Charles Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers

Charles Pierrepont 1st Earl Manvers
Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Nottinghamshire
In office 1778–1796
Personal details
Born	Charles Medows 4 November 1737
Died	17 June 1816 (aged 78)
Spouse(s)	Anne Orton Mills
Children	Evelyn Henry Frederick Pierrepont Charles Herbert Pierrepont Henry Manvers Pierrepont Philip Sydney Pierrepont Frances Augusta Pierrepont
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	c.1750–1763
Rank	Captain
Commands	HMS Renown HMS Shannon HMS Isis
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War

Charles (Medows) Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers (4 November 1737 – 17 June 1816) was an English nobleman and naval officer. Born Charles Medows, he was the second son of Philip Medows, deputy ranger of Richmond Park, by his marriage to Lady Frances Pierrepont, daughter of William, Earl of Kingston (1692–1713). Charles Medows – the son of Lady Frances Medows née Pierrepont (d.1795) – was the great grandson and the heir apparent of Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.^[1][2]

Ancestry

William, Earl of Kingston, predeceased his father, Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-Upon-Hull; thus the Dukedom and estates devolved on William's son, Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, who was Lady Frances's brother. The 2nd Duke, however, died childless, leaving Charles Medows, his nephew, as the eventual heir to the estates.

It was reported in July 2013 that Charles Medows was the great great grandson of Daniel Meadows (1577–1659), the direct ancestor of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.^[2][3]

Family's political and royal connections

Charles (Medows) Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers was the great great grandson of Daniel Meadows (d.1659) whose son was Sir Philip Meadows (d.1718), the successful parliamentarian. In 1710, Sir Philip's fellow parliamentarian, Sir John Guise, 3rd Bart., was "informed by Queen Anne that Sir Philip had been promised the position as Envoy to Hanover,^[4] the role Guise had invisaged for himself.^[5][6] Sir Philip Meadows was knighted in 1658, made Knight Marshal of the King's Palace and sent as an Ambassador to Sweden and Denmark.^[7][8]

In 1717, Sir Philip's son – also named Sir Philip Meadows (d.1757) – was one of the twelve members of the Board of General Officers, working with Sir Robert Walpole, the First Commissioner (Lord) of the Treasury. Earlier, on 2 July 1700 he was appointed, as his father had been, knight-marshal of the King's Household, and was formally knighted by King William on 23 December 1700 at Hampton Court.^[9][10] Sir Philip's daughter, Mary (d.1743), was a Maid of honour to Queen Caroline and his first cousin was Philip Meadows (d.1752), who had been Mayor of Norwich in 1734. On the 29th of May of that year, Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole presented Mayor Meadows with his personal gift: the city's new silver mace which bore Walpole's own coat-of-arms. ^[11] Like Prime Minister Walpole, Mayor Meadows had accumulated vast wealth owing to their success with the South Sea Company.^{[3][12][13][14]}

Another of Sir Philip's sons, Sir Sidney Meadows, was also knight-marshal of the Kings Palace. Sidney died in Andover in 1792. Like his brother Philip, Sidney was Deputy Ranger of Richmond Park and worked under Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute who, by 1761, had been appointed Ranger by George III. At this time - shortly after he ascended the throne in 1760 - the King was sold the Rangership by his daughter Princess Amelia.^[15] King George, having appointed the third Lord Bute as Ranger, continued to keep up an interest in the park and instigated many repairs and improvements with Sir Sidney (and at times his brother Philip) as deputy. When Lord Bute died in 1792 the King took the Rangership back into his own keeping and for a short time areas were given over to farming. Sir Sydney died in 1792, aged 91, having worked alongside the King, managing the park's agricultural and grazing branches.^[16][17][18]

Sarah Meadows Martineau was the daughter of Norwich Mayor Philip Meadows. Sarah was baptized at St George's Church, Colegate, Norwich, Norfolk on 24 February 1725 and died in Norwich on 26 November 1800. Sarah was the subject of published poems by her friend, political writer Anna Letitia Barbauld, who had been "admired" by Horace Walpole, son of Prime Minister Walpole.^[19][20] Sarah Meadows Martineau is recorded as the matriach of the Meadows of Norwich;^[21] "endowed with a strong mind and a well-cultivated understanding....her loss will be severely felt by a numerous family and by many whom her charity daily relieved and also by those who resorted to her judgement for advice".^[22]

Naval career

Educated at Oxford, Medows became a midshipman in the Royal Navy and was promoted to lieutenant on 7 August 1755. He became a commander on 5 April 1757^[23] in Renown, a 20-gun sloop, but on 17 August the same year was promoted to post-captain in the frigate Shannon, and was ordered to join the Mediterranean Fleet. He commanded her until April 1761, when Vice-Admiral Saunders appointed him to the 50-gun frigate Isis, replacing Captain Edward Wheeler, who had been killed during the capture of the French ship Oriflamme. Medows continued on Isis, in the Mediterranean, until the end of the war in 1763, and in 1769 retired altogether from the Navy.^[24]

In 1773, Medows's uncle, Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, died and left his estates at Thoresby and elsewhere to his wife Elizabeth, Duchess of Kingston, the former wife of the Earl of Bristol. The duke's nephews challenged the will on the grounds of bigamy, and the proceedings which followed established that the marriage of the Duchess had indeed been bigamous. However, this was found not to affect her inheritance, so she was able to retain the Pierrepont estates until her death, which took place in August 1788. Upon inheriting the estates, Medows adopted the surname of Pierrepont.

A watercolour sketch entitled In Captain Pierrepont's Grounds was made by the Preston-born artist Anthony Devis (1729–1817).

Political career

His family's political dynasty ensured that Medows was a well connected, if not terribly effective parliamentarian. As a Whig, Medows had been on good terms with Horace Walpole, the son of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole. Horace had voiced his concern about the impending death of Medows' uncle, the 2nd Duke of Kingston.^[25][26] With the patronage of the prime minister's protégé, Thomas Pelham Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Medows was returned as one of the Members of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in December 1778. He continued to sit in the Commons as a knight of the shire until he was ennobled in 1796. In Parliament, Medows (Pierrepont) supported the Duke of Portland, whose influence helped him to be raised to the peerage as Baron Pierrepont, of Holme Pierrepont in the County of Nottingham, and Viscount Newark, of Newark on Trent in the County of Nottingham, on 23 July 1796,^[27] and on 1 April 1806 he was promoted to an earldom as Earl Manvers.^[28] In the Lords, Manvers supported agricultural reform and was vice-president of the Board of Agriculture in 1803. He died in 1816 and was buried at Holme Pierrepont.

Family and children

He married Anne Orton, daughter of William Mills of Richmond, in 1774. They had five children:

• Hon. Evelyn Henry Frederick Pierrepont (1775–1801).
• Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers (1778–1860).
• Hon. Henry Manvers Pierrepont (1780–1858).
• Hon. Philip Sydney Pierrepont (13 June 1786 – 15 February 1864), of Evenley Hall, Northamptonshire, married on 19 August 1810 Georgiana Browne, died without issue.
• Lady Frances Augusta Pierrepont (d. 1847), married on 20 October 1802 Admiral William Bentinck (1746–1813), married on 30 July 1821 Henry William Stephens.

References

Notes

1. "Ancestry of Kate Middleton". wargs.com. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
2. Wilson, Chistopher (26 July 2013). "The Middletons deserve a title – step forward, the Earl and Countess of Fairfax". Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 6 March 2016. Michael Middleton’s eighth generation (thus Catherine's ninth) great grandfather, Daniel Meadows, was born in Suffolk in 1577. Through his direct male line, the Manvers earldom was granted in 1806 to his great great-grandson Charles Medows, whose mother, Lady Frances Medows née Pierrepont (d.1795) was the daughter of William, Earl of Kingston (d.1713), himself the son of the first Duke of Kingston – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-Upon-Hull...
3. "Ancestry of Kate Middleton". wargs.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016. Daniel Meadows (1577–1659) m. Elizabeth Smith
   .Sir Philip Medows m. Constance Lucy
    .Sir Philip Medows m. Dorothy Boscawen
     .Philip Medows m. Frances Pierrepont
      .CHARLES MEDOWS PIERREPONT, 1st Earl MANVERS (1737–1816)
4. Gregg, Edward (1 November 2014). Queen Anne. Yale University Press. p. 316. Retrieved 9 April 2014. On 25 June 1710, the Queen shattered a cherished plan of the treasurer (Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin) to send his nephew, Sir Philip Meadows, as Envoy to Hanover...
5. "GUISE, Sir John, 3rd Bt. (c.1678–1732), of Elmore, Glos". A History of Parliament. Crown copyright and The History of Parliament Trust. 1964–2016. Retrieved 7 April 2015. Secretary Harley made a point of telling Sir John Guise soon afterwards that when he had suggested Guise’s name for the envoy’s post, the Queen (Anne) informed him that it was already promised to Sir Philip Meadows (M.P.) who, as she pointed out, was Godolphin’s nephew.
6. Meadows, Philip (DNB00). Volume 37. Dictionary of National Biography,. 1885–1900. MEADOWS, Sir PHILIP (1626–1718), diplomatist, baptised at Chattisham, Suffolk, on 4 Jan. 1625–6 (Page, Suffolk, p. 13), was fifth son of Daniel Meadowe (1571/1577–1651/1659) of Chattisham....During the spring of 1658 Meadows was knighted, and was sent as ambassador to the court of Sweden...
7. Burke, Sir Bernard (1855). "A visitation of the seats and arms of the noblemen and gentlemen of Great Britain (Volume 2) online. SEATS OF GREAT BRITAIN". Country Homes. Hurst and Blackett. pp. 202–203. Retrieved 7 April 2014. Sir Philip Meadows, Kt., Marshall of the King's Palace, was a descendant of the Witnesham family; Sir Philip's father, the first Sir Philip (also Knight Marshall)..
8. Meadows, Philip (DNB00). Volume 37. Dictionary of National Biography,. 1885–1900. MEADOWS, Sir PHILIP (1626–1718), diplomatist, baptised at Chattisham, Suffolk, on 4 Jan. 1625–6 (Page, Suffolk, p. 13), was fifth son of Daniel Meadowe (1571/1577–1651/1659) of Chattisham....During the spring of 1658 Meadows was knighted, and was sent as ambassador to the court of Sweden...
9. Oldmixon, Mr (John) (1735). The History of England: During the Reigns of King William and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, King George I. T. Cox. p. 627. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
10. Meadows, Philip (DNB00). Volume 37. Dictionary of National Biography,. 1885–1900. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
11. "The city of Norwich, chapter 37: Of the city in the time of King George II". University of London. 2015. pp. 443–454). Retrieved 9 April 2016. •CHAPTER XXXVII – Mayors and Sheriifs – In 1734, a new silver mace, weighing 168 ounces, gilt and finely exchased, was presented to the city by the right honourable Sir Rob. Walpole; on the cup part of it are Sir Robert's arms, and the arms of the city; it was first carried before (the) mayor (see list below – Mayor of Norwich 1734, † Philip Meadows) on the 29th of May...
12. Meadows-Taylor, Philip (2013) [1902]. "A Memoir of the Family of Taylor of Norwich. 1902.". London: Forgotten Books: Taylor, Philip Meadows. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 5 March 2016. (Mayor of Norwich) Mr. Philip Meadows embarked a large part of his fortune in the South Sea scheme....
13. Debrett, John (1836). "Charles Herbert Pierrepont, Earl Manvers". Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Debretts. p. 141. ...Sir Philip Meadows (d.1718), son of Daniel Meadows (d.1659), leaving one son – Sir Philip Meadows (d.1757) (whose) issue (included) daughter, Mary (d.1743) – Maid of honour to Queen Caroline
14. Coxe, William (1800). Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, Volume 1. Great Britain: T. Cadell, jun. and W. Davies,. p. 386. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
15. Smollett, T. and G. (January 1761). "The British Magazine, Or, Monthly Repository for Gentlemen & Ladies (Marriages and Promotions)". James Rivington & James Fletcher ... & H. Payne. p. 335.
16. Faulkner, Thomas (1820). History and Antiquities of Kensington: Interspersed with Biographical. Jaques for Egerton. p. 263. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
17. "RICHMOND PARK". Historic England. 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2014. The Princess sold her Rangership to George III shortly after his accession and retired to Gunnersbury (qv), north of the Thames..In 1761, George III (1760-1820) appointed the third Lord Bute as Ranger but continued to keep up an interest in the park and instigated many repairs and improvements. Carriages were, on production of a ticket, allowed admission to the park. When Lord Bute died in 1792, the King took the Rangership back into his own keeping and for a short time areas were given over to farming..
18. "The British Friend". 2 February 1849. p. 32. Retrieved 13 April 2014. Sir Sidney Meadows having for some years had the management of richmond Park, in the agricultural and grazing branches under the direction of the King - George III who was himself well acquainted with and understood every part of the rural economy....
19. James, Felicity (3 November 2011). Religious Dissent and the Aikin-Barbauld Circle, 1740–1860. Cambridge University Press. p. 10). Retrieved 9 April 2015. ...Horace Walpole, previously an admirer (of Barbauld...)
20. Mrs. Barbauld, (Anna Letitia) (1 January 1994). The Poems of Anna Letitia Barbauld. University of Georgia Press. pp. 393 – Index– pages 107, 279 and 300).
21. Barbauld, Anna Letitia (24 September 2001). "Anna Letitia Barbauld: Selected Poetry and Prose". Broadview Press. p. 149). Retrieved 5 March 2014. ...Sarah Meadows Martineau, matriach...
22. Barbauld, A. L. (24 September 2001). "Anna Letitia Barbauld: Selected Poetry and Prose". Broadview Press. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
23. Doyle, James Edmund (1885). The official baronage of England, showing the succession, dignities, and offices of every peer from 1066 to 1885, with sixteen hundred illustrations II. London: Longmans, Green, & Co. p. 463. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
24. Charnock, John (1798). Biographia Navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives and characters of officers of the navy of Great Britain, from the year 1660 to the present time; drawn from the most authentic sources, and disposed in a chronological arrangement VI. London: R. Faulder. p. 265. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
25. Walpole, Horace (1837). Private Correspondence. Horace Walpole. p. 69. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
26. Walpole, Horace (1837). The Correspondence of Horace Walpole, with George Montagu, Esq., [and Others].: 1770–1797. Henry Colburn. p. 69. Retrieved 7 April 2013. Letter – November 15, 1773 – to the Earl of Strafford regarding the death of the Duke of Kingston in 1773
27. The London Gazette: no. 13914. p. 704. 23 July 1796. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
28. The London Gazette: no. 15905. p. 407. 29 March 1806. Retrieved 17 November 2008.

Bibliography

• "Biography of Charles (Medows) Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers (1737–1816)". The University of Nottingham. 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
• Symonds, P.A. (2013). "Pierrepont (formerly Medows), Charles (1737–1816)". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
• "Pierrepont pedigree 2". Archived from the original on 15 May 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2006.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Manvers