MONTAGU, Edward Richard, Visct. Hinchingbrooke (1692-1722), of Hinchingbrooke, Hunts.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1713 - 1722
13 Apr. - 3 Oct. 1722

Family and Education

b. 7 July 1692, o.s. and h. ap. of Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, by Elizabeth, 2nd da. of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, sis. and coh. of Charles, 3rd Earl of Rochester. educ. Trinity, Camb. 1706; Grand Tour (Italy) c.1708. m. 12 Apr. 1707, Elizabeth, da. of Alexander Popham, M.P., of Littlecote, Wilts. by Anne, da. of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, 3s. 2da.

Offices Held

Capt.-lt. 4 Drags. 1709, capt. 1712; capt. and lt.-col. Coldstream Gds. 1715; a.-d.-c. to George I 1715; lt.-col. 12 Ft. 1716-17; col. Richard Lucas’s regt. of Ft. Sept.-Dec. 1717; col. 37 Ft. 1717-d.

Ld. lt. Hunts. Feb. 1722-d.

Biography

Lord Sandwich, being of weak intellect, was kept under restraint in his own house till his death in 1729, the administration of the estates devolving on Lord Hinchingbrooke, whose Jacobite mother lived in France. Re-elected as a Whig for the family borough in 1715, he usually supported the Government, seconding the Address, moved by Walpole, 23 Mar. 1715, voting for the septennial bill in 1716, and moving the Address 11 Nov. 1718. In January 1719 he unexpectedly joined Walpole in opposing the repeal of the Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts.1 He did not vote on the peerage bill in December that year. After the South Sea crash he spoke with Walpole against the motion, which was carried 12 Dec. 1720, that the directors of the South Sea Company should lay an account of their proceedings before the House.2 On 4 Jan. 1721 he moved unsuccessfully that all the directors should be taken into custody. Later, however, he pleaded for leniency on behalf of two of them. Transferring to the county in 1722, he died 3 Oct. that year, leaving two young sons.

Ref Volumes: 1715-1754

Author: R. S. Lea

Notes

  • 1. HMC Portland, v. 576.
  • 2. Coxe, Walpole, i. 142.