John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...

in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life, he held various military and political offices, including

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, and Secretary of State for the Northern Department. He is also known for the claim that he was the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

inventor of the sandwich.

Biography

Early years

John Montagu was born in 1718, the son of

Edward Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke Edward Richard Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke (7 July 1692 – 3 October 1722) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1713 to 1722. Hinchingbrooke was the eldest son of Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwi ...

. His father died when John was four, leaving him as his heir. His mother soon remarried and he had little further contact with her. He succeeded his grandfather as

in 1729, at the age of ten. He was educated at Eton and at

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

, and spent some time travelling, initially going on the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

around Continental Europe before visiting the more unusual destinations of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

which were then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. This led him later to found a number of Orientalist societies. On his return to England in 1739, he took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as a follower of the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

, one of the wealthiest and most powerful politicians of the era. He became a

Patriot Whig The Patriot Whigs, later the Patriot Party, were a group within the British Whig Party, Whig Party in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1725 to 1803. The group was formed in opposition to the government of Robert Walpole in the Britis ...

and one of the sharpest critics of the Walpole government, attacking the government's strategy in the War of the Austrian Succession. Like many Patriot Whigs, Lord Sandwich was opposed to Britain's support of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and strongly opposed the deployment of British troops on the European Continent to protect it, instead arguing that Britain should make greater use of its naval power. He gained attention for his speeches in parliament. His oratory earned him a reputation for clearly setting out his argument even if he lacked natural eloquence.

Political career

In 1744, the Duke of Bedford was invited to join the government, now headed by

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who ...

, taking the post of

. Sandwich joined him as one of the commissioners of the Admiralty, in effect serving as deputy under Bedford. The experienced Admiral Lord Anson also joined the Admiralty board and was an influential figure. Bedford spent much of his time at his country estate, and much of the day-to-day running of the Admiralty fell to Sandwich and Anson. Anson had control of the training and discipline of the navy, while Sandwich focused on the administration. Following a proposal by Admiral Edward Vernon, the concept of a

Western Squadron The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes from 1650 to 1814 and ...

was pioneered, which proved very successful. This marked a radical shift in British naval strategy, and led to British success at the Battles of Cape Finisterre. The following year, Sandwich took a commission as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the British Army as part of the response to the

Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

and the prospect of a French invasion. In order to boost the relatively small British army, a number of units were raised by prominent figures, and Sandwich served in the regiment formed by Bedford. While serving in

The Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

, he fell seriously ill with fever and nearly died. After his recovery, he returned to his duties at the admiralty. He remained an army officer for the rest of his life, remaining on the

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the En ...

list and eventually rising to the rank of general, even though he took no further active part in the army.

Congress of Breda

In 1746 he was sent as a

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

to the

Congress of Breda The Congress of Breda, also known as the Breda peace talks, were a series of bilateral negotiations between Great Britain and France, held in the Dutch city of Breda from 1746 and 1748. The discussions led to the agreement of terms that later b ...

, and he continued to take part in the negotiations for peace until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded in 1748. Sandwich was also made ambassador to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

during the talks. Using the resources of the British secret service, Sandwich was able to outmanoeuvre his French counterpart by intercepting the latter's secret correspondence. His service at Breda drew him to the attention of the influential

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extended ...

, who lobbied for him to be given high office when he returned home. It is possible that during his time at Breda, he played a role in the 1747 Dutch Revolution which brought

William IV, Prince of Orange William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 1747 until his death in 1751. During his whole ...

wider powers, something supported by Britain as they hoped the Prince would improve the Dutch Republic's military performance in the ongoing war in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. However, there is no firm evidence of this.

First Lord of the Admiralty (first and second spells)

In February 1748 he became

, retaining this post until June 1751. By 1751 Newcastle, who had previously admired Sandwich for his forthright and hardline views, had increasingly begun to distrust him and his relationship with

The Duke of Bedford John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, (30 September 17105 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peera ...

whom Newcastle regarded as a rival. Newcastle engineered the dismissal of both of them, by sacking Sandwich. Bedford resigned in protest, as Newcastle had calculated, allowing him to replace them with men he considered more loyal personally to him. 4thDukeOfBedford

For the next few years Sandwich spent time at his country estate, largely avoiding politics, though he kept in close contact with both Bedford and Anson and Britain's participation in the Seven Years' War. Partly thanks to naval reforms pioneered by Anson and Sandwich, the Royal Navy enjoyed a series of successes and was able to blockade much of the French fleet in port. In 1763 he returned to the Admiralty in the government of

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

, and encouraged a major rebuilding programme for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Bute was a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

who wished to bring the war to an end, which he did with the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

. It was during this time that Sandwich first met

Martha Ray Martha Ray (1746 – 7 April 1779) was a British singer of the Georgian era. Her father was a corsetmaker and her mother was a servant in a noble household. Good-looking, intelligent, and a talented singer, she came to the attention of many of ...

who became his long-standing mistress. He was soon dismissed from the office, but was offered the influential position of Ambassador to Madrid.

Northern Secretary

In August 1763 Sandwich became Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in the government of

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an ...

who had replaced Bute. While filling this office he took a leading part in the successful prosecution of the radical MP

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he f ...

for

obscene libel The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition bsection 1of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour. It has been abo ...

. Although he had been allegedly associated with Wilkes in the notorious

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, r ...

(also known as the Monks of Medmenham), recent scholarship has suggested that the two had a more distant but cordial relationship than the friendship which was popularly portrayed at the time. John Gay's ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' was played in Covent Garden shortly thereafter, and the similarity of Sandwich's conduct to that of Jemmy Twitcher, betrayer of Macheath in that play, permanently attached to him that appellation. Wilkes was eventually expelled from the House of Commons. He held the post of Northern Secretary until July 1765. His departure from the post coincided with the end of

's term as prime minister. He hoped to return to office swiftly, provided a united opposition could be formed. The state tinkers

Sandwich was

postmaster general A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

from 1768 to 1771 and briefly secretary of state again from December 1770 to January 1771.

First Lord of the Admiralty (third spell)

Sandwich served again as First Lord of the Admiralty in Lord North's administration from 1771 to 1782. He replaced the distinguished Admiral Sir Edward Hawke in the post. His appointment to the post followed the Falklands Crisis which had nearly seen Britain go to war with Spain over the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

in the South Atlantic Ocean after the Capture of Port Egmont by Spanish forces. War had only been averted when

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

refused to back the Spanish over the dispute. Both France and Spain resented what they considered British hegemony following the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

, and desired to overturn the imbalance of power; war was widely expected to break out between the nations in the near future. In 1774, only three years into his third term, Sandwich commissioned a series of ship models and a model of

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

as a gift to George III in an attempt to interest his king in naval matters. However, Sandwich's overall administration of the navy in the lead up to and during the American War of Independence was traditionally portrayed as being incompetent, with insufficient ships being ready for the outbreak of war with France in 1778. In 1775, Sandwich spoke vociferously in opposition to a plan for British America put forth by

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

and the Earl of Chatham. When Britain and France went to war, Sandwich advocated a strategy of concentrating the British fleet in European waters to deter invasion in opposition to his colleague, Lord Germain, who pushed for more ships to be sent to North America. The cabinet largely followed Sandwich's policy, retaining footholds on the American coast which could be used as naval bases, while retaining the bulk of the fleet at home. Sandwich's problems increased when Spain entered the war on France's side in 1779 giving the Bourbon fleets a numerical advantage over the Royal Navy. Prior to 1778 Keppel failed to persuade Sandwich to ignore technical difficulties and " copper sheath only a few ships"; he was later possibly unfairly to make political capital out of this in ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'', March 1781. He had remarked that coppering "gave additional strength to the navy" and he reproached Lord Sandwich with having "refused to sheath only a few ships with copper" at his request, when he had since ordered the whole navy to be sheathed. The lack of coppering the navy was one of the key reasons leading to Britain losing the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

. In 1778 the new Navy Board Controller Charles Middleton, who had the major problem at the time with supplying over 100 ships for the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), compounded that year by French opportunism in declaring war on Britain to support the American rebels, effectively turned what was a local civil war into a global conflict. Others followed: Spain in 1779 and the Netherlands in 1780. Middleton took the view that Britain was "outnumbered at every station", and the navy was required to "extricate us from present danger". He understood that coppering allowed the navy to stay at sea for much longer without the need for cleaning and repairs to the underwater hull, making it a very attractive, if expensive, proposition. On 21 January 1779 he wrote to the Admiralty, and petitioned King George directly. The King backed him for what was an expensive process for an untested technology, and in May 1779 he placed orders at the Portsmouth Docks for coppering a total 51 ships within a year. During 1779 a combined Franco-Spanish fleet was able to sail into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

to threaten the coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in the initial stage of a Franco-Spanish invasion of Britain. Sandwich was criticised for the failure of the smaller British Channel Fleet to prevent this, although the invasion never materialised. After 1778, the primary objective in the war was maintaining control over the sugar-rich

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

The lucrative sugar trade in the Caribbean was reckoned at the time as being of more importance to British interests than the 13 colonies. The sugar trade was paying for the costs of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

(1775–1783) and the

Anglo-French War (1778–1783) The Anglo-French War, also known as the War of 1778 or the Bourbon War in Britain, was a military conflict fought between France and Great Britain, sometimes with their respective allies, between 1778 and 1783. As a consequence, Great Britain wa ...

. The Royal Navy's newly coppered ships as yet untested were used successfully by Rodney in defeating the French at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

off Dominica in February 1782. By the time Sandwich's administration ended, he would take full credit for coppering the fleet as one of his great achievements when defending his record in office in January 1782.

Personal life

For several years Sandwich had as a mistress

Fanny Murray Fanny Murray (1729 in Bath – 2 April 1778 in LondonSome sources give her date of death as 1770. Nevertheless, notices of her death only appear in gazettes from 1778.), née Fanny Rudman and later Fanny Ross, was an 18th-century English courtesa ...

, the subject of John Wilkes' ''An Essay on Woman'' (1763), but he eventually married Dorothy Fane, daughter of the 1st Viscount Fane, by whom he had a son, John, Viscount Hinchingbrooke (1743–1814), who later succeeded as 5th Earl. Sandwich's first personal tragedy was his wife's deteriorating health and eventual insanity. During his wife's decline, Sandwich started an affair with a singer named

. During their relationship, Ray bore him at least five, and perhaps as many as nine, children, including

Basil Montagu Basil Montagu (24 April 1770 – 27 November 1851) was a British jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist. He was educated at Charterhouse and studied law at Cambridge. He was significantly involved in reforms to bankruptcy laws of Britain. H ...

(1770–1851), writer, jurist and philanthropist. According to several sources, Sandwich was unable to provide adequately and permanently for his mistress and their children; she therefore encouraged the suit of Captain

James Hackman James Hackman (baptized 13 December 1752, hanged 19 April 1779), briefly Rector of Wiveton in Norfolk, was the man who murdered Martha Ray, singer and mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Rawlings, Philip, ''Hackman, James (bap. 1752, ...

, who later exchanged the army for the clergy. In April 1779, Ray was killed in the foyer of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

( Covent Garden) at the hands of Hackman,

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Wiveton Wiveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west bank of the River Glaven, inland from the coast and directly across the river from the village of Cley next the Sea. The larger village of Blake ...

. Sandwich never recovered from his grief. The events surrounding Ray's murder were depicted in the popular novel ''

Love and Madness ''Love and Madness'' is a 1780 English novel by Sir Herbert Croft. It was based on the 1779 murder of Martha Ray, the mistress of Lord Sandwich, by James Hackman. Its full title is ''Love and Madness, a Story too True: in a Series of Letters betw ...

'' (1780) by Herbert Croft. John Montagu, 4

In a famous exchange with the actor

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a British dramatist, actor and theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic opportunity. Early ...

, Sandwich declared, "Foote, I have often wondered what catastrophe would bring you to your end; but I think, that you must either die of the pox, or the halter." "My lord", replied Foote instantaneously, "that will depend upon one of two contingencies; – whether I embrace your lordship's mistress, or your lordship's principles." This retort is often misattributed to John Wilkes. Sandwich retired from public duty in 1782, and lived another ten years in retirement at what was then the family seat,

Hinchingbrooke House Hinchingbrooke House is an English stately home in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, now part of Hinchingbrooke School. The house was built around an 11th-century Benedictine nunnery. After the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Cromwell fa ...

, Huntingdonshire, dying on 30 April 1792. His title of

passed to his eldest son,

John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich 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 Sandw ...

, who was 48 years old at the time. Sandwich was buried in All Saints' Church in

Barnwell, Northamptonshire Barnwell (formerly Barnwell All Saints and Barnwell St Andrew) is a village in North Northamptonshire in England, south of the town of Oundle, north of London (via the A1 road) and south-west of Peterborough. The River Nene runs north of the ...

, of which only the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

survives, kept to preserve the Montagu tombs.

Legacy

Sandwich retired in 1782. Despite holding a number of important posts during his career, Sandwich's incompetence and corruption were legendary, inspiring the saying: "Seldom has any man held so many offices and accomplished so little." Recently, some historians have begun to suggest that Lord Sandwich was not perhaps as incompetent as suggested, but that previous historians have placed too much emphasis on sources from his political enemies.

The sandwich

The modern sandwich is named after Lord Sandwich, but the exact circumstances of its invention and original use are still the subject of debate. A rumour in a contemporaneous travel book called ''Tour to London'' by Pierre-Jean Grosley formed the popular myth that bread and meat sustained Lord Sandwich at the

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

table but Sandwich had many bad habits, including the

, and any story may be a creation after the fact. Lord Sandwich was a very conversant gambler, the story goes, and he did not take the time to have a meal during his long hours playing at the card table. Consequently, he would ask his servants to bring him slices of meat between two slices of bread, a habit well known among his gambling friends. Other people, according to this account, began to order "the same as Sandwich!", and thus the "sandwich" was born. The sober alternative to this account is provided by Sandwich's biographer N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests that Sandwich's commitments to the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, to politics, and to the arts mean that the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his work desk.

Islands named after Sandwich by Capt. James Cook

Lord Sandwich was a great supporter of Captain James Cook. As First Lord of the Admiralty, Sandwich approved Admiralty funds for the purchase and fit-out of the ''

Resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

'', ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

'' and ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

'' for Cook's second and third expeditions of exploration in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. He also arranged an audience with the King, which was an unusual privilege for a lower ranking officer.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 221 In honour of Sandwich, Cook named the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

(

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

) after him, as well as Montague Island off the south east coast of Australia, the

South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...

in the Southern Atlantic Ocean and Montague Island in the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east ...

Hinchinbrook Island Hinchinbrook Island (or Pouandai to the Biyaygiri people) is an island in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies east of Cardwell and north of Lucinda, separated from the north-eastern coast of Queensland by the narrow H ...

was named for the House owned by the Montagu family. Lord Sandwich donated the various items given him by Cook to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He also met the young Ra'iatean

Omai Mai (c.1751-late 1779), known as Omai in Britain, was a young Ra'iatean man who became the second Pacific Islander to visit Europe, after Ahu-toru who was brought to Paris by Bougainville in 1768. Life Ma'i, born c.1751, described himself ...

, whom Cook had brought to Europe, and took him to his country estate for a week, presenting him with a suit of armour.

Cricket

Like his friends

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, (30 September 17105 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peer ...

and

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, (6 October 1716 – 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of th ...

, Sandwich was keen on

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

. The earliest surviving record of his involvement in the sport comes from 1741 when, as the patron and captain of the Huntingdonshire county team, Sandwich and Halifax formed the Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire team which twice defeated

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, first at

Woburn Park Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

and then at Cow Meadow, Northampton.Maun, pp. 106–107.Waghorn, ''Cricket Scores'', p. 27.

Music

After his naval career, Sandwich turned his energy toward music. He became a great proponent of "ancient music" (defined by him as music more than two decades old). He was the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the Italian violinist Felice Giardini, and created a "Catch Club", where professional singers would sing "ancient" and modern catches, glees, and

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

s. He also put on performances of George Frideric Handel's

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

s, and

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

s at his estate. Sandwich was instrumental in putting together the Concert of Ancient Music, the first public concert to showcase a canonic repertory of old works.

Chronology

*1718: The 4th Earl of Sandwich is born on 13 November 1718 *1729: Succeeds his grandfather, Edward Montague, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, in the earldom *1729: Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge *1740/41 (old style/new style), 14 March: marries The Hon. Dorothy Fane at

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

*1746: Sent as plenipotentiary to the congress at Breda, and continues to take part in the negotiations for peace until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed in 1748 *1748–1751: First term as

*1749–1756: Bailiff of the

Bedford Level Corporation The Bedford Level Corporation (or alternatively the Corporation of the Bedford Level) was founded in England in 1663 to manage the draining of the Fens of East Central England. It formalised the legal status of the Company of Adventurers previously ...

*1763: Becomes one of the principal secretaries of state *1763: Second term as First Lord of the Admiralty *1768: Appointed Postmaster General *1770: Becomes Secretary of State *1771–1782: Third and last term as First Lord of the Admiralty (during this term: the

, 1775–1783) *1779: His mistress

, mother of five of his children, murdered by her admirer

in Covent Garden *1782: Retires in March *1792: Dies on 30 April

In literature and popular media

A plate of Sir Peter Lely's 1666 portrait of the 1st Earl appeared in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837, together with a facsimile signature and a poetical illustration by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

, which actually relates to the 4th Earl (the islands being so-called in his honour). Actor

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

was cast as Lord Sandwich in the TV series, ''

Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

'' in 2000.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Guide to the papers of Lord Sandwich, 1718–1792
held and digitised by the National Library of Australia

* ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremyglover/sets/72157603796850610/ The Lives & Times of the Hell-Fire Club {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandwich, John Montagu, 4th Earl of 1718 births 1792 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Netherlands British Army generals British officials in the American Revolution English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 English cricketers Montagu, John Fellows of the Royal Society Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain John Montagu, 04th Earl of Sandwich People educated at Eton College Secretaries of State for the Northern Department United Kingdom Postmasters General Cricket patrons Earls of Sandwich 18th-century philanthropists