Part 34

This Sir Robert was returned, in the seventeenth year of Edward III., as one of the principal persons in the county of Northumberland, and was entitled to bear arms by descent. In the first year of Edward’s reign, being governor of Norham Castle, he distinguished himself by his successful defence of that stronghold against the Scots, who, “despising King Edward’s youth, on the very night of that day on which King Edward was crowned, intended to take Norham Castle by surprise; and so well managed their design that about sixteen of them had already mounted the walls. But the captain, Sir Robert Manners, being warned of the matter beforehand by one of his garrison, who was a Scotsman, had so well prepared to receive them, that of those who had mounted he took five or six, and put the rest to the sword, their companions below, upon this disappointment, retiring.” In the next year he was constituted one of the “conservators of the truce made with the Scots for all hostilities to cease.” Soon afterwards he was made sheriff of the county of Selkirk, and appointed to keep and defend the forts of Selkirk and Ettrick, &c. In the fourteenth of the same reign he represented Northumberland in Parliament, and again subdued Scotch incursions. Soon afterwards he obtained a license from the King “to strengthen and embattle his dwelling-house at Ethale, in Northumberland, with a wall made of stone and lime, and to hold the same to himself and his heirs for ever.” The next year he was constituted one of the commissioners to treat with David Bruce and his adherents for a peace, and subsequently was made Lord of the Marches. At the battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, under Queen Philippa, in which the Scottish king was taken prisoner, Sir Robert displayed great valour, and was intrusted to keep charge of the prisoners, and deliver them to the Constable at the Tower of London. He died in 1355, leaving his son and heir, John de Manners (by his wife, Aliva, or Alice, daughter of Henry Strather), only one year and three weeks old.

This John Manners received the honour of knighthood, and married Alice, widow of William de Whitchester; and, dying in 1402, was succeeded by his son, Sir John Manners, who was sheriff of Northumberland, and, with his son John, was accused of the murder of William Heron and Robert Atkinson, or Akyman. They were prosecuted by Sir Robert de Umphreville, and Isabel, widow of William Heron, and were ordered to “cause 500 masses to be sung for the health of the soul of the same William Heron within one year then next ensuing, and pay unto Sir Robert de Umphreville, and Isabel, to the use of the said Isabel and her children by Heron, 200 marks.” He was succeeded by his son Robert, who married Joan, daughter of Sir Robert Ogle, and had issue by her, with others, a son, Robert, by whom he was succeeded. This was the Sir Robert Manners who married Eleanor, daughter of Thomas, Lord Ros, as already shown. Sir Robert Manners had issue by his wife, Eleanor Ros, three daughters, who each married into the family of Fairfax, and two sons. The elder of these sons was Sir George Manners, who, on the death of his mother, became Lord Ros or Roos, and was also lineal heir to the baronies of Vaux, Trusbut, and Belvoir.

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MARRYING Anne, only daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas St. Leger, by his wife Anne, daughter of Richard, Duke of York, and sister to King Edward IV., and widow of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, this lady brought royal blood into the family. By her Sir George had a numerous family, the eldest of whom, Thomas, succeeded him.

This Sir Thomas Manners, on the death of his father, became thirteenth Lord Ros, of Hamlake, and Baron Trusbut, Riveaulx, and Belvoir. He was with Henry VIII. and his queen at the celebrated interview between that monarch and the King of France at Guisnes, and in the same reign was made Warden of the East Marches, and had many other honours granted him. In the seventeenth year of the same monarch he was created Earl of Rutland—“a title which none but royal family had ever borne, and by reason of his descent from the sister of King Edward IV. had an augmentation to his ancient arms.” The old arms were—_or_ two bars _azure_, and a chief _gules_; which chief was augmented thus quarterly _azure_ and _gules_, in the first and fourth two fleurs-de-lis and in the second and third a lion passant guardant, all _or_. He was also installed a Knight of the Garter. A few years later this nobleman was present at the second interview between Henry VIII. and Francis I.; he was also present at the marriage of his sovereign with the ill-fated Anne Boleyn; and, later on, attended Anne of Cleves to England, and was made her chamberlain. He was made Chief Justice in Eyre of all the King’s lands north of the Trent, and obtained grants of the manors of Muston, Waltham, Croxton, Upwell, Bilsdale, Helmsley, Outwell, Elm, Emneth, Branston, &c., and lands belonging to several dissolved monasteries. He rebuilt Belvoir Castle, and removed many of the monuments from the dissolved priories of Croxton and Belvoir to Bottesford, where he himself was buried in 1543. His lordship—who took part in most of the events of this stirring reign, and held numerous important offices—married twice: first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Lovel; and second, Eleanor, daughter of Sir William Paston, by the latter of whom only he had issue. To the eldest and second of that issue we now refer.

The eldest son, Henry Manners, succeeded his father, in 1543, as second Earl of Rutland. He continued the rebuilding of Belvoir Castle, and was made Constable of Nottingham Castle, Chief Justice in Eyre of Sherwood Forest, &c. He was married twice: first, to Margaret, daughter of the fourth Earl of Westmoreland, by whom he had issue; and second, to Bridget, daughter of Lord Hussey, by whom he had no children. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward Manners, as third Earl of Rutland, who, dying without male issue, was succeeded by his brother, John Manners (the second son of the second earl), as fourth Earl of Rutland. This nobleman married Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Charlton, of Apsley, by whom he had issue, with others, three sons—Roger Manners, Sir Francis Manners, and Sir George Manners—who successively became fifth, sixth, and seventh Earls of Rutland. All these dying without surviving male issue, the title passed to the descendants of the second son of the first Earl, as we shall now show.

Sir John Manners, second son of the first Earl of Rutland, and great-grandson of the sister of King Edward IV., became, before he was knighted, attached to Dorothy Vernon, the youngest daughter and co-heiress of Sir George Vernon of Haddon Hall, known as “the King of the Peak,” and so effectually wooed and won her, that he at length carried her off on horseback into his own county of Leicester, and there married her. By this marriage Haddon Hall, and the Derbyshire property of the “King of the Peak,” passed into the family of Manners. Sir John Manners had issue by his wife, Dorothy Vernon, three sons—Sir George, who succeeded him; John, who died at the age of fourteen; and Sir Roger, of Whitwell; and one daughter, Grace, who married Sir Francis Fortescue, of Salden. Sir George Manners, their son, married Grace, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepoint, and sister to the Earl of Kingston, by whom he had issue, with others, John Manners, his eldest son, who not only succeeded him, but also succeeded his cousin George, seventh Earl of Rutland, in his title and estates, and thus became eighth Earl of Rutland. He married Frances, daughter of Edward, Lord Montague of Boughton, by whom he had issue four sons and seven daughters. He was sheriff of Derbyshire in the ninth and eleventh years of Charles I., and also represented that county in Parliament. His lordship was attached to the Parliamentary interest during the civil wars, and was one of the twenty-two peers who remained at Westminster when the King summoned both Houses to attend him at Oxford. As a consequence, his castle of Belvoir was seized by the Royalists, and was held by them and Sir Gervase Lucas, and here the King frequently resided. It was finally surrendered to the Parliamentarians in January, 1645-6. In 1649 the castle was demolished, by consent of the Earl, who soon afterwards set about rebuilding it, which he completed in 1668. During this time the Earl lived principally at Haddon Hall, where he died in 1679, and was succeeded by his third and only surviving son, John Manners, as ninth Earl of Rutland.

This nobleman was born in 1638, and, in 1679 was created a peer in his own right by the title of Baron Manners of Haddon; and in September of the same year, his father dying, he became Earl of Rutland. When twenty years of age he had married the Lady Anne Pierrepoint, daughter of the Marquis of Dorchester, from whom he was afterwards divorced; and he married, secondly, Lady Diana Bruce, widow of Sir Seymour Shirley, and daughter of the Earl of Aylesbury, who died in child-bed. His lordship married, thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Baptist Noel, Viscount Camden, by whom only he had surviving issue. In 1703 the Earl was raised to the highest dignity in the realm, by the titles of Marquis of Granby and Duke of Rutland. He died in January, 1710-11, aged seventy-three, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, John Manners.

John, second Duke of Rutland, when scarcely seventeen years of age, was married to Katherine, second daughter of Lord William Russell, who was beheaded in 1683. He then bore the title of Lord Roos; and the wedding festivities seem, judging from some curious letters still extant concerning them, to have been of the most lavishly extravagant character. This lady, who was sister to the Duchess of Devonshire and to the Duke of Bedford, gave birth to five sons and four daughters, and died in child-bed in 1711. The Duke married, secondly, Lucy, daughter of Lord Sherard, and sister of the Earl of Harborough, by whom also he had issue six sons and two daughters. His grace died in 1721, and was succeeded, as third Duke of Rutland, by his eldest son, John Manners. This nobleman, who was born in 1696, married, in 1717, Bridget, only daughter and heiress of Robert Sutton, Lord Lexington (an alliance that gave him a large accession of estates), by whom he had issue thirteen children, nearly all of whom died young. He it was who built the hunting-seat at Croxton, and made many improvements at Belvoir Castle. He was the last of the family who made Haddon Hall a residence. The estates of Lord Lexington having been settled upon the younger branch of the family, the second and surviving sons, successively, took, by Act of Parliament, the additional surname of Sutton, and thus founded the family of Manners-Sutton.

The Duke, who was familiarly known as “Old John of the Hill,” dying in 1779, was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Manners, son of the celebrated Marquis of Granby, Commander-in-chief of the British forces in Germany, and Master of the Ordnance, who died during his father’s lifetime. Charles, fourth Duke of Rutland, married Mary Isabella, daughter of Charles Noel, Duke of Beaufort, by whom he had issue four sons—viz. Lord John Henry (who succeeded him), Lord Charles Henry Somerset, Lord Robert William, and Lord William Robert Albini; and two daughters—viz. the Lady Elizabeth Isabella, married to Richard Norman, Esq., and Lady Catherine Mary, married to Lord Forester. His Grace died while holding office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and was succeeded by his eldest son—

John Henry Manners, as fifth Duke of Rutland, who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Carlisle, and by her had issue six sons and five daughters. The sons were—Lord George Henry Manners, to whom King George III. stood sponsor in person, but who died in infancy; Lord George John Frederick Manners, to whom the Prince Regent and H.R.H. the Duke of York stood sponsors in person, but who also died in infancy; Lord Charles Cecil John Manners (the present Duke of Rutland); Lord Adolphus Edward Manners, who died in infancy: Lord John James Robert Manners, M.P., the present eminent statesman and man of letters; and Lord George John Manners, M.P., who married in 1855 the Lady Adeliza Matilda Howard, daughter of the thirteenth Duke of Norfolk, and died in 1875. The five daughters were—the Lady Caroline Isabella Manners, who died in infancy; the Lady Elizabeth Frederica Manners, now the widow of Andrew Robert Drummond, Esq.; the Lady Emmeline Charlotte Elizabeth Manners (deceased), married to the Hon. Charles Stuart Wortley; the Lady Katherine Isabella Manners (deceased), married to Earl Jermyn; and the Lady Adeliza Gertrude Elizabeth Manners, married to the Rev. Frederick John Norman, Rector of Bottesford.

The present noble head of the House of Manners is, as we have just stated, his Grace Charles Cecil John Manners, the sixth Duke of Rutland, Marquis of Granby, fourteenth Earl of Rutland, Baron Manners of Haddon, Baron Ros of Hamlake, Baron Trusbut, Riveaulx, and Belvoir, K.G., &c., the “King of Belvoir,” as he may not inaptly be called, for his is a regal residence, and he reigns in the hearts of the people around him. He is, therefore, the direct descendant and representative in unbroken succession of the grand old standard-bearer of William the Conqueror, Robert de Todeni, and of the families of De Albini, Espec, De Ros, and Manners; and by equally direct descent he has royal blood coursing through his veins. His grace was born in 1815, and was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his M.A. degree in 1835; was M.P. for Stamford from 1837 to 1852, and from that time to his accession to the titles in 1867, for North Leicestershire; and he was a Lord of the Bed-chamber to the late Prince Consort. His grace is not married, the heir to his titles, estates, and revenues being his brother, Lord John Manners, who is a worthy representative of the long and illustrious line from which he has sprung. The Duke is patron of twenty-four livings, of which one is in Rutland, fifteen in Leicestershire, two in Lincolnshire, two in Cambridgeshire, two in Nottinghamshire, and two in Derbyshire. His seats are—Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire; Haddon Hall and Longshawe Lodge, in Derbyshire; and Cheveley Park, in Cambridgeshire.

Lord John Manners was born in 1818, and in 1851 married Louisa Catherine, daughter of Colonel Marlay, by whom he had issue one son (the present Henry John Brinsley Manners), and another who died in infancy. This lady, dying in 1854, was buried at Rowsley, where a magnificent monument—one of the happiest efforts of W. Calder Marshall—has been erected to her memory. His lordship married secondly, in 1862, Janetta, eldest daughter of Thomas Hughan, Esq., by whom he has issue several children. Lord John Manners has held many important offices. He was sworn a Privy Councillor, and appointed First Commissioner of Works and Buildings, which office he held many years, and in 1874 was appointed Postmaster-General.

The arms of the Duke of Rutland are—_or_, two bars, _azure_; augmented by a chief, quarterly, first and fourth _azure_, two fleurs-de-lis, _or_ (France), second and third _gules_, a lion passant guardant, _or_ (England). Crest, on a chapeau, _gules_, turned up, _ermine_, a peacock in pride, _proper_. Supporters, two unicorns, _argent_, horns, manes, tufts, and hoofs, _or_. Motto, “Pour y parvenir.” The ancient arms of Manners, before the augmentation, were, _or_, two bars, _azure_, and a chief, _gules_.

Belvoir Castle, as it now stands, is an erection of the present century, built upon Norman foundations. As we have already stated, the first castle was built by Robert de Todeni, standard-bearer to William the Conqueror, and considerably extended by his successors. In 1461, or thereabouts, it was despoiled (on the attainder of its noble owner) by the Lord Hastings, to whom it had been granted by the King. “The timber of the roof, being” by him “despoiled of the lead with which it was covered, rotted away; and the soil between the walls at the last grew full of elders, in which state the castle remained till it was partially rebuilt by the first Earl of Rutland, and completed by the second.” On the dissolution of the monasteries, many of the monuments of the Albini and Ros families were, by order of the first Earl, and later, by his successor, removed from Belvoir Priory to Bottesford Church, and others were also brought to the same place from Croxton Abbey. He commenced the rebuilding of the castle, which was completed by his son in 1555, “making it a nobler structure than it was before.”

In 1619 the singular trial of an old woman, named Joan Flower, of Belvoir, and her two daughters, Margaret and Philippa, for sorcery, and causing the deaths of the two sons of the Earl of Rutland, took place, and resulted in the execution of the two younger “witches,” the old “monstrous malicious woman,” or “devil incarnate,” as she was styled, having died as she was being taken to gaol; and the destruction of her cat, “Rutterkin.” The two sons, whose deaths were laid to the charge of these miserable victims of superstition, were Henry, Lord Ros, and Francis Manners, his brother, sons of Francis, sixth Earl of Rutland, by his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Sir John Tufton, and widow of Sir Henry Hungerford. That Joan Flower, aided by her profligate daughters, did cause the deaths of the two children, and attempt the lives of the Earl and Countess, probably by poison, seems most probable, and they were justly punished. The following account of this singular transaction, printed in 1619, describes—

“Joan Flower as a monstrous woman, full of oaths, curses, and imprecations; and for any thing they saw by her, a plain atheist. Besides, of late days, her very countenance was estranged, her eyes very fiery and hollow, her speech fell and envious, her demeanour strange and exotic, and her conversation sequestered; so that the whole course of her life gave great suspicion that she was a notorious witch; yea, some of her neighbours dared to affirm that she dealt with familiar spirits, and terrified them all with curses and threatening of revenge, if there were never so little cause of displeasure and unkindness. Concerning Margaret, the daughter, that she often resorted from the castle to her mother, bringing such provision as they thought was unbefitting for a servant to purloin; and coming at such unseasonable hours that they could not but conjecture some mischief between them, and that their extraordinary riot and expenses tended both to rob the lady and to maintain certain deboist and base company, which frequented this Joan Flower’s house, the mother, and especially the youngest daughter. Concerning Philippa, that she was leudly transported with the love of one Thomas Simpson, who presumed to say that she had bewitched him, for he had no power to leave her, and was, as he supposed, marvellously altered both in mind and body, since her acquainted company. These complaints began many years before either their conviction or public apprehension. Notwithstanding, such was the honour of this earl and his lady; such was the cunning of this monstrous woman, in observation towards them; such was the subtlety of the devil, to bring his purposes to pass; such was the pleasure of God, to make trial of his servants; and such was the effect of a damnable woman’s wit and malicious envy, that all things were carried away in the smooth channel of liking and good entertainment, on every side, until the earl refused to give that credence to her, on some complaint preferred, which he had been accustomed to give; and the countess discovering in the daughter Margaret some indecencies of her life, and neglect of her business, discharged her from lying any more in the castle; dismissing her with handsome presents, but commanding her to go home. This inflamed the mother with hatred and rancour towards the earl, and his family.

“When the devil perceived the inficious disposition of this wretch, and that she, and her daughters, might easily be made instruments to enlarge his kingdom; and be, as it were, the executioners of his vengeance, not caring whether it lighted upon innocents, or no; he came more near unto them, and in plain terms, to come quickly to the purpose, offered them his service, and that in such a manner, as they might easily command what they pleased; for he would attend you in such pretty forms of dog, cat, or rat, that they should neither be terrified, nor any body else suspicious of the matter. Upon this, they agree, and (as it should seem) give away their souls to the service of such spirits, as he had promised them; which filthy conditions were ratified with abominable kisses, and an odious sacrifice of blood, not leaving out certain charms and conjurations, with which the devil deceived them, as though nothing could be done without ceremony, and a solemnity of orderly ratification. By this time doth sathan triumph, and goeth away satisfied to have caught such fish in the net of his illusions: by this time, are these women devils incarnate, and grow proud again in their cunning and artificial power, to do what mischief they listed. By this time, they have learnt the manner of incantations, spells, and charms. By this time, they kill what cattle they list; and under the cover of flattery and familiar entertainment, keep hidden the stinging serpent of malice, and a venomous inclination to mischief. By this time, is the earl and his family threatened, and must feel the burthen of a terrible tempest, which, by these women’s devilish devices, fell upon him; he neither suspecting nor understanding the same. By this time, both himself and his honourable countess, are many times subject to sickness and extraordinary convulsions; which they, taking as gentle corrections from the hand of God, submit with quietness to his mercy, and study nothing more than to glorify their Creator in heaven, and bear his crosses on earth.