Edward Montagu (judge)

Sir Edward Montagu (c. 1488 – 10 February 1557) of Boughton, Hanging Houghton and Hemington in Northamptonshire was an English lawyer and judge in the time of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to 1545 and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1545 to 1553.[1]

Sir Edward Montagu
Portrait of Sir Edward Montagu of Boughton (d. 1557)
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
In office
6 November 1545 – 26 July 1553
Appointed byHenry VIII
Preceded bySir John Baldwin
Succeeded bySir Richard Morgan
Chief Justice of the King's Bench
In office
22 January 1539 – 6 November 1545
Appointed byHenry VIII
Preceded bySir John FitzJames
Succeeded bySir Henry Montagu
Personal details
Bornc. 1488
Brigstock, Northamptonshire
Died10 February 1557 (aged 68–69)
Boughton
Resting placeSt Mary, Weekley
NationalityEnglish
Spouses
  • Cicely Lane
  • Agnes Kirkham
  • Eleanor Roper
Childrenwith Cicely:
  • Ralph
  • Thomas
  • Robert
  • Dorothy
  • Anne
  • Amey
with Eleanor:
  • Edward
  • Roger
  • Simon
  • Thomas
  • William
  • Elizabeth
  • Eleanor
  • Isabel
  • Mary
  • Margaret
  • Agnes
Parent(s)Thomas Montagu
Agnes Dudley
ResidenceBoughton House
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
ProfessionLawyer, Judge

Life

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He was born in or before 1488 at the royal manor house at Brigstock, Northamptonshire, the 2nd son of Thomas Montagu (d. 1517) of Hemington, and Agnes Dudley, daughter of William Dudley of Clopton, and Christiana Darrell.[1][2][3] His grandfather, Richard Ladde, assumed the name of Montagu in about 1447.[4][5]

Montagu was a student at Cambridge and was admitted to Middle Temple on 22 May 1506.[6][7] He served as Autumn Reader for the Inn in 1524 and 1531.[1] He was made Serjeant-at-law in 1531, King's Serjeant in 1537 and was knighted on 18 October 1537.[1][6] He was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1539, which office he resigned in 1545 and was transferred to the "less onerous, but more profitable" post of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.[1][6] He was a member of the Privy Council of Henry VIII, who appointed him one of sixteen executors of his last will, and governor to his son Edward.[1] During the crisis of 1553 when Edward VI wished to alter the succession in favour of Lady Jane Grey, Montagu protested at the illegality of the proceedings.[1] However, when the Duke of Northumberland called him a traitor and threatened him with physical violence, he withdrew his protest.[8] He was imprisoned in the Tower of London on Mary's accession but bought his way out.[1]

In 1528 he purchased the manor of Boughton, near Kettering, Northamptonshire and built the family seat of Boughton House on the site.[9]

Marriages and children

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Montagu married three times:[1]

  • First, Cicely Lane, of Orlingbury by whom he had three sons who all died young, and three daughters:[1][10]
  • Ralph Montagu,
  • Thomas Montagu
  • Robert Montagu
  • Dorothy Montagu, the eldest daughter, married, in 1535, Edward Watson (d. 1584) of Rockingham Castle, the son of Edward Watson (d. 1530) of Lyddington, Rutland and Emma Smith.[11] After the death of his father in 1530 Watson became a ward of Thomas Cromwell, was educated and later employed by the minister.[12] Edward and Dorothy had a son and six daughters, including:[13]
  • Catherine Watson married Arthur Brooke of Great Oakley.
  • Mary Watson
  • Elizabeth Watson married Thomas Furtho of Furtho, Northamptonshire.
  • Ellen Watson married George Flower.
  • Anne Watson
  • Emma Watson
  • Second, Agnes Kirkham, daughter George Kirkham (d. 1527) of Warmington, by whom he had no children.
  • Third, Eleanor Roper (d. 1563), daughter of John Roper (d. 1524), of Well Hall, chief clerk of the king's bench and attorney-general to Henry VIII, widow of John Moreton, by whom he had eleven children (five sons and six daughters):[1][10]
  • Edward Montagu (1532–1602), his eldest surviving son, was father of eight sons and four daughters, including:
  • Roger Montagu
  • Simon Montagu
  • Thomas Montagu
  • William Montagu
  • Elizabeth Montagu, married 1. Richard Cave, son and heir of Sir Thomas Cave of Stanford, Northamptonshire; 2. William Markham of Oakley, Northamptonshire.
  • Eleanor Montagu, married George Tirrell of Thornton, Buckinghamshire.
  • Isabel Montagu, married Bryan Lasscells of Gateford, Nottinghamshire.
  • Mary Montagu, married William Wattes of Blakesley, Northamptonshire.
  • Margaret Montagu, married Robert Woode of Colwick, Nottinghamshire
  • Agnes, died unmarried.
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Death

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He died at Boughton on 10 February 1557 and was buried on 5 March with much pomp (including a "hearse of wax") in the church of St Mary, Weekley, where there is an altar tomb with his full-length effigy in robes and collar of SS and the motto "Pour unge pleasoir mille dolours" ("For every pleasure, a thousand sorrows").[1] His widow married as her third husband, Sir John Digby. She died in May 1563.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Baker 2004.
  2. ^ Pratt & Repko 2019, p. 14, n. 31: He was aged 29 or more when his father died in 1517.
  3. ^ Metcalfe 1887, p. 17.
  4. ^ Pratt & Repko 2019, pp. 7–9.
  5. ^ Stokes 1936, pp. 25-26 (Appendix D).
  6. ^ a b c Foss 1870, p. 449.
  7. ^ Venn & Venn 1924, p. 201.
  8. ^ Ives 2009, pp. 105, 148.
  9. ^ Wise 1888, p. 17.
  10. ^ a b Metcalfe 1887, pp. 37, 114-115.
  11. ^ Wise 1891, pp. 20-26.
  12. ^ Wise 1891, pp. 25-26.
  13. ^ Wise 1891, p. 33.
  14. ^ a b Owen 1981.
  15. ^ Wise 1891, pp. 44–46.

Sources

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Legal offices
Preceded by Lord Chief Justice
1539–1545
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
1545–1553
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
?
Custos Rotulorum of Rutland
bef. 1544–1557
Succeeded by