John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland

John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (born June 10, 1604 in Aylestone , Leicestershire , † September 29, 1679 in Nether Haddon , Derbyshire ), was an English peer and politician .

He was the son of Sir George Manners and Grace Pierrepont. On his father's side, he was a great-grandson of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland (around 1488–1543). His mother was the sister of Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull .

From 1619 to 1621 he studied at Queens' College of the University of Cambridge and was then at the Inner Temple as a barrister admitted.

When his father died on April 23, 1623, he inherited his lands, including the Haddon Hall family estate in Derbyshire . From February to June 1626 he took part in meetings of the House of Commons as Knight of the Shire for Derbyshire . From 1632 to 1636 he was High Sheriff of Derbyshire. In April and May 1640 he again took part in the Short Parliament as Member of Parliament for Derbyshire . On the death of his second cousin George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland , he inherited his lands, including the family seat of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, on March 29, 1641 , as well as his title of 8th Earl of Rutland and thereby became a member of the House of Lords . In March 1642 he became Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. In the conflict between King Charles I and parliament, he was one of the moderate parliamentarians. When Parliament met at Oxford in opposition to the King in January 1643 , he was one of the 22 peers who remained at Westminster .

During the English Civil War , Belvoir Castle was conquered by royalists in 1643 and taken by parliamentarians in 1645 after a siege. Because of the military potential of the property, Belvoir Castle was finally razed by the parliamentary troops in 1649 and thereby essentially destroyed. After some protests, the Earl of Rutland received compensation from parliament and subsequently lived mainly on his Haddon Hall estate. After the Stuart restoration, he had Belvoir Castle rebuilt until 1668. From 1667 to 1677 he was Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. In 1679 he died on his estate at Haddon Hall and was buried in Bottesford , Leicestershire.

Marriage and offspring

In 1628 he married at Barnwell Castle the Hon. Frances Montagu, daughter of the royalist Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton . With her he had seven children:

• Lady Margaret Manners († 1682) ⚭ James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury ;
• Lady Dorothy Manners († 1698) ⚭ Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury ;
• Lady Elizabeth Manners († 1700) ⚭ James Annesley, 2nd Earl of Anglesey ;
• Lady Frances Manners (1630–1660) ⚭ John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter ;
• Lady Grace Manners (1632-1700), ⚭ (1) Patrick Chaworth, 3rd Viscount Chaworth , ⚭ (2) Sir William Langhorne, 1st Baronet;
• John Manners, 1st Duke of Rutland (1638-1711);
• Lady Anne Manners (* around 1655) ⚭ Scrope Howe, 1st Viscount Howe .

His only son John was raised to Baron Manners of Haddon on March 6, 1679 , inherited his father's title as 9th Earl of Rutland and was finally raised to Duke of Rutland in 1703 .

Literature and web links

• William Arthur Jobson Archbold: Manners, John (1604–1679) . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 36, Smith, Elder & Co., London 1893, p. 51.
• John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland on thepeerage.com

predecessor	Office	successor
George Manners	Earl of Rutland 1641-1679	John Manners