Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton
Encyclopedia
Montagu William Lowry-Corry, 1st Baron Rowton KCVO
, CB
, PC, DL
(8 October 1838 – 9 November 1903), also known as "Monty," was a British philanthropist and public servant, best known for serving as Benjamin Disraeli's
private secretary from 1866 until the latter's death in 1881.
, Lowry-Corry was the second son of the Honourable Henry Lowry-Corry by his wife Lady Harriet, daughter of Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury
. The social reformer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
was his maternal uncle. He was educated at Harrow
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
, and was called to the Bar
in 1863.
, represented County Tyrone in parliament
continuously for forty-seven years (1826–1873), and was a member of Lord Derby's
second cabinet
(1866–1868) as Vice President of the Council and afterwards as First Lord of the Admiralty. Lowry-Corry was thus brought up in close touch with Conservative party politics, but it is said to have been his winning personality and social accomplishments rather than his political connections that recommended him to the favorable notice of Benjamin Disraeli, who in 1866 made Lowry-Corry his private secretary. From this time till the statesman's death in 1881 Corry maintained his connection with Disraeli, the relations between the two men being more intimate and confidential than usually subsist between a private secretary and his political chief.
When Disraeli resigned office in 1868 Lowry-Corry declined various offers of public employment in order to be free to continue his services, now given gratuitously, to the Conservative leader; and when the latter returned to power in 1874, Corry resumed his position as official private secretary to the prime minister. He accompanied Disraeli (who in 1876 had been ennobled as Earl of Beaconsfield) to the Congress of Berlin
in 1878, where he acted as one of the secretaries of the special embassy of Great Britain. On the defeat of the Conservatives in 1880, Corry was raised to the peerage as Baron Rowton, of Rowton Castle
in the County of Shropshire. Lord Rowton was in Algiers
when Beaconsfield was stricken with his last illness in the spring of 1881; but returning post-haste across Europe, he was present at the death-bed of his old chief. Beaconsfield bequeathed to Rowton all his correspondence and other papers. In 1900 he was sworn of the Privy Council.
Lord Rowton is also well-remembered as a philanthropist as the originator of the Rowton Houses
, six large hostels for working men which were much better than existing lodging houses.
Lord Rowton never married. He is alleged to have had an affair with Violet, Marchioness of Granby and also alleged to be the father of Lady Violet Manners, legally the second daughter of her mother's husband Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland
. Lady Violet, known as Letty, married firstly Hugo Charteris, Lord Elcho (killed in action 1916) and was mother of two sons, David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
and Lord Charteris of Amisfield.
Lord Rowton died in November 1903, aged 65.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(8 October 1838 – 9 November 1903), also known as "Monty," was a British philanthropist and public servant, best known for serving as Benjamin Disraeli's
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
private secretary from 1866 until the latter's death in 1881.
Background and education
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Lowry-Corry was the second son of the Honourable Henry Lowry-Corry by his wife Lady Harriet, daughter of Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury
Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury
Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury , styled The Honourable Cropley Ashley-Cooper until 1811, was a British politician. He was the father of the social reformer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury....
. The social reformer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury KG , styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was an English politician and philanthropist, one of the best-known of the Victorian era and one of the main proponents of Christian Zionism.-Youth:He was born in London and known informally as Lord Ashley...
was his maternal uncle. He was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, and was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
in 1863.
Career
Lowry-Corry's father, a younger son of Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl BelmoreSomerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore
Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore , styled The Honourable from 1781 to 1797 and then known as Viscount Corry to 1802, was an Irish nobleman and politician.-Politics and inheritance:...
, represented County Tyrone in parliament
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...
continuously for forty-seven years (1826–1873), and was a member of Lord Derby's
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...
second cabinet
Second Derby Ministry
-The Ministry:-Reference:* British Historical Facts 1830-1900, by Chris Cook and Brendon Keith pp. 21-22 SBN 333 13220 3...
(1866–1868) as Vice President of the Council and afterwards as First Lord of the Admiralty. Lowry-Corry was thus brought up in close touch with Conservative party politics, but it is said to have been his winning personality and social accomplishments rather than his political connections that recommended him to the favorable notice of Benjamin Disraeli, who in 1866 made Lowry-Corry his private secretary. From this time till the statesman's death in 1881 Corry maintained his connection with Disraeli, the relations between the two men being more intimate and confidential than usually subsist between a private secretary and his political chief.
When Disraeli resigned office in 1868 Lowry-Corry declined various offers of public employment in order to be free to continue his services, now given gratuitously, to the Conservative leader; and when the latter returned to power in 1874, Corry resumed his position as official private secretary to the prime minister. He accompanied Disraeli (who in 1876 had been ennobled as Earl of Beaconsfield) to the Congress of Berlin
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
in 1878, where he acted as one of the secretaries of the special embassy of Great Britain. On the defeat of the Conservatives in 1880, Corry was raised to the peerage as Baron Rowton, of Rowton Castle
Rowton Castle
Rowton Castle, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, is a Grade II* listed country house that was once the home of the Royal Normal College for the Blind before it moved to its present location in Hereford. The house is situated in of grounds about west of Shrewsbury...
in the County of Shropshire. Lord Rowton was in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
when Beaconsfield was stricken with his last illness in the spring of 1881; but returning post-haste across Europe, he was present at the death-bed of his old chief. Beaconsfield bequeathed to Rowton all his correspondence and other papers. In 1900 he was sworn of the Privy Council.
Lord Rowton is also well-remembered as a philanthropist as the originator of the Rowton Houses
Rowton Houses
Rowton Houses were a chain of hostels built in London, England by the Victorian philanthropist Lord Rowton to provide decent accommodation for working men in place of the squalid lodging houses of the time....
, six large hostels for working men which were much better than existing lodging houses.
Personal life
Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland
Henry John Brinsley Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland KG TD , known as Henry Manners until 1888 and styled Marquess of Granby between 1888 and 1906, was a British peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
. Lady Violet, known as Letty, married firstly Hugo Charteris, Lord Elcho (killed in action 1916) and was mother of two sons, David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss and 8th Earl of March, KT, DL succeeded his grandfather in the family titles in 1937....
and Lord Charteris of Amisfield.
Lord Rowton died in November 1903, aged 65.