John Monckton, 1st Viscount Galway ( – 15 July 1751) was a British Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

from 1727 to 1751. He was elevated to the

peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as the first

Viscount Galway Viscount Galway () is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1628 in favour of Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde. He was made Earl of St Albans in the Peerage of England at the same ti ...

in 1727.

Early life

John Monckton was the eldest son of Theodosia ( Fountaine) Monckton and

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

(1659–1722), Lord of the manors of Cavil, near

Howden Howden () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62 motorway, M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, ...

, and Hodroyd, near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. A strong opponent of the policies of James II, Robert Monckton had gone into exile in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and returned with the invading army of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688. This established a strong family connection with the Whig party and Robert had gone on to win the borough of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

from the

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

in the general election of 1695, and later to represent Aldborough. His father was the eldest son of Sir Philip Monckton of Cavil and the former Anne Eyre (a daughter of Robert Eyre of Highlow Hall). His mother was the daughter and heiress of John Fountaine of Melton-on-the-Hill, Yorkshire. Monckton was educated at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, which he entered in 1713.

Career

Monckton stood unsuccessfully as a Whig candidate for

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. Victory in the seat depended on control of

burgage Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

s. Having bought a number of burgages to no effect, Monckton decided to sell them to Sir Nathaniel Curzon, one of the victorious Tory candidates. As part of the deal, Curzon deferred to Monckton for the following parliament, and he was duly elected MP for Clitheroe at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

. On 17 July 1727 the grateful Whig government of

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

made Monckton

and Baron of Killard, both in the

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. An Irish peerage allowed the holder to continue sitting in the British parliament, and was a way of honouring a useful political ally. In 1729 Galway purchased 77 burgages in Pontefract, his father's former constituency, for £6000 from the Bland, Dawnay, Frank families. This placed himself and Sir William Lowther in joint control of the borough and they agreed to nominate a member each at subsequent elections. When Galway's tenure at Clitheroe elapsed at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

, he was elected MP for Pontefract, along with Lowther. Subsequently, he profited from offices in the patronage of the government. In 1734, he was appointed Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland, a post he held until 1748. He was returned again for Pontefract at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

, but at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...

, he ceded it to his eldest son. He was returned again for Pontefract at a by-election on 5 January 1749, in order to acquire another profitable post which required him to be an MP. In 1749 Monckton was recommended for the post of Surveyor-General of Lands, Woods and Forests in England and Wales by the Prime Minister, his brother-in-law,

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 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 serv ...

. Writing to his brother, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

, Pelham pointed out that "the great expense he has been at in bringing himself in, and, at last, his purchasing a borough are merits we don't meet with every day." Galway held the post of Surveyor General and the Pontefract constituency until his death in 1751.

Personal life

Monckton's first wife was Lady Elizabeth Manners (1709–1730), daughter of

John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland Order of the Garter, KG (18 September 1676 – 22 February 1721), styled Lord Roos from 1679 to 1703 and Marquess of Granby from 1703 to 1711, was a British Whig politician who sat in the English House of Com ...

and the former Catherine Russell (daughter of

William Russell, Lord Russell William Russell, Lord Russell (29 September 163921 July 1683) was an English Country Party politician and nobleman. He was a leading member of the Country Party, forerunners of the Whigs, who during the reign of Charles II of England laid th ...

and Lady Rachel Wriothesley). Before her death on 22 March 1730, they were the parents of: * William Monckton-Arundell (1725–1772), later 2nd

. *

(1726–1782), notable Army General and colonial administrator; he never married, but was survived by three sons and a daughter. Galway married as his second wife Jane Westenra, daughter of Henry Warner Westenra of Rathleagh, Queen's County, Ireland in November 1734. Together, they were the parents of: * John Monckton (1739–1830), of

Fineshade Abbey Fineshade Priory was a priory of Augustinian Canons Regular in Northamptonshire, England. The remains of the site are about north-east of Corby along the A43 road. It was founded before 1208 by Richard Engayne (Engain), Lord of Blatherwycke ...

, Northamptonshire. * Henry Monckton (1740–1778), a notable army officer killed at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. * Edward Monckton (1744–1832), of Somerford, Staffordshire, an MP for 32 years; he married Sophia, the illegitimate daughter of George Pigot. * Mary Monckton (1748–1840), a notable literary and political hostess who married

Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork and 7th Earl of Orrery (21 November 1742 – 30 May 1798) was an Ireland, Irish peer and Somerset landowner. Family A younger son of the John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork, 5th Earl of Cork and Margaret Hamilton, he succe ...

. Lord Galway died on 15 July 1751. Lady Galway survived him until 1788.

Estates

Upon his father's death in 1722, Monckton inherited the family estate of Hodroyd Hall which had been the seat of the Moncktons since the early 17th century. In 1725 he purchased the Serlby estate in North Nottinghamshire and began the building of the new family seat of Serlby Hall, where he built up a notable collection of paintings. He was a member of the

Society of Dilettanti The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsored the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style. History Though the exact date is unknown, the Society i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galway, John Monckton, 1st Viscount Whig (British political party) MPs Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 1690s births 1751 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George II Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons