and his wi ...

, in 1843. * Hon. Jane Montagu (d. 1857), who married politician

Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee ...

, also a son of Munbee Goulburn and Hon. Susannah Chetwynd, in 1811. * Hon. Mary Montagu (d. 1877), who married Col. Robert Ellison of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1820. * Hon. Eleanor Montagu (d. 1847), who married politician John-Nicholas Fazakerley in 1822. * Hon. Emily Montague (d. 1832), who died unmarried. His wife died on died 7 March 1817, before he succeeded to the barony. Lord Rokeby died at

Montagu House, Portman Square Montagu House at 22 Portman Square was a historic London house. Occupying a site at the northwest corner of the square, in the angle between Gloucester Place and Upper Berkeley Street, it was built for Mrs Elizabeth Montagu, a wealthy widow a ...

on 1 September 1831. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. Upon Edward's death in

in 1847, the titles passed to his younger son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

upon whose death the baronetcy and barony became extinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokeby, Matthew Montagu, 4th Baron 1762 births 1831 deaths People from Newbury, Berkshire People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Montagu, Matthew Barons in the Peerage of Ireland People associated with Sandleford, Berkshire Montagu, Matthew Montagu, Matthew Montagu, Matthew Montagu, Matthew Montagu, Matthew UK MPs who inherited peerages Fellows of the Royal Society