Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Encyclopedia
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

, KB, FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 (1602 – 5 May 1671) was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...

, and for a time Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

's superior.

Life

He was the eldest son of the 1st Earl
Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester
Sir Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester was an English judge, politician and peer.-Life:He was the grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to 1545, who was named by King Henry VIII one of the executors of his will, and governor to his son, Edward VI.Born...

 by his first wife, Catherine Spencer, granddaughter of Sir William Spencer of Yarnton
Yarnton
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford and southeast of Woodstock.-Archaeology:Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the parish...

, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, was born in 1602, and was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...

 (1618–22).

Montagu accompanied Prince Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 during his 1623 trip to Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...

 in pursuit of the Spanish Match
Spanish Match
The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...

. He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Huntingdonshire was a Parliamentary constituency covering the county of Huntingdonshire in England. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then in the House of Commons the Parliament of the United...

 in the "Happy Parliament" of 1623-24, the "Useless Parliament" of 1625, and the Parliament of 1625-26. At the time of Charles I's coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...

 in February 1626, he was made a Knight of the Bath to reward him for his service to Charles in Spain. In May, with help from George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...

, Montagu was elevated to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

, receiving his father's barony of Kimbolton
Kimbolton
Kimbolton could be:*Kimbolton, Herefordshire*Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire**Kimbolton School**Kimbolton Castle**Kimbolton Airfield*Kimbolton Fireworks, the UK's only fireworks manufacturer*Kimbolton, Ohio*Kimbolton, New Zealand...

 and being styled Viscount Mandeville as a courtesy title, since his father had been created earl of Manchester in February when Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

 convened.

His first wife, who was related to the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...

, having died in 1625 after two years of marriage, Mandeville married in 1626 Anne Rich, daughter of the Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...

.

The influence of his father-in-law, who was afterwards admiral on the side of the parliament, drew Mandeville to the popular side in the questions in dispute with the crown, and at the beginning of the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 he was one of the recognized leaders of the popular party in the Upper House
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

, his name being joined with those of the five members of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 impeached
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 by the king in 1642. At the outbreak of the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, having succeeded his father in the earldom in November 1642, Manchester commanded a regiment in the army of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...

, and in August 1643 he was appointed Major-General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 of the parliamentary forces in the eastern counties (the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...

), with Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 as his second in command. He soon appointed his Provost-Marshall, William Dowsing
William Dowsing
William Dowsing was an English iconoclast who operated at the time of the English Civil War. Dowsing was a puritan soldier who was born in Laxfield, Suffolk...

, as a paid iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

, touring the churches of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire destroying all "Popish" and "superstitious" imagery, as well as features such as altar-rails.

Having become a member of the Committee of Both Kingdoms
Committee of Both Kingdoms
The Committee of Both Kingdoms, , was a committee set up during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, to oversee the conduct of the War and Foreign Policy...

 in 1644, he was in supreme command at Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...

 but in the subsequent operations his lack of energy brought him into disagreement with Cromwell, and in November 1644 he strongly expressed his disapproval of continuing the war. Cromwell brought the shortcomings of Manchester before Parliament in the autumn of 1644 and in April the following year, anticipating the Self-denying Ordinance
Self-denying Ordinance
The first Self-denying Ordinance was a bill moved on 9 December 1644 to deprive members of the Parliament of England from holding command in the army or the navy during the English Civil War. It failed to pass the House of Lords. A second Self-denying Ordinance was agreed to on 3 April 1645,...

, Manchester resigned his command. He took a leading part in the frequent negotiations for an arrangement with Charles, was custodian with William Lenthall
William Lenthall
William Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...

 of the Great Seal
Great Seal of the Realm
The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...

 from 1646 to 1648, and frequently presided in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. He opposed the trial of the king, and retired from public life during the Commonwealth but after the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, which he actively assisted, he was loaded with honours by Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. In 1667 he was made a General, and he died on 5 May 1671. Manchester was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

 in 1661, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 in 1667.

Men of such divergent sympathies as Baxter
Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...

, Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...

 and Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...

 agreed in describing Manchester as a lovable and virtuous man, who loved peace and moderation both in politics and religion. He was five times married, leaving children by two of his wives, and was succeeded in the title by his eldest son, Robert, 3rd Earl of Manchester
Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester
Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester was an English politician and courtier.-Life:He was born in the parish of St...

 (1634–1683). One of his daughters went on to become Lady Anne Montagu.

Further reading

  • Lord Clarendon
    Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
    Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...

    : History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England. 7 vols. Oxford, 1839
  • Lord Clarendon
    Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
    Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...

    : Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England and Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Oxford, 1827
  • SR Gardiner
    Samuel Rawson Gardiner
    Samuel Rawson Gardiner was an English historian.The son of Rawson Boddam Gardiner, he was born near Alresford, Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained a first class in literae humaniores. He was subsequently elected to fellowships at All Souls ...

    : History of the Great Civil War, 1642-1649. 4 vols. London, 1886–1891
  • The Quarrel between the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell: documents collected by J. Bruce, with a historical preface completed by D. M. Masson. London, 1875 (Publications of the Camden Society. New Series, 12)
  • Sir Philip Warwick
    Philip Warwick
    Sir Philip Warwick , English writer and politician, born in Westminster, was the son of Thomas Warwick, or Warrick, a musician....

    : Memoires of the Reigne of King Charles I, with a Continuation to the Happy Restauration of King Charles II. London, 1701.
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