John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland

His Grace
The Duke of Rutland
KG GCB PC
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
16 August 1886  11 August 1892
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister The Marquess of Salisbury
Preceded by The Viscount Cranbrook
Succeeded by James Bryce
Personal details
Born 13 December 1818 (1818-12-13)
Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire
Died 4 August 1906(1906-08-04) (aged 87)
Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) (1) Catherine Marley
(d. 1854)
(2) Janetta Hughan
(1837–1899)
Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge

John James Robert Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland KG GCB PC (13 December 1818 – 4 August 1906), known as Lord John Manners before 1888, was an English statesman.

Youth and poetry

Rutland was born at Belvoir Castle, the younger son of John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland by Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle. Charles Manners, 6th Duke of Rutland was his elder brother and Lord George Manners his younger brother. He was educated at Eton College, then entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1836.[1] At Cambridge, he was a member of the University Pitt Club.[2] He graduated MA in 1839, and was later awarded the honorary degrees of LLD by the same university in 1862, and DCL by Oxford in 1876.[1]

He wrote two books of poetry: England's Trust and Other Poems, published in 1841, and English Ballads and Other Poems, published in 1850. The 1841 book contains his famous quote: "Let wealth and commerce, laws and learning die, But leave us still our old Nobility!"[3] The 1850 book contains his poem "A Legend of Haddon Hall."[4]

Political career

In 1841 Rutland was returned for Newark in the Tory interest, along with William Ewart Gladstone, and sat for that borough until 1847. Subsequently he sat for Colchester, 1850–57; for North Leicestershire, 1857–85; and for Melton from 1885 until, in 1888, he took his seat in the House of Lords upon succeeding to the dukedom.

In the early 1840s Manners was a leading figure in the Young England movement, led by Benjamin Disraeli. He accompanied the latter on a tour of English industrial areas in 1844, advocated public holidays (outlined in 1843 in his pamphlet, "In Defence of Holy Days"),[5] factory reforms and an allotments system.[1]

During the three short administrations of Lord Derby (1852, 1858–59, and 1866–68) he sat in the cabinet as First Commissioner of Works. In 1852 he was admitted to the Privy Council. On the return of the Conservatives to power in 1874 he became Postmaster-General under Disraeli, and was made GCB on his retirement in 1880. He was again Postmaster-General in Lord Salisbury's administration, 1885–86, and was head of the department when sixpenny telegrams were introduced. Finally, in the Conservative government of 1886–92 he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1891 and in 1896 he was further honoured when he was made Baron Roos of Belvoir, in the County of Leicester.

He was patron of Saint Martin's League for letter carriers.

Sport Interests

He had a sympathetic interest in the Olympian Games movement of William Penny Brookes, first shown when he joined a party with his first cousin Lord Forester that viewed the first Wenlock Olympian Games at Much Wenlock in 1850. He there and then donated a cash prize of £1 (worth £58 in 2005)[6] to the committee, who awarded it to the winner of a running race.[5] He was a member of the council of the fourth National Olympian Games that were held, again at Much Wenlock, in 1874.[7] In 1883 he was president of Wenlock Olympian Games themselves that year.[8]

Family

Rutland married firstly Catherine Louisa Georgina, daughter of George Marley, in 1851. They had one child:

Catherine died in April 1854. Rutland married secondly Janetta, daughter of Thomas Hughan, in 1862. They had seven children, including:

Rutland succeeded to the dukedom of Rutland in March 1888, upon the death of his elder brother. The Duchess of Rutland died in July 1899. Rutland survived her by seven years and died on 4 August 1906, aged 87, at Belvoir Castle.

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Manners, Lord John James Rutland (MNRS836LJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. Fletcher, Walter Morley (2011) [1935]. The University Pitt Club: 1835–1935 (First Paperback ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-1-107-60006-5.
  3. Manners, John. England's Trust and Other Poems, 'Haddon Hall Books, 1841, accessed 20 October 2010
  4. Manners, John. English Ballads and Other Poems, 'Haddon Hall Books, 1850, accessed 20 October 2010
  5. 1 2 Beale, Catherine (2011). Born out of Wenlock, William Penny Brookes and the British origins of the modern Olympics. DB Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-85983-967-6.
  6. "National Archives Currency Converter".
  7. Beale, Catherine (2011). Born out of Wenlock. p. 88.
  8. Beale, Catherine (2011). Born out of Wenlock. pp. 108, 184.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Ewart Gladstone
Thomas Wilde
Member of Parliament for Newark
18411847
With: William Ewart Gladstone 1841–1846
John Stuart 1846–1852
Succeeded by
John Stuart
Hon. John Manners-Sutton
Preceded by
Sir George Smyth
Joseph Hardcastle
Member of Parliament for Colchester
1850–1857
With: Joseph Hardcastle 1850–1852
William Hawkins 1852–1857
Succeeded by
William Hawkins
John Rebow
Preceded by
Edward Farnham
Marquess of Granby
Member of Parliament for Leicestershire North
18571885
With: Edward Farnham 1857–1859
Edward Hartopp 1859–1868
Samuel Clowes 1868–1880
Edwyn Sherard Burnaby 1880–1883
Hon. Montagu Curzon 1883–1885
constituency divided
New constituency Member of Parliament for Melton
1885–1888
Succeeded by
Henry Manners
Political offices
Preceded by
Lord Seymour
First Commissioner of Works
1852
Succeeded by
Sir William Molesworth, Bt
Preceded by
Benjamin Hall
First Commissioner of Works
1858–1859
Succeeded by
Hon. Henry Fitzroy
Preceded by
Hon. William Cowper
First Commissioner of Works
1866–1868
Succeeded by
Austen Henry Layard
Preceded by
Lyon Playfair
Postmaster General
1874–1880
Succeeded by
Henry Fawcett
Preceded by
George Shaw-Lefevre
Postmaster General
1885–1886
Succeeded by
The Lord Wolverton
Preceded by
The Viscount Cranbrook
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1886–1892
Succeeded by
James Bryce
Honorary titles
Preceded by
William Ewart Gladstone
Senior Privy Counsellor
1898–1906
With: Spencer Horatio Walpole (1898)
Succeeded by
The Earl Spencer
The Earl of Ducie
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Manners
Duke of Rutland
1888–1906
Succeeded by
Henry Manners
Baron Manners
(descended by acceleration)

1888–1896
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Roos of Belvoir
1896–1906
Succeeded by
Henry Manners
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.