PEERAGES
Last updated 03/07/2018 (12 Mar 2024)
Date Rank Order Name Born Died Age
MANCE
3 Oct 2005 B[L] Sir Jonathan Hugh Mance
Created Baron Mance for life 3 Oct 2005
Lord Justice of Appeal 1999‑2005; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 2005‑2009; Justice of the Supreme Court 2009‑2018; PC 1999
6 Jun 1943
MANCHESTER
5 Feb 1626 E 1 Henry Montagu
Created Baron Montagu of Kimbolton and Viscount Mandeville 19 Dec 1620 and Earl of Manchester 5 Feb 1626
MP for Higham Ferrers 1591‑1593, 1597‑1598 and 1601‑1603 and London 1604‑1611; Chief Justice of the Kings Bench 1616‑1621; Lord High Treasurer 1620‑1621; Lord President of the Council 1621‑1628; Lord Privy Seal 1628‑1642; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1636‑1642
c 1563 7 Nov 1642
7 Nov 1642 2 Edward Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1624‑1626; Lord Lieutenant Northampton 1643 and Huntingdon 1660‑1671; KG 1661
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton 22 May 1626
1602 5 May 1671 68
5 May 1671 3 Robert Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1660‑1671; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1671‑1681
25 Apr 1634 16 Mar 1683 48
16 Mar 1683
28 Apr 1719
 
D
4
1
Charles Montagu
Created Duke of Manchester 28 Apr 1719
Secretary of State 1702; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1689‑1722; PC 1698
c 1662 20 Jan 1722
20 Jan 1722 2 William Montagu
Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1722‑1739
Apr 1700 21 Oct 1739 39
21 Oct 1739 3 Robert Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1734‑1739; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1739‑1762
c 1710 10 May 1762
10 May 1762 4 George Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1761‑1762; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1762‑1788; PC 1782
6 Apr 1737 2 Sep 1788 51
2 Sep 1788 5 William Montagu
Governor of Jamaica 1808‑1827; Postmaster General 1827‑1830; Lord Lieutenant Huntingdon 1793‑1841
21 Oct 1771 18 Mar 1843 71
18 Mar 1843 6 George Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1826‑1837
9 Jul 1799 18 Aug 1855 56
18 Aug 1855 7 William Drogo Montagu
MP for Bewdley 1848‑1852 and Huntingdonshire 1852‑1855; KP 1877
15 Oct 1823 22 Mar 1890 66
22 Mar 1890 8 George Victor Drogo Montagu
MP for Huntingdonshire 1877‑1880
17 Jun 1853 18 Aug 1892 39
18 Aug 1892 9 William Angus Drogo Montagu
PC 1906
3 Mar 1877 9 Feb 1947 69
9 Feb 1947 10 Alexander George Francis Drogo Montagu 2 Oct 1902 23 Nov 1977 75
23 Nov 1977 11 Sidney Arthur Robin George Drogo Montagu 5 Feb 1929 3 Jun 1985 56
3 Jun 1985 12 Angus Charles Drogo Montagu 9 Oct 1938 25 Jul 2002 63
25 Jul 2002 13 Alexander Charles David Drogo Montagu 11 Dec 1962
MANCROFT
23 Feb 1937 B 1 Sir Arthur Michael Samuel, 1st baronet
Created Baron Mancroft 23 Feb 1937
MP for Farnham 1918‑1937; Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1927‑1929
6 Dec 1872 17 Aug 1942 69
17 Aug 1942 2 Stormont Mancroft Samuel
Minister without Portfolio 1957‑1958
[he changed surname to Mancroft by deed poll 1925]
27 Jul 1914 14 Sep 1987 73
14 Sep 1987 3 Benjamin Lloyd Stormont Mancroft
[Elected hereditary peer 1999-]
16 May 1957
MANDELSON
13 Oct 2008 B[L] Peter Benjamin Mandelson
Created Baron Mandelson for life 13 Oct 2008
MP for Hartlepool 1992‑2004; Minister without Portfolio 1997‑1998; Secretary of State for Trade & Industry 1998; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1999‑2001; Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform 2008‑2009; Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills 2009‑2010; First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council 2009‑2010; PC 1998
21 Oct 1953
MANDEVILLE
19 Dec 1620 V 1 Henry Montagu
Created Baron Montagu of Kimbolton and Viscount Mandeville 19 Dec 1620 and Earl of Manchester 5 Feb 1626
See "Manchester"
c 1563 7 Nov 1642
MANN
28 Oct 2019 B[L] John Mann
Created Baron Mann for life 28 Oct 2019
MP for Bassetlaw 2001‑2019
10 Jan 1960
MANNERS
26 Oct 1309
to    
9 Jul 1320
B 1 Baldwin de Manners
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Manners 26 Oct 1309
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Jul 1320

20 Apr 1807 B 1 Thomas Manners-Sutton
Created Baron Manners 20 Apr 1807
MP for Newark 1796‑1805; Solicitor General 1802‑1805; Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1807‑1827; PC 1807; PC [I] 1807
24 Feb 1756 31 May 1842 86
31 May 1842 2 John Thomas Manners‑Sutton 17 Aug 1818 14 Nov 1864 46
14 Nov 1864 3 John Thomas Manners‑Sutton 15 May 1852 19 Aug 1927 75
19 Aug 1927 4 Francis Henry Manners 21 Jul 1897 25 Nov 1972 75
25 Nov 1972 5 John Robert Cecil Manners 13 Feb 1923 28 May 2008 85
28 May 2008 6 John Hugh Robert Manners 5 May 1956
MANNERS DE HADDON
30 Apr 1679 B 1 John Manners
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Manners de Haddon 30 Apr 1679 and Marquess of Granby and Duke of Rutland 29 Mar 1703
See "Rutland"
29 May 1638 10 Jan 1711 72

6 Jun 1896 Henry John Brinsley Manners
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Manners of Haddon 6 Jun 1896
He succeeded as Duke of Rutland in 1906
16 Apr 1852 8 May 1925 73
MANNINGHAM-BULLER
2 Jun 2008 B[L] Dame Elizabeth Lydia Manningham‑Buller
Created Baroness Manningham-Buller for life 2 Jun 2008
Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter 2014
14 Jul 1948
MANNY
12 Nov 1347 B 1 Walter Manny
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Manny 12 Nov 1347
KG 1359
13 Jan 1372
13 Jan 1372 2 Anne Hastings 1356 2 Apr 1384 27
2 Apr 1384
to    
30 Dec 1389
3 John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke
Peerage extinct on his death
1372 30 Dec 1389 17
MANSELL
1 Jan 1712 B 1 Sir Thomas Mansell, 5th baronet
Created Baron Mansell 1 Jan 1712
MP for Cardiff 1689‑1698 and Glamorganshire 1701‑1712; PC 1704
9 Nov 1667 10 Dec 1723 56
10 Dec 1723 2 Thomas Mansell 26 Dec 1719 29 Jan 1744 24
29 Jan 1744 3 Christopher Mansell 26 Nov 1744
26 Nov 1744
to    
29 Nov 1750
4 Bussy Mansell
MP for Cardiff 1727‑1734 and Glamorganshire 1737‑1744
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1701 29 Nov 1750
MANSFIELD
3 Nov 1620 V 1 William Cavendish
Created Viscount Mansfield 3 Nov 1620, Baron Cavendish of Bolsover and Earl of Newcastle upon Tyne 7 Mar 1628, Marquess of Newcastle on Tyne 27 Oct 1643 and Duke of Newcastle 16 Mar 1665
See "Newcastle upon Tyne"
16 Dec 1593 25 Dec 1676 83

8 Nov 1756
31 Oct 1776
1 Aug 1792
B
E
E
1
1
1
William Murray
Created Baron Mansfield 8 Nov 1756, Earl of Mansfield 31 Oct 1776 and Earl of Mansfield 1 Aug 1792
The Earldom of 1776 included a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to Louisa Murray, Viscountess Stormont, wife of his nephew and heir David Murray, Viscount Stormont and the heirs male of her body by her said husband. For details of the special remainder included in the creation of the Earldom of 1792, see the note at the foot of this page
MP for Boroughbridge 1742‑1756; Solicitor General 1742‑1754; Attorney General 1754‑1756; Lord Chief Justice 1756‑1788; PC 1756
On his death the Barony became extinct, whilst the Earldom of 1776 passed to his nephew's wife (as under) and the Earldom of 1792 passed to his nephew (see below)
2 Mar 1705 20 Mar 1793 88
20 Mar 1793 2 Louisa Murray (creation of 1776) 1 Jul 1758 11 Jul 1843 85
20 Mar 1793 2 David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont (creation of 1792)
Lord Justice General of Scotland 1778‑1794; Secretary of State 1779‑1782; Lord President of the Council 1782 and 1794‑1796; PC 1763; KT 1768
9 Oct 1727 1 Sep 1796 68
1 Sep 1796 3 David William Murray (creation of 1792)
Lord Lieutenant Clackmannan 1803‑1840; KT 1835
7 Mar 1777 18 Feb 1840 62
18 Feb 1840 4
3
William David Murray
MP for Aldborough 1830‑1831, Woodstock 1831‑1832, Norwich 1832‑1837 and Perthshire 1837‑1840; Lord Lieutenant Clackmannan 1852‑1898; KT 1843
He succeeded to the Earldom of 1776 in 1843
21 Feb 1806 2 Aug 1898 92
2 Aug 1898 5
4
William David Murray
PC 1905
20 Jul 1860 29 Apr 1906 45
29 Apr 1906 6
5
Alan David Murray 25 Oct 1864 14 Mar 1935 70
14 Mar 1935 7
6
Mungo David Malcolm Murray
MP for Perth 1931‑1935; Lord Lieutenant Perth 1960‑1971
9 Aug 1900 2 Sep 1971 71
2 Sep 1971 8
7
William David Mungo James Murray
MEP 1973‑1975; Minister of State, Scottish Office 1979‑1983; Minister of State, Northern Ireland 1983‑1984
7 Jul 1930 21 Oct 2015 85
21 Oct 2015 9
8
Alexander David Mungo Murray 17 Oct 1956
MANTON
25 Jan 1922 B 1 Joseph Watson
Created Baron Manton 25 Jan 1922
10 Feb 1873 13 Mar 1922 49
13 Mar 1922 2 George Miles Watson 21 Jun 1899 10 Jun 1968 68
10 Jun 1968 3 Joseph Rupert Eric Robert Watson 22 Jan 1924 8 Aug 2003 79
8 Aug 2003 4 Miles Ronald Marcus Watson 7 May 1958
MANVERS
9 Apr 1806 E 1 Charles Pierrepont
Created Baron Pierrepont and Viscount Newark 23 Jul 1796 and Earl Manvers 9 Apr 1806
MP for Nottinghamshire 1778‑1796
14 Nov 1737 17 Jun 1816 78
17 Jun 1816 2 Charles Herbert Pierrepont
MP for Nottinghamshire 1801‑1816
11 Aug 1778 27 Oct 1860 82
27 Oct 1860 3 Sydney William Herbert Pierrepont
MP for Nottinghamshire South 1852‑1860
12 Mar 1825 16 Jan 1900 74
16 Jan 1900 4 Charles William Sydney Pierrepont
MP for Newark 1885‑1895 and 1898‑1900
2 Aug 1854 17 Jul 1926 71
17 Jul 1926 5 Evelyn Robert Pierrepont 25 Jul 1888 6 Apr 1940 51
6 Apr 1940
to    
13 Feb 1955
6 Gervas Evelyn Pierrepont
Peerage extinct on his death
15 Apr 1881 13 Feb 1955 73
MANZOOR
6 Sep 2013 B[L] Zahida Parveen Manzoor
Created Baroness Manzoor for life 6 Sep 2013
25 May 1958
MAPLES
24 Jun 2010
to    
9 Jun 2012
B[L] John Cradock Maples
Created Baron Maples for life 24 Jun 2010
MP for Lewisham West 1983‑1992 and Stratford upon Avon 1997‑2010
Peerage extinct on his death
22 Apr 1943 9 Jun 2012 69
MAR
c 1115 E[S] 1 Rothri
Witness to the Charter of Scone as Earl of Mar c 1115
c 1141
c 1141 2 Morgund c 1182
c 1182 3 Gilchrist c 1228
c 1228 4 Duncan c 1243
c 1243 5 William c 1281
c 1281 6 Donald c 1297
c 1297 7 Gratney c 1305
c 1305 8 Donald 12 Aug 1332
12 Aug 1332 9 Thomas c 1374
c 1374 10 Margaret Douglas c 1390
c 1390 11 Isabel
She married Alexander Stewart (see below)

28 May 1426 E[S] 1 Alexander Stewart
Created Earl of Mar 28 May 1426
Illegitimate son of Robert II of Scotland
On his death the peerage reverted to the Crown
1 Aug 1435

1 Aug 1435 12 Robert Erskine
On his death the peerage was wrongly assumed to have become extinct and a number of new creations were made, as under -
c 1453

c 1459
to    
1479
E[S] 1 John Stewart
Created Earl of Mar and Garioch c 1459
3rd son of James II of Scotland
Peerage extinct on his death
1479

c Jan 1483
to    
1483
E[S] 1 Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany
Created Earl of Mar and Garioch c Jan 1483
The peerage was forfeited a few months later
c 1485

2 Mar 1486
to    
11 Mar 1503
E[S] 1 John Stewart
Created Earl of Mar and Garioch 2 Mar 1486
3rd son of James III of Scotland
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1480 11 Mar 1503

c 1453 13 Thomas Erskine c 1493
c 1493 14 Alexander Erskine c 1509
c 1509 15 Robert Erskine 9 Sep 1513
9 Sep 1513 16 John Erskine 1552
1552
24 Jun 1565
 
E[S]
17
1
John Erskine
Created Earl of Mar 24 Jun 1565
For further information on this peerage, see the note at the foot of this page
29 Oct 1572
29 Oct 1572 18
2
John Erskine
High Treasurer of Scotland 1615‑1630; KG 1603
Created Lord Cardross 19 Jul 1606
1562 14 Dec 1634 72
14 Dec 1634 19
3
John Erskine c 1585 1654
1654 20
4
John Erskine Sep 1668
Sep 1668 21
5
Charles Erskine 19 Oct 1650 22 Apr 1689 38
22 Apr 1689
to    
17 Feb 1716
22
6
John Erskine
Secretary of State for Scotland 1706‑1707; KT 1706; PC 1708
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
Feb 1675 May 1732 57
17 Jun 1824 23
7
John Francis Erskine
Restored to the peerages
1741 20 Aug 1825 84
20 Aug 1825 24
8
John Thomas Erskine 18 Jun 1772 20 Sep 1828 56
20 Sep 1828 25
9
John Francis Miller Erskine
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
He succeeded as 11th Earl of Kellie in 1829. On his death the creation of 1565 passed to his cousin (see below) whilst the original earldom passed to -
28 Dec 1795 19 Jun 1866 70
19 Jun 1866 26 John Francis Erskine Goodeve‑Erskine 29 Mar 1836 17 Jun 1930 94
17 Jun 1930 27 John Francis Hamilton Sinclair Cunliffe Brooks Forbes Goodeve‑Erskine 27 Feb 1868 29 Sep 1932 64
29 Sep 1932 28 Lionel Walter Young Erskine 13 Jun 1891 27 Nov 1965 74
27 Nov 1965 29 James Clifton 22 Nov 1914 21 Apr 1975 60
21 Apr 1975 30 Margaret of Mar
[Elected hereditary peer 1999‑2020]
19 Sep 1940
MAR
24 Jun 1565 E[S] 1 John Erskine
Created Earl of Mar 24 Jun 1565
29 Oct 1572
29 Oct 1572 2 John Erskine
High Treasurer of Scotland 1615‑1630; KG 1603
1562 14 Dec 1634 72
14 Dec 1634 3 John Erskine c 1585 1654
1654 4 John Erskine Sep 1668
Sep 1668 5 Charles Erskine 19 Oct 1650 22 Apr 1689 38
22 Apr 1689
to    
17 Feb 1716
6 John Erskine
Secretary of State for Scotland 1706-1707; KT 1706; PC 1708
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
Feb 1675 May 1732 57
17 Jun 1824 7 John Francis Erskine
Restored to the peerages
1741 20 Aug 1825 84
20 Aug 1825 8 John Thomas Erskine 18 Jun 1772 20 Sep 1828 56
20 Sep 1828 9 John Francis Miller Erskine
He succeeded as 11th Earl of Kellie in 1829
28 Dec 1795 19 Jun 1866 70
19 Jun 1866 10 Walter Coningsby Erskine (also 12th Earl of Kellie) 12 Jul 1810 17 Jan 1872 61
17 Jan 1872 11 Walter Henry Erskine (also 13th Earl of Kellie) 17 Dec 1839 16 Sep 1888 48
16 Sep 1888 12 Walter John Francis Erskine (also 14th Earl of Kellie)
Lord Lieutenant Clackmannan 1898‑1955; KT 1911
29 Aug 1865 3 Jun 1955 89
3 Jun 1955 13 John Francis Hervey Erskine (also 15th Earl of Kellie)
Lord Lieutenant Clackmannan 1966‑1993
15 Feb 1921 22 Dec 1993 72
22 Dec 1993 14 James Thorne Erskine (also 16th Earl of Kellie)
Created Baron Erskine of Alloa Tower for life 19 Apr 2000
10 Mar 1949
MARCH (England)
9 Nov 1328
to    
29 Nov 1330
E 1 Robert Mortimer, 2nd Lord Mortimer
Created Earl of March 9 Nov 1328
Chief Governor of Ireland 1316‑1319
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
29 Apr 1286 29 Nov 1330 44
1354 2 Roger Mortimer
Obtained a reversal of the attainder
KG 1348
11 Nov 1328 26 Feb 1360 31
26 Nov 1360 3 Edmund Mortimer
Chief Governor of Ireland 1379‑1381
1 Feb 1351 27 Dec 1381 30
27 Dec 1381 4 Roger Mortimer
Chief Governor of Ireland 1395‑1398
11 Apr 1374 20 Jul 1398 24
20 Jul 1398 5 Edmond Mortimer
Chief Governor of Ireland 1423‑1425
6 Nov 1391 19 Jan 1425 33
19 Jan 1425 6 Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York 21 Sep 1411 30 Dec 1460 49
30 Dec 1460
to    
1461
7 Edward Plantagenet, 4th Duke of York
He succeeded to the throne as Edward IV in 1461 when the peerage merged with the Crown
28 Apr 1442 9 Apr 1483 40

18 Jul 1479
to    
9 Apr 1483
E 1 Edward Plantagenet, Duke of Cornwall
Created Earl of March and Earl of Pembroke 18 Jul 1479
He succeeded to the throne as Edward V in 1483 when all his honours merged with the Crown
2 Nov 1470 c 1483

7 Jun 1619 E 1 Esme Stuart
Created Baron Stuart of Leighton Bromswold and Earl of March 7 Jun 1619
See "Lennox" - these titles extinct 1672
1579 30 Jul 1624 45

9 Aug 1675 E 1 Charles Lennox
Created Baron Setrington, Earl of March and Duke of Richmond 9 Aug 1675 and Lord of Torboltoun, Earl of Darnley and Duke of Lennox 9 Sep 1675
See "Richmond"
29 Jul 1672 27 May 1723 50
MARCH (Scotland)
1455 E[S] 1 Alexander Stewart
Created Earl of March 1455 and Duke of Albany c 1456
See "Albany"
c 1485

5 Mar 1580
to    
29 Mar 1586
E[S] 1 Robert Stuart
Created Lord of Dunbar and Earl of March 5 Mar 1580
Peerages extinct on his death
29 Mar 1586

1 May 1672
to    
24 Aug 1682
M[S] 1 John Maitland
Created Marquess of March and Duke of Lauderdale 1 May 1672 and Baron Petersham and Earl of Guilford 25 Jun 1674
Peerages extinct on his death
24 May 1616 24 Aug 1682 66

20 Apr 1697 E[S] 1 Lord William Douglas
Created Lord Douglas of Neidpath, Viscount of Peebles and Earl of March 20 Apr 1697
c 1665 2 Sep 1705
2 Sep 1705 2 William Douglas c 1696 7 Mar 1731
7 Mar 1731 3 William Douglas, later [1748] 3rd Earl of Ruglen and [1778] 4th Duke of Queensberry 16 Dec 1724 23 Dec 1810 86
23 Dec 1810 4 Francis Charteris-Wemyss
He had previously succeeded to the Earldom of Wemyss in 1808 with which title this peerage then merged and so remains
15 Apr 1772 28 Jun 1853 81
MARCHAMLEY
3 Jul 1908 B 1 George Whiteley
Created Baron Marchamley 3 Jul 1908
MP for Stockport 1893‑1900 and Pudsey 1900‑1908; PC 1907
30 Aug 1855 21 Oct 1925 70
21 Oct 1925 2 William Tattersall Whiteley 22 Nov 1886 17 Nov 1949 62
17 Nov 1949 3 John William Tattersall Whiteley 24 Apr 1922 26 May 1994 72
26 May 1994 4 William Francis Whiteley 27 Jul 1968
MARCHMONT
23 May 1697 E[S] 1 Sir Patrick Hume, 2nd baronet
Created Lord Polwarth 26 Dec 1690 and Lord Polwarth, Viscount of Blasonberrie and Earl of Marchmont 23 May 1697
High Chancellor of Scotland 1696‑1702
13 Jan 1641 2 Aug 1724 83
2 Aug 1724 2 Alexander Hume-Campbell
KT 1725; PC 1726
1 Jan 1675 27 Feb 1740 65
27 Feb 1740
to    
10 Jan 1794
3 Hugh Hume-Campbell
MP for Berwick upon Tweed 1734‑1740; PC 1762
On his death the peerage became dormant
15 Feb 1708 10 Jan 1794 85
MARCHWOOD
8 Jun 1937
13 Sep 1945
B
V
1
1
Sir Frederick George Penny, 1st baronet
Created Baron Marchwood 8 Jun 1937 and Viscount Marchwood 13 Sep 1945
MP for Kingston upon Thames 1922‑1937
10 Mar 1876 1 Jan 1955 78
1 Jan 1955 2 Peter George Penny 7 Nov 1912 6 Apr 1979 66
6 Apr 1979 3 David George Staveley Penny 22 May 1936 3 Oct 2022 86
3 Oct 2022 4 Peter George Worsley Penny 8 Oct 1965
MARGADALE
1 Jan 1965 B 1 John Granville Morrison
Created Baron Margadale 1 Jan 1965
MP for Salisbury 1942‑1964; Lord Lieutenant Wiltshire 1969‑1981
16 Dec 1906 25 May 1996 89
25 May 1996 2 James Ian Morrison 17 Jul 1930 6 Apr 2003 72
6 Apr 2003 3 Alastair John Morrison 4 Apr 1958
MARGESSON
27 Apr 1942 V 1 Henry David Reginald Margesson
Created Viscount Margesson 27 Apr 1942
MP for Upton 1922‑1923 and Rugby 1924‑1942; Secretary of State for War 1940‑1942; PC 1933
26 Jul 1890 24 Dec 1965 75
24 Dec 1965 2 Francis Vere Hampden Margesson 17 Apr 1922 11 Nov 2014 92
11 Nov 2014 3 Richard Francis David Margesson 25 Dec 1960
MARISCHAL
c 1458 E[S] 1 William Keith
Created Earl Marischal c 1458
after 1458
after 1458 2 William Keith 1483
1483 3 William Keith c 1527
c 1527 4 William Keith 7 Oct 1581
7 Oct 1581 5 George Keith
He subsequently [c 1593] succeeded as 2nd Lord Altrie
1554 2 Apr 1623 68
2 Apr 1623 6 William Keith c 1585 28 Oct 1635
28 Oct 1635 7 William Keith
Lord Privy Seal of Scotland 1660‑1661
1614 1671 57
1671 8 George Keith Mar 1694
Mar 1694 9 William Keith c 1664 27 May 1712
27 May 1712
to    
1716
10 George Keith
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
1693 28 May 1778 84
MARJORIBANKS
12 Jun 1873
to    
19 Jun 1873
B 1 David Robertson
Created Baron Marjoribanks 12 Jun 1873
MP for Berwickshire 1859‑1873; Lord Lieutenant Berwickshire 1860‑1873
Peerage extinct on his death
2 Apr 1797 19 Jun 1873 76
MARKHAM
7 Oct 2022 B[L] Nicholas Francis Markham
Created Baron Markham 7 Oct 2022
13 Feb 1968
MARKS
16 Jul 1929
to    
24 Sep 1938
B 1 Sir George Croydon Marks
Created Baron Marks 16 Jul 1929
MP for Launceston 1906‑1918 and Cornwall North 1918‑1924
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Jun 1858 24 Sep 1938 80
MARKS OF BROUGHTON
10 Jul 1961 B 1 Sir Simon Marks
Created Baron Marks of Broughton 10 Jul 1961
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
9 Jul 1888 8 Dec 1964 76
8 Dec 1964 2 Michael Marks 27 Aug 1920 9 Sep 1998 78
9 Sep 1998 3 Simon Richard Marks 3 May 1950
MARKS OF HALE
8 Mar 2024 B[L] Stuart Adam Marks
Created Baron Marks of Hale for life 8 Mar 2024
11 Sep 1966
MARKS OF HENLEY-ON-THAMES
11 Jan 2011 B[L] Jonathan Marks
Created Baron Marks of Henley-on-Thames for life 11 Jan 2011
19 Oct 1952
MARLAND
8 Jun 2006 B[L] Jonathan Peter Marland
Created Baron Marland for life 8 Jun 2006
14 Aug 1956
MARLBOROUGH
5 Feb 1626 E 1 Sir James Ley, 1st baronet
Created Baron Ley 31 Dec 1625 and Earl of Marlborough 5 Feb 1626
Lord High Treasurer 1624‑1628; Lord President of the Council 1628
1552 14 Mar 1629 76
14 Mar 1629 2 Henry Ley 3 Dec 1595 1 Apr 1638 42
1 Apr 1638 3 James Ley 28 Jan 1618 3 Jun 1665 47
3 Jun 1665
to    
1679
4 William Ley
Peerage extinct on his death
12 Mar 1612 1679 67

9 Apr 1689
14 Dec 1702
E
D
1
1
John Churchill
Created Baron Churchill 21 Dec 1682 and 14 May 1685, Earl of Marlborough 9 Apr 1689, Marquess of Blandford and Duke of Marlborough 14 Dec 1702
MP for Newtown 1679; Lord Lieutenant Oxfordshire 1706‑1712; PC 1689; KG 1702
24 Jun 1650 16 Jun 1722 71
16 Jun 1722 2 Henrietta Godolphin 20 Jul 1681 24 Oct 1733 52
24 Oct 1733 3 Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland
Lord Privy Seal 1755; Lord Lieutenant Oxford and Buckingham 1739‑1758; KG 1741; PC 1749
22 Nov 1706 20 Oct 1758 51
20 Oct 1758 4 George Spencer
Lord Privy Seal 1763‑1765; Lord Lieutenant Oxford 1760‑1817; PC 1762; KG 1768
26 Jan 1739 29 Jan 1817 78
29 Jan 1817 5 George Spencer-Churchill
MP for Oxfordshire 1790‑1796 and Tregony 1802‑1804
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Spencer of Wormleighton 12 Mar 1806
6 Mar 1766 5 Mar 1840 73
5 Mar 1840 6 George Spencer-Churchill
MP for Chippenham 1818‑1820 and Woodstock 1826‑1831, 1832‑1835 and 1838‑1840; Lord Lieutenant Oxford 1842‑1857
27 Dec 1793 1 Jul 1857 63
1 Jul 1857 7 John Winston Spencer-Churchill
MP for Woodstock 1844‑1845 and 1847‑1857; Lord Lieutenant Oxford 1857‑1883; Lord President of the Council 1867‑1868; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1876‑1880; PC 1866; KG 1868
2 Jun 1822 5 Jul 1883 61
5 Jul 1883 8 George Charles Spencer‑Churchill 15 May 1844 9 Nov 1892 48
9 Nov 1892 9 Charles Richard John Spencer‑Churchill
Paymaster General 1899‑1902; Lord Lieutenant Oxfordshire 1915‑1934; PC 1899; KG 1902
13 Nov 1871 30 Jun 1934 62
30 Jun 1934 10 John Albert Edward William Spencer‑Churchill 18 Sep 1897 11 Mar 1972 74
11 Mar 1972 11 John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer‑Churchill 13 Apr 1926 16 Oct 2014 88
16 Oct 2014 12 Charles James Spencer‑Churchill 24 Nov 1955
MARLESFORD
7 Jun 1991 B[L] Mark Shuldham Schreiber
Created Baron Marlesford for life 7 Jun 1991
11 Sep 1931
MARLEY
16 Jan 1930 B 1 Dudley Leigh Amon
Created Baron Marley 16 Jan 1930
16 May 1884 29 Feb 1952 67
29 Feb 1952
to    
13 Mar 1990
2 Godfrey Pelham Leigh Amon
Peerage extinct on his death
6 Sep 1913 13 Mar 1990 76
MARMION
26 Jul 1313 B 1 John Marmion
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Marmion 26 Jul 1313
1322
1322 2 John Marmion c 1292 30 Apr 1335
30 Apr 1335
to    
c 1360
3 Robert Marmion
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
c 1360
MARNY
9 Apr 1523 B 1 Henry Marny
Created Baron Marny 9 Apr 1523
KG 1510
c 1457 24 May 1523
24 May 1523
to    
27 Apr 1525
2 John Marny
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1493 27 Apr 1525
MARPLES
8 May 1974
to    
6 Jul 1978
B[L] Alfred Ernest Marples
Created Baron Marples for life 8 May 1974
MP for Wallasey 1945‑1974; Postmaster General 1957‑1959; Minister of Transport 1959‑1964; PC 1957
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Dec 1907 6 Jul 1978 70
MARSH
15 Jul 1981
to    
29 Jul 2011
B[L] Sir Richard William Marsh
Created Baron Marsh for life 15 Jul 1981
MP for Greenwich 1959‑1971; Minister of Power 1966‑1968; Minister of Transport 1968‑1969; PC 1966
Peerage extinct on his death
14 Mar 1928 29 Jul 2011 83
MARSHAL
8 Dec 1309 B 1 William Marshal
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Marshal 8 Dec 1309
24 Sep 1277 24 Jun 1314 36
24 Jun 1314
to    
12 Aug 1316
2 John Marshal
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
1 Aug 1292 12 Aug 1316 24
MARSHALL OF CHIPSTEAD
14 Jan 1921
to    
29 Mar 1936
B 1 Sir Horace Brooks Marshall
Created Baron Marshall of Chipstead 14 Jan 1921
PC 1919
Peerage extinct on his death
5 Aug 1865 29 Mar 1936 70
MARSHALL OF GORING
22 Jul 1985
to    
20 Feb 1996
B[L] Sir Walter Charles Marshall
Created Baron Marshall of Goring for life 22 Jul 1985
Peerage extinct on his death
5 Mar 1932 20 Feb 1996 63
MARSHALL OF KNIGHTSBRIDGE
20 Jul 1998
to    
5 Jul 2012
B[L] Sir Colin Marsh Marshall
Created Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge for life 20 Jul 1998
Peerage extinct on his death
16 Nov 1933 5 Jul 2012 78
MARSHALL OF LEEDS
11 Jul 1980
to    
1 Nov 1990
B[L] Sir Frank Shaw Marshall
Created Baron Marshall of Leeds for life 11 Jul 1980
Peerage extinct on his death
26 Sep 1915 1 Nov 1990 75
MARSHAM
22 Jun 1801 V 1 Charles Marsham
Created Viscount Marsham and Earl of Romney 22 Jun 1801
See "Romney"
28 Sep 1744 1 Mar 1811 66
MARTIN
23 Jun 1295 B 1 William Martin
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Martin 23 Jun 1295
1257 1325 68
1325
to    
1326
2 William Martin
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
1295 1326 31
MARTIN OF SPRINGBURN
25 Aug 2009
to    
29 Apr 2018
B[L] Michael John Martin
Created Baron Martin of Springburn for life 25 Aug 2009
MP for Springburn 1979‑2005 and Glasgow North East 2005‑2009; Speaker of the House of Commons 2000‑2009; PC 2000
Peerage extinct on his death
3 Jul 1945 29 Apr 2018 72
MARTONMERE
13 May 1964 B 1 Sir John Roland Robinson
Created Baron Martonmere 13 May 1964
MP for Widnes 1931‑1935, Blackpool 1935‑1945 and Blackpool South 1945‑1964; Governor of Bermuda 1964‑1972; PC 1962
22 Feb 1907 3 May 1989 82
3 May 1989 2 John Stephen Robinson 10 Jul 1963
MARYBOROUGH
17 Jul 1821 B 1 William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington
Created Baron Maryborough 17 Jul 1821
See "Mornington"
20 May 1763 22 Feb 1845 81
MASHAM
5 May 1955 B 1 Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton
Created Baron Masham and Earl of Swinton 5 May 1955
See "Swinton"
1 May 1884 27 Jul 1972 88
MASHAM OF ILTON
12 Feb 1970
to    
12 Mar 2023
B[L] Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe‑Lister
Created Baroness Masham of Ilton for life 12 Feb 1970
Peerage extinct on her death
14 Apr 1935 12 Mar 2023 87
MASHAM OF OTES
1 Jan 1712 B 1 Samuel Masham
Created Baron Masham of Otes 1 Jan 1712
MP for Ilchester 1710‑1711 and Windsor 1711‑1712
For information on his wife Abigail, see the note at the foot of this page
c 1679 16 Oct 1758
16 Oct 1758
to    
14 Jun 1776
2 Samuel Masham
Peerage extinct on his death
Nov 1712 14 Jun 1776 63
MASHAM OF SWINTON
15 Jul 1891 B 1 Samuel Cunliffe-Lister
Created Baron Masham of Swinton 15 Jul 1891
1 Jan 1815 2 Feb 1906 91
2 Feb 1906 2 Samuel Cunliffe-Lister 2 Aug 1857 24 Jan 1917 59
24 Jan 1917
to    
4 Jan 1924
3 John Cunliffe-Lister
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Aug 1867 4 Jan 1924 56
MASON OF BARNSLEY
20 Oct 1987
to    
20 Apr 2015
B[L] Roy Mason
Created Baron Mason of Barnsley for life 20 Oct 1987
MP for Barnsley 1953‑1983 and Barnsley Central 1983‑1987; Minister of State, Board of Trade 1964‑1967; Minister of Defence (Equipment) 1967‑1968; Postmaster General 1968; Minister of Power 1968‑1969. President of the Board of Trade 1969‑1970; Secretary of State for Defence 1974‑1976; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1976‑1979; PC 1968
Peerage extinct on his death
18 Apr 1924 20 Apr 2015 91
MASSEREENE
21 Nov 1660 V[I] 1 John Clotworthy
Created Baron of Loughneagh and Viscount Massereene 21 Nov 1660
23 Sep 1665
23 Sep 1665 2 Sir John Skeffington, 4th baronet
PC [I] 1690
21 Jun 1695
21 Jun 1695 3 Clotworthy Skeffington
MP [I] for Antrim County 1692‑1693
1661 14 Mar 1714 52
14 Mar 1714 4 Clotworthy Skeffington
MP [I] for Antrim County 1703‑1715
c 1681 11 Feb 1738
11 Feb 1738  
E[I]
5
1
Clotworthy Skeffington
Created Earl of Massereene 28 Jul 1756
PC [I] 1746
17 Sep 1757
17 Sep 1757 6
2
Clotworthy Skeffington
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
28 Jan 1742 28 Feb 1805 63
28 Feb 1805 7
3
Henry Skeffington
MP [I] for Belfast 1768‑1797 and Antrim Borough 1798‑1800
1744 12 Jun 1811 66
12 Jun 1811 8
4
Chichester Skeffington
MP [I] for Antrim Borough 1776‑1798
On his death the Earldom became extinct, whilst the Viscountcy passed to -
c 1746 25 Feb 1816
25 Feb 1816 9 Harriet Skeffington 2 Jan 1831
2 Jan 1831 10 John Foster-Skeffington
He succeeded as 3rd Viscount Ferrard in 1843
KP 1851
30 Nov 1812 28 Apr 1863 50
28 Apr 1863 11 Clotworthy John Eyre Foster-Skeffington (also 4th Viscount Ferrard)
Lord Lieutenant Louth 1879‑1898
9 Oct 1842 26 Jun 1905 62
26 Jun 1905 12 Algernon William John Clotworthy Skeffington (also 5th Viscount Ferrard)
Lord Lieutenant Antrim 1916‑1938
28 Nov 1873 20 Jul 1956 82
20 Jul 1956 13 John Clotworthy Talbot Foster Whyte‑Melville Skeffington (also 6th Viscount Ferrard) 23 Oct 1914 27 Dec 1992 78
27 Dec 1992 14 John David Clotworthy Whyte‑Melville Foster Skeffington (also 7th Viscount Ferrard) 3 Jun 1940
 

The special remainder to the Earldom of Mansfield created in 1792
From the London Gazette of 24 July 1792 (issue 13444, page 586):-
The King has been pleased to grant the Dignity of an Earl of the Kingdom of Great Britain to the Right Honourable William Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten, by the Name, Style and Title of Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Middlesex; with Remainder to the Right Honourable David Viscount Stormont, and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten.
The Earldoms of Mar
Why are there two Earldoms of Mar? The following extract, taken from The Great Historic Families of Scotland by James Taylor [2 vols, J S Virtue & Co. London 1889] is as good an explanation as I have found:-
On the death of John Francis, sixteenth Earl of Mar and eleventh Earl of Kellie, in 1866, his cousin, Walter Coningsby Erskine, inherited the family estates along with the earldom of Kellie, which were entailed on heirs male ; while the ancient earldom of Mar was claimed by John Francis Goodeve, the only son of the late earl's sister, who thereupon assumed the name of Erskine. His claim was at first universally admitted. He was presented at Court as Earl of Mar, his vote was repeatedly received at the election of representative peers, and his right to the title was conceded even by his cousin, Walter Coningsby Erskine, the new Earl of Kellie. By-and-by, however, Lord Kellie laid claim also to the earldom of Mar, but he died before his petition could be considered by the House of Lords. It was renewed by his son, and was in due course referred to the Committee for Privileges. In support of the claim it was pleaded that the title of Earl of Mar, conferred by Queen Mary on John, Lord Erskine, in 1565, was not the restoration of an ancient peerage, but the creation of a new one; that the original earldom of Mar was purely territorial, one of the seven ancient earldoms of Scotland, and was therefore indivisible; that this dignity terminated at the death of Earl Thomas in 1377; that William, first Earl of Douglas, his sister's husband, must have obtained the earldom by charter and not by right of his wife, as at his death the title and estates descended to their son James, second Earl of Douglas, while his mother was still living; that her daughter, Isabella, became the wife Sir Malcolm Drummond, who was styled Lord of Mar and of the Garioch, not earl; that her second husband, Alexander Stewart, obtained possession of the territorial earldom of Mar in right of his wife, but did not become earl until he obtained seizen under the Crown; that he survived the Countess for many years, and acted, and was treated by the Crown, as the owner in fee of the earldom, and that on his death the Crown entered into possession of the estates in terms of the charter granted to the earl by King James I; that from this period downwards the lands had been broken up and disposed of by the Sovereign at his pleasure, different portions of them having been granted at various times to royal favourites, and that the title had been in succession upon several persons who had no connection with its original possessors. The territorial earldom, it was asserted, was indivisible, and could not be separated from the title, and as the former had ceased to exist, the ancient dignity could not be revived. It was, therefore, contended that Queen Mary must have created a new dignity when on her marriage to Darnley in 1565 she raised Lord Erskine to the rank of an earl; that the fact that throughout Queen Mary's reign he ranked as the junior and not the premier earl, as must have been the case if the title had been the old dignity revived in his person, shows that his earldom was a new creation, and that as there is no charter in existence describing the dignity conferred upon Lord Erskine, the prima-facie presumption is that it descended to heirs male.
On the other hand, it was pleaded by Mr. Goodeve Erskine, who opposed Lord Kellie's claim, that inasmuch as the earldom of Mar was enjoyed by two countesses, mother and daughter, it could not be a male fief; and that as Sir Robert Erskine is admitted to have been second heir 'of line and blood' to the Countess Isabel through his mother, Janet Keith, great-granddaughter of Donald, third earl, he was de jure Earl of Mar, though excluded from the title and estates by an act of tyranny and oppression on the part of James I, who was at this time bent of breaking down the power of the nobles, and for that reason illegally seized the land and suppressed the dignity of this great earldom; that the Erskines never relinquished their claim to the earldom, while it remained 'in the simple and nakit possession of the Crown without ony richt of property therein', and made repeated though unsuccessful efforts to recover their rights; that Queen Mary, therefore, it was contended, did not create a new peerage but had in express terms recognised the right of Sir Robert Erskine's descendant, John, Lord Erskine, to the earldom of which his ancestor had been unjustly deprived, as she said, through 'the troubles of the times and the influence of corrupt advisers', and had declared that, 'moved by conscience, as it was her duty to restore just heritages to their lawful heirs, she restored to John, Lord Erskine, the the earldom of Mar and the lordship and regality of Garioch, with all the usual privileges incident and belonging thereto, together with the lands of Strathdon, Braemar, Cromar and Strathdee'. Queen Mary, therefore, it was contended, did not create a new peerage but restored an old one; and even if the title conferred upon Lord Erskine had been a new creation, the presumption is that, like the original dignity, it would have descended to heirs female as well as male. With regard to the assumption that Queen Mary must have granted a patent or charter conferring the 'peerage earldom' on Lord Erskine, it was pointed out that there is no proof that any such document ever existed, that there is not the remotest allusion to it in any contemporary history, and that Lord Redesdale's suggestion that the deed may have been accidentally destroyed, or that the Earl of Mar may have destroyed it to serve some sinister purpose, is a mere conjecture, wholly unsupported by evidence. When it was proposed to restore the forfeited title, in 1824, to John Erskine of Mar, it was remitted to the law officers of the Crown, one of whom was Sir John Copley, afterwards Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst, to investigate whether he had proved himself to be heir to his grandfather, the attainted earl. They reported in the affirmative, and the attainder was reversed in his favour. It was noted as an important fact that John Erskine was declared in the Act to be the grandson and lineal heir of his grandfather through his mother - a striking proof, it was said, that the earldom restored by Queen Mary was not limited to heirs male. Mr. Goodeve Erskine rests his claim to be the heir of his uncle on the very same ground on which his grandfather based his claim to be the heir of the Jacobite earl, viz., through his mother; and it was argued that, since the claim was regarded as valid in the one case, it ought to be so held in the other also. Great stress was laid on the position which the earldom occupies in the Union Roll, as showing that it has all along been regarded as the original dignity, and not a new creation. In 1606 commissioners were appointed by James VI to prepare a roll of the Scottish peers, according to their precedence, and the document prepared by them, which was corrected by the Court of Session, is known in Scottish history as the 'Decreet of Ranking' - the official register of the peerage of Scotland — the basis, in fact, of the Union Roll. Now in this nearly contemporary document the earldom of Mar has a much higher antiquity assigned to it than the date of 1565, the earl being placed above several earls whose titles were conferred in the fifteenth century. On the Union Roll it has the date of 1457 prefixed to it.
These arguments, however, failed to satisfy the Committee for Privileges, consisting of Lords Redesdale, Chelmsford, and Cairns, who decided that the dignity conferred by Queen Mary on Lord Erskine was a new and personal honour, and is held on the same tenure as the other peerages possessed by the Erskine family, all of which are limited to heirs male. This decision which are limited to heirs male. This decision has not given universal satisfaction. A considerable number of influential Scottish peers, including the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, Stair, Galloway and Mansfield, the Marquis of Huntly, Viscounts Strathallan and Arbuthnot, and Lord Napier of Ettrick, have repeatedly protested against the Earl of Kellie's claim to vote as the Earl of Mar, whose name stands fifth on the Union Roll. An elaborate work in two volumes octavo was prepared by the late Earl of Crawford and Balcarres to prove that a miscarriage of justice has taken place in consequence of the decision of the Committee for Privileges on the Mar peerage case. Mr. Goodeve Erskine, who has at last regained the title of Ear; of Mar and Baron Garioch, asserted that though the Committee for Privileges had unwarrantably authorised the Earl of Kellie to assume a title which never had an existence and is a mere figment of their own imagination, their decision had no bearing on his right to the ancient earldom of Mar, which is claimed by no one but himself, and of which he is the undoubted lineal heir.
The feeling that injustice was done to Mr. Goodeve Erskine by the decision of the Committee was so strong that a Bill, entitled 'Earldom of Mar Restitution Bill', was brought into the House of Lords, by command of the Queen, for the purpose of restoring the ancient earldom to Mr. Erskine. It was read a second time on the 20th of May, 1885, and referred to a Select Committee, who reported that the preamble had been proved. The Bill passed through both Houses of Parliament without opposition, and became law before the close of the session.
John Francis Miller Erskine, 25th Earl of Mar
The Earl found himself in a spot of bother in late 1831, when he appeared in court charged with an assault by shooting in the direction of a man named John Oldham. The following account of the trial appeared in The Examiner of 25 December 1831:-
High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, Dec 19.
Trial of the Earl of Mar - The Earl of Mar was accused of assault, by shooting in the direction of John Oldham, Esq., on the moor of Cochrage, Perth, on the 12th August last. John Oldham, Esq., stated that he had a shooting on Cochrage Moor, of which he went to take possession on the 12th August. Andrew Michie pointed out the boundary to him, and shortly afterwards, he observed that there were three men shooting upon his moor. He rode up to them, when one of them, which proved to be the Earl of Mar, seized hold of the bridle of his poney [sic], and asked who and what he was, and what business he had there? Witness said he was on his own moor - when his lordship replied that he was a poacher and a thief, and that he would as lief shoot his horse as him. He thought, from his lordship's manner, that he must be drunk; and, therefore, merely asked him what was the name of his moor. He said it was Blackcraig, and witness answered that this is not Blackcraig, but Mr. Campbell's moor. Lord Mar then threatened to prosecute witness, insisted on knowing who he was, and seeing his license. The witness continued, "I said I should like first to know who he was: one of his men came forward, and said, this is the Earl of Mar. Lord Mar immediately added, do you know who I am? I was a great deal irritated at this, that he should suppose I should care more for him that Douglas, and I answered that I knew not, nor cared who he was. I had never seen him before. I told him he was off his own ground, and I was not. I said I was no poacher nor thief, and that he was a liar and scoundrel. There was some repetition of these words; and he also said that I had robbed him; it was his moor, and he had paid for it. At this time my men came up. I then said to Lord Mar, here is a man (A. Michie) who is well acquainted with the moor: I should like to have the limits of the moor defined. Lord Mar seemed quite furious at the proposal to have the limits of the moor defined. He kicked my pony, let go of the bridle, and separated himself about five or six yards. He then said he would fire at us if we did not leave the moor immediately, and began to wave about the gun in all directions. A short parley took place between Lord Mar and his own men who earnestly begged of him not to fire, and put the gun aside. As soon as the men ceased to put aside the gun, his lordship put the gun to his shoulder and fired. The charge passed near me, I instantly got off the poney [sic], expecting that he would fire the other barrel, but his men prevented him. One of Lord Mar's men, Salmon, begged that we should leave the moor; if we did not, he was sure mischief would happen. I rather demurred to be driven off my ground in this way, but fearing to be shot said, 'We are going'. I went off, leaving his lordship standing, and when they had got away about 120 or 130 yards, I heard two shots fired. Robert Stewart looked about, and said he was firing at us again, but I did not see him fire. Three witnesses corroborated this statement.
Lord Mar admitted firing, with a view to scaring the party away, but not in the direction of Mr. Oldham. Two witnesses gave his lordship a character for kindness, mildness and humanity. The jury, after a few minutes' conversation, unanimously found the assault proven - Lord Gillies after adverting to the distressing nature of the case that a young nobleman, the representative of a most ancient family, should be convicted of crime, and to the necessity of dispensing equal justice to the high and to the low, sentenced his lordship to imprisonment for two months, and thereafter to find security to the extent of £5,000 to keep the peace for five years, or to be confined for a further period of six months.
Robert Mortimer, 1st Earl of March
The following sketch of the downfall of the Earl of March is taken from Chambers' Book of Days published in 1869:-
To the traveller approaching Nottingham by rail from the Derbyside, the commanding position of its ruined castle cannot but be an object of interest. Though commerce has completely surrounded the rock it stands upon with workshops, wharves, and modern dwelling houses, the castle seems literally "to dwell alone". Associations of a character peculiar to itself cluster round it. It has a distinctive existence, claims a distinct parentage from the puny, grovelling erections beneath it and soars as much beyond them by the events it calls to mind, as by its proud and lofty position. Its history, in fact, is interwoven in the history of the nation; and part of the glory and shame of its country's deeds rests upon it.
The old castle must have frowned with unusual gloominess when Isabella, queen of Edward II, and her unprincipled paramour, Mortimer, took up their abode in it. The queen had rebelled against and deposed her husband. Mortimer had accomplished his death. And with the young king, Edward III, in their tutelage, they tyrannised over the country, and squandered its treasures as they pleased.
As a fresh instance of her favour, the frail princess had recently elevated Mortimer to the earldom of March. But the encroaching arrogance of the haughty minion was awakening in the minds of the barons a determination to curb his insolence and overgrown power. The spirit of revenge was still further excited by the execution of the king's uncle, [Edmund Plantagenet] the Earl of Kent, who appears to have been slain merely to shew that there was no one too high to be smitten down if he dared to make himself obnoxious to the profligate rulers. The bow, however, was this time strained beyond its strength. The blow that was intended to quell the rising storm of indignation rebounded, with increased force, on the guilty Mortimer, and proved his own destruction. For all parties, weary of his insolence and oppression, were forgetting their former feuds in the common anxiety to work his overthrow, and this last savage act of his government aroused them to a full sense of their danger, and gave increased intensity to their hatred and desire of vengeance. Besides which, they saw in the young king, now in his eighteenth year, signs of growing impatience of the yoke which Mortimer, as regent, had imposed on his authority. Daily they poured complaints into the royal ear of the profligacy, the exactions, and the illegal practices of the paramour, and found in Edward a willing listener. At length he was brought to see his own danger, to look upon Mortimer as the murderer of his father and uncle, the usurper of power which ought to be in his hands, the spoiler of his people, and the man who was bringing daily dishonour to himself and the nation by an illicit connection with his royal mother. He determined, accordingly, to humble the pride of the arrogant chief, and redress the public grievances.
A parliament was summoned to meet at Nottingham, about Michaelmas 1330. The castle was occupied by the dowager queen and the Earl of March, attended by a guard of a hundred and eighty knights, with their followers; while the king, with his queen, Philippa, and a small retinue, took up his abode in the town. The number of their attendants, and the jealous care with which the castle was guarded, implied suspicions in the mind of the guilty pair. Every night the gates of the fortress were locked, and the keys delivered to the queen, who slept with them under her pillow. But with all their precautions, justice was more than a match for their villainy. Sir William Montacute [later 1st Earl of Salisbury], under the sanction of his sovereign, summoned to his aid several nobles, on whose loyalty and good faith he could depend, and obtained the king's warrant for the apprehension of the Earl of March and others. The plot was now ripe for execution.
For a time, however, the inaccessible nature of the castle rock, and the vigilance with which the passes were guarded, appeared to present an insuperable obstacle to the accomplishment of their designs. Could Sir William Eland, the constable of the castle, be won over, and induced to betray the fortress into their hands? The experiment was worth a trial, and Montacute undertook the delicate task. Sir William joyfully fell in with a proposition which enabled him at once to testify his loyalty to his sovereign and his detestation of the haughty tyrant.
Everything being now arranged, Edward and his loyal associates were conducted by Sir William Eland through a secret passage in the rock to the interior of the castle. Proceeding at once to a chamber adjoining the queen's apartment, they found the object of their search in close consultation with the bishop of Lincoln and others of his party. The Earl of March was seized; Sir Hugh Turplinton and Sir John Monmouth, two of the state-guards, were slain in attempting to rescue him from the king's associates; and the queen, hearing the tumult, and suspecting the cause, rushed into the room in an agony of terror, exclaiming: "Fair son, fair son, have pity on the gentle Mortimer!" Notwithstanding the cries and entreaties of the weeping Isabella, her beloved earl was torn from her presence, and hurried down the secret passage by which his captors entered, and which has ever since been designated Mortimer's Hole. With so much secrecy and despatch was this stratagem executed, that the guards on the ramparts of the castle were not disturbed, and the good people of Nottingham knew nothing of the enterprise till the following day, when the arrest of Mortimer's sons and several of his adherents by the royalists, gave a significant and acceptable indication that the luxurious and profligate usurpation of the Earl of March had at length been terminated by kingly authority.
Mortimer was conveyed by a strong guard to the Tower of London. Edward repaired to Leicester, whence he issued writs for the assembling of a new parliament at Westminster, for the purpose of hearing charges against the late administration, and redressing the grievances under which the kingdom had laboured. At this parliament Mortimer was impeached and convicted in a most summary manner of high treason and other crimes. No proof in evidence of his guilt was heard, and he was condemned to die as a traitor, by being drawn and hanged on the common gallows; a sentence which was executed at 'The Elms', in Smithfield, on the 29th of November 1330. His body was allowed to hang two days on the gallows, and was then interred in the church of the Greyfriars.
Simon Marks, 1st Baron Marks of Broughton
The following biography of Lord Marks of Broughton appeared in the February 1971 issue of the Australian monthly magazine Parade:-
Sir Simon Marks, the British retail store colossus, never lost his reverence for the memory of his father, Michael, the Polish Jew who had earned his first shillings in England selling odds and ends from a pack he carried on his back. Michael was a man of absolute integrity, a quality he passed on to his son. And it was the lessons the younger Marks learned from his father that caused him to treat the 28,000 members of his staff in his 240 stores like little princes and princesses. Nothing was too good for these employees. Any humble salesgirl could, during the midday break, have her hair shampooed in the staff hairdressing salon for 3/6 while a 1/- three-course meal was served to her on a tray.
Once a left-wing politician complimented Marks on his staff welfare services. "You're putting socialism into practice," the politician said. Marks looked hard at the man. Quietly he said: "Not exactly. I learned a very fine code of conduct towards my fellow men, not from Karl Marx, but from Michael Marks."
A sad-eyed little man who looked like Eddie Cantor, Simon Marks revolutionised shopping in Britain until his stores were selling 10 per cent of all the clothing in the nation and serving 10 million customers a week. Starting with 50 penny bazaars left him by his father, Simon Marks built Britain's most successful retail chain by selling quality goods at economy prices. His aim in business, he always said, was to see that every shopgirl and typist could dress like a duchess. "And eat like an epicure," he added when the firm began building up sales of food lines as well as clothing.
This romantic story of the creation of a great business began in 1880 when Michael Marks arrived in England having fled his native Poland to escape conscription. Poland was then under the control of Russia and the 17-year-old Jew had made up his mind he was not going to bear arms for a country that was notorious for its anti-Semitism. Michael Marks landed at Hull in Yorkshire and set up as pedlar round nearby villages. He sold buttons, pins, needles, cotton and darning wool from a pack he carried on his back. After four years he had advanced enough to marry Hannah Cohen and open a permanent stall in the Leeds market. The stall sold the same sort of household odds and ends he had previously peddled from door to door. Marks called it the Penny Bazaar and it carried a sign: "Don't ask the price - it's a penny".
On July 9, 1888, Hannah Marks gave birth to a son who was named Simon. Meanwhile, the idea of the penny bazaar had caught on and by 1890 Michael Marks was running five of them in different market towns. In 1894 Michael Marks found himself over-extended financially, so he decided to take in a partner. Tom Spencer [1852‑1905], a cashier at one of the warehouses where Marks bought his goods, agreed to put up £300 for a half-share and the firm Marks and Spencer was born.
Young Simon Marks attended Manchester Grammar School and by the time he was 15, Marks and Spencer had 40 market stalls in the Midlands. With increasing prosperity, Michael Marks was able to go to a workman's club every weekend and present sovereigns to needy members pointed out by the secretary. "God gives to him who gives," Marks used to tell his son.
Simon left school in 1905 and was packed off to the Continent for two years so that he could learn French and German. That year Tom Spencer died. In a period of constant business growth, this meant overwork and worry for Michael Marks. He was so overworked that in 1907 it killed him. In the same year Simon Marks, back from Europe only a couple of weeks and still a novice in business, had to take control of the 50 penny bazaars run by Marks and Spencer. Yet seven years later he had built the business up to 145 shops and bazaars, 50 of which were in London. Although economy prices were still the firm's watch-word, the price ceiling was being raised progressively, shops were replacing the bazaars and clothing was becoming the principal Marks and Spencer line.
With the outbreak of World War I, Simon Marks left the expanding business for his staff to run and enlisted as a signaller in the artillery. A year later he was seconded from the army to act as assistant to Dr. Chaim Weizmann [later the first President of Israel] in his government-supported campaign to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine. Thus it was 1919 before Simon Marks was able to go back to Marks and Spencer full-time and resume the building of a gigantic retail chain. By the 1930s there was a Marks and Spencer store in every town of any size in England, Scotland and Wales. And sales and profits were growing year by year with almost mathematical progression.
Simon Marks always gave the credit for the firm's success to commercial principles dinned into him by his father. These included ploughing profits back into the business, making direct contact with manufacturers, keeping the lines simple and worrying over the welfare of the staff. As the number of Marks and Spencer stores bounded upwards, the firm became a byword in Britain. Indeed, it was one of the rare commercial names the BBC allowed to be mentioned in broadcasts.
Simon Marks had revolutionised retailing with his passionate belief that "cheap need never be nasty". Thus concentrating on quality he kept quantity soaring. By 1935 the Marks and Spencer Marble Arch branch in London was selling more goods per square foot of space than any other store in the world.
To get the quality and selection of goods Marks wanted, the firm dictated to the 900 manufacturers it dealt with. They had to come up to Mark's standards or their contracts were cancelled. He even bought the output of entire factories after making them conform to his specifications. Virtually every item of clothing sold by Marks and Spencer was tested in laboratories for fabric strength, colour fastness, durability of stitching, quality of buttons and so on.
Marks ran the business like a benevolent dictatorship. "He wants to know about everything, right down to the last button", summed up a staff member. His executives were driven hard but they rarely left the firm. One who had been there 13 years described himself as a "new boy".
Simon Marks was always seeking to reduce prices but not at the expense of the chain's profit margins. Reductions came only from increasing efficiency and cutting expenses. Most of his time was spent visiting stores. And when he got there he spent more time talking to the girls behind the counter than to the executives. "The salesgirls are Marks and Spencer", he used to say. "They know what is selling well or badly - and, above all, why."
Simon Marks had a passion for detail. For instance, he once sent research scientists to Greece and Turkey to persuade the peasants to grow uniform-sized currants. "He was a continuous one-man quality control commission", an associate once said of him and told how would visit a shoe department, pick up the most expensive shoe in stock, detach the lace and try to snap it in two. If he succeeded he would call the store manager and tell him softly: "However fine the shoe, the customer will condemn it if the lace breaks".
Cleanliness was an obsession with Marks. One day he suddenly decided to stop stocking ice cream although the firm was selling £2.5 million worth a year. He could not stand the sight of the empty cartons people dropped on the shop floor. Similarly he banned smoking because it polluted the air and he hated feeling cigarette butts underfoot. Marks's fetish for cleanliness also meant that girls who handled cash could not handle food. Cooks and food-handlers could not wear nail-varnish, or jewellery and had to tuck their hair up in plastic caps.
To the shopgirls who made up most of the staff Simon Marks had a friendly, fatherly manner. To the managers, however, he was always a tough-minded perfectionist. Once he visited a store and asked the manager: "Any rotten apples lately?" This remark resulted from his previous inspection seven years earlier when he had found some of the fruit bearing specks. "I go round the stores making a nuisance of myself", Marks once confessed. "I know what everyone says: 'There goes old so-and-so, interfering again. He's never satisfied.' But that's what I'm there for."
He once visited a store, saw a rail of dresses and asked the manager: "Do we dress pygmies now?" Picking out a dress labelled for a woman of 5ft 2in he called for a tape measure and demonstrated the dress was three-quarters of an inch short. Standing outside one of his stores Marks once saw a woman emerging wearing a print dress with large red chrysanthemums all over it. As she walked away he saw one extra large chrysanthemum covered a prominent part of her anatomy where good taste told him no chrysanthemum should be. The alarmed Marks rushed in to his shop to make sure the woman was not wearing a Marks and Spencer creation. To his relief he was assured she was not. Still not satisfied, he then personally checked every design and pattern of prints in stock to make sure no such chrysanthemum monstrosity disgraced the racks of Marks and Spencer.
In business circles he was generally regarded as having revolutionary ideas on staff relations. In fact he horrified other company heads by spending £2 million a year on staff welfare. From his father, too, he inherited charitable instincts which prompted him to donate more than £1.5 million over the years to causes both in England and Israel.
In 1944 Simon Marks was knighted and in 1961 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Marks [of Broughton]. At that time he told a friend: "I much preferred to be Sir Simon, it had the ring of riding a charger and saving ladies in distress. Lord Marks somehow has a much flatter sound."
Profits of Marks and Spencer mushroomed following a revolutionary anti-paperwork crusade he began in 1957 and which was estimated to have saved £2 million a year immediately. The figure increased progressively in later years because, while eliminating unnecessary records, Marks also eliminated 8,000 jobs out of 28,000. But there were no sackings because he promised the staff when he began the paper purge that no one would suffer. The firm simply did not replace staff when someone left and the numbers dropped gradually.
Lord Marks died at his desk of a heart attack on December 8, 1964. That year the firm he had built from his father's market stalls showed a profit of more than £25 million from sales of £200 million. Perhaps his best obituary was in a current financial journal's summing up of the company: "No firm in Britain is stronger, better managed or more consistently successful".
Abigail Masham (c 1670-6 Dec 1734), wife of the 1st Baron Masham of Otes
The following article is taken from the February 1953 issue of the Australian monthly magazine Parade:-
Royal St. James' Palace was in the throes of a minor rebellion one sultry day in 1708. Fat, gouty Queen Anne, described somewhat unkindly as the most stupid monarch in Europe, had plucked up courage to revolt. She gazed with some distaste at the blonde junoesque woman woman who, regardless of her costly gown, grovelled in tears at her feet. "Madame, I will not restore you to favour," she said through primly-pursed lips. Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, brilliant, domineering "Viceroy Sarah" rose to her full height. "You'll suffer for this injustice," she shouted defiantly as she flounced from the room. The skirmish was a victory for the Queen who never spoke to Sarah Churchill again - and for the plain, waspish little woman who quietly entered the royal bedchamber as the angry Duchess swept out.
It was also a turning point in British history. For the waspish woman, Mrs. Masham, was to guide Anne through the welter of intrigue and fear engendered by rising Stuart pretensions. In the dying queen's last lucid moment, she persuaded her to hand the rod of office to an incorruptible statesman who assured the succession to George of Hanover and removed the threat of all-out civil war from the land.
History has never solved the enigma of Mrs. Masham. Some describe her as colourless, insipid, mousy; others as a wily, treacherous, venomous woman who betrayed her greatest benefactor. Whatever the verdict, she played a greater part behind the scenes than any of the noble soldiers and statesmen who jockeyed for power in an age of unbridled graft and corruption, when the very throne of England trembled.
Mrs. Masham was the daughter of a modest London merchant named Hill, who died unexpectedly, leaving his two sons and two daughters penniless. They were running wild and rapidly sinking to the level of slum children when rescued by Sarah Jennings, their cousin. Sarah had been the friend since childhood of dumpy Princess Anne, second daughter of James II. She had married secretly a brilliant young strategist, John Churchill, who, by deserting to the enemy with his troops on the eve of battle, had sent his royal friend and patron, James II, fleeing overseas, and placed James' daughter Mary, and her foreign husband, William of Orange, firmly on the throne.
Sarah Churchill did well by her poor relations, particularly the dejected Abigail Hill - the future Mrs. Masham, whom she pitied. Though notoriously mean and tight-fisted, she took the girl into her own home and heaped presents on her. With the death of William and the accession of Anne, the Marlboroughs became the most powerful couple in the land. It was understandable for, in addition to their long personal friendship, Anne owed everything to them. They had forestalled her father's attempt to kidnap her when he fled and then incurred the displeasure of the new king by winning her a parliamentary income of £50,000 a year.
As Anne's 15 children died one after the other, the unhappy woman leant more and more on the lively, vivacious Sarah. Their friendship was so close that they called each other Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman. Anne therefore stood meekly by when, on her accession, the Marlboroughs seized power and became virtual rulers. Sarah, as Lady of the Bedchamber and of the Privy Purse, amassed a fortune by selling preferments and public offices. She even deducted a pension for herself from the Queen's private funds.
To make her position secure she surrounded the Queen with her own minions. Prominent among them was the mousy Abigail Hill, the cousin she had picked from the gutter, whom she badgered Anne into accepting as a woman of the bedchamber. Sarah had the utmost confidence in Abigail. Demure, self-effacing, she appeared to be passionately devoted to her. She was deferential almost to the point of servility. Even the flabby Queen could not understand why the Duchess insisted on forcing such a dull creature, with lacklustre eyes, into the royal suite.
The star of Marlborough began to set before he reached his peak of glory. The stolid people of England, particularly the taxpayers, though outwardly impressed by his victories at Ramillies, Oudenarde and, finally, Blenheim, began to doubt the wisdom of pouring wealth into a war merely to decide which of two impossible princes - French or Austrian - should inherit the throne of Spain.
To keep her family in power against this growing hostility, the Duchess of Marlborough began to bully Anne. When the Queen protested the Duchess would stamp her feet and shout: "Lor, Ma'am, it must be so." She even told the Queen frankly that she was a "fool" and "ignorant". The Duchess had misplaced confidence in her palace minions. Frequently absent, she could not know that the Queen had drawn closer to the humble woman of the bedchamber, Abigail Hill. Anne became so attached to her that when her consort died [in 1708], leaving her a childless widow, she had little Abigail Hill to sleep on the floor of the royal bedroom.
As the Duchess' bullying increased, Abigail turned against her. She stressed to the Queen that the Duchess held her in contempt. She began to dabble in politics. The tide of popular feeling was running fast against the Marlboroughs and their war party, and she decided to unseat them. Among her cousins was Robert Harley, brilliant son of a Herefordshire squire, who had become Speaker of the House of Commons, then cabinet minister, but who was in temporary eclipse after being falsely charged with revealing the contents of secret documents. As a result he was a bitter enemy of the Marlboroughs and their Whig friends and willingly entered the plots of Abigail. On many evenings Abigail would admit Harley by a back stairway to the private suite of the Queen, where in long political talks, they would plan the overthrow of the Whigs.
Suddenly the Duchess of Marlborough noticed that Abigail Hill was avoiding her. It was the first hint of treachery. Then she heard that Abigail had been privately married to Mr. Samuel Masham, a gentleman of the household and a Tory enemy. Angrily she demanded why, as Lady of the Bedchamber, she had not been informed or invited. Abigail pleaded shyness, whereupon the Duchess forgave her and offered to tell the Queen.
The Duchess was not satisfied. She delved further and, to her rage, discovered that the Queen had actually attended the marriage and had given the bride a large sum of money which the Duchess herself had disbursed. It was obvious from such a snub that Abigail was now the reigning favourite. The Duchess' rage became the greater when she discovered that she was also the confederate of her husband's mortal enemy, Robert Harley. With a view to bullying her into submission, she ordered Abigail before her. Abigail ignored the command.
The quarrel came to a head when the Queen attended a thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral for Marlborough's victories against the French. As usual, the Duchess, in her role of Lady of the Bedchamber, selected and laid out the jewels the Queen was to wear. At the last moment she discovered that her selection had been discarded for another prepared by Mrs. Masham. The Duchess was so enraged that she had a violent quarrel with the Queen on the steps of the Cathedral before a crowd. As a result the Duchess was summarily dismissed from her positions at court. The Marlboroughs were tumbled out of office. The country returned a Tory pro-peace Parliament.
The change brought a vast increase of power to Mrs. Masham, now undisputed power behind the throne. Her cousin, Harley, soon to be Lord Oxford, was appointed Prime Minister. Her husband was made a baron. She became Keeper of the Privy Purse. The war petered out indecisively in the Treaty of Utrecht. The Marlboroughs, hounded as scapegoats, went into exile, the dominant Sarah violently denouncing the ungrateful Mrs. Masham.
Though peace had come to the land, a far greater terror now descended on it. Queen Anne, a gross feeder, was obviously failing. All her 15 children had died. There was no direct succession to the throne. Under the Act of Settlement the throne was due to go to Protestant George of Hanover, a descendant of a daughter of James I, unknown, unpopular, but safe. At St. Germain, in France, however, James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the exiled James II and brother of Queen Anne, had been proclaimed King of England. To many, particularly those of the Catholic faith, he was the true King.
All over England his supporters intrigued for his return. Even Protestant cabinet ministers and, some say, Queen Anne herself, corresponded with him. The Protestant faction knew that if he returned the heads of their leaders would fall. Estates would again be sequestered and re-distributed. There would be bitter religious strife. Civil war as ruthless as Cromwell's would split the land. England panicked. As Queen Anne sank gradually in health, Court, Cabinet and services were split by plot and counter-plot. No one could trust his neighbour. The whole country was in the grip of fear.
It is believed that even Mrs. Masham's cousin, the Prime Minister, Lord Oxford, tentatively approached the Pretender, while his Secretary of State, Lord Bolingbroke, was openly plotting his return. The unhappy, ailing Queen became the shuttlecock of quarrelling factions, The crisis reached a head when Mrs. Masham quarrelled violently with Oxford in the presence, it is said, of the Queen, who then dismissed Oxford. The exultant Bolingbroke prematurely assumed power, appointed his own minions and prepared to repeal the Act of Settlement and restore James Francis Edward Stuart to the throne of his fathers, despite the opposition of the people.
He acted too soon. As a result of the quarrel the Queen became suddenly ill. She went into a coma. When the announcement, "Queen Anne is dead", came on 1 August 1714, it struck fear into the hearts of citizens anxious for life and property. The fear lifted when it was announced that in a moment of returning consciousness, Queen Anne had handed the cloak of office to the incorruptible Whig Duke of Shrewsbury, who could be relied upon to secure the peaceful succession of George of Hanover.
Some authorities maintain that Anne was influenced in this historic act by Mrs. Masham. If that were so, then the self-effacing mousy woman dragged from the gutter by Sarah Churchill was one of the greatest figures in history. In the whirlpool of succession she faded quietly into into obscurity in the country, where she died in 1734.
Clotworthy Skeffington, 2nd Earl of Massereene
Massereene's father died when he was a lad of 15. When he came of age, he inherited the family estates in county Antrim, but by then he had already settled in Paris, leaving the management of his Irish property in the hands of his mother.
His allowance of £200 per month could not, however, cover his tailor's bills, gambling losses and the demands of his many mistresses. Even so, he might have survived had he not become in a business speculation put to him by a crooked merchant named Vidari, who proposed to import salt to France from the Barbary Coast. Massereene signed a number of bills of exchange which he was called upon to honour when the business collapsed. While his mother, the dowager Countess, set about the task of raising the money required to pay his creditors, Massereene himself was thrown into prison. His creditors, aware of his extensive property in Ireland, assumed that he would become sick of imprisonment and pay the £30,000 he owed in order to obtain his liberty. However, Massereene insisted that the debts had been incurred by means of a fraud against himself, and he refused to acknowledge them. Rather than admit his guilt by paying the debts, he decided to stay in prison for 25 years, after which time, according to French law, the debts would be cancelled.
While imprisoned in the Chatelet prison, Massereene married Marie Anne Barcier, daughter of the prison governor. She made two unsuccessful attempts to help him to escape. Finally, in 1789, after 18 years in prison, he was released on the day before the storming of the Bastille by a mob which was partly inspired by bribes paid by Lady Massereene.
After his release, he returned to Antrim Castle, his seat in Ireland. He showed no interest in the way his estates were being run, leaving after a short period for London. Here, he was soon lured into another fraudulent business venture, again resulting in imprisonment for debt. Blaming his wife's extravagance for his problems, he deserted her at a time when her health had been ruined by her exertions on his behalf.
His total lack of feeling for his wife was the result of a new relationship with 19-year-old Elizabeth Blackburn, a servant in the house opposite his lodgings. Being a devotee of nude shadow-boxing, Massereene exposed himself at his window and caught her eye; soon she was living with him. Meanwhile, he had been swindled again to the extent of £9,000, which landed him in prison, where Miss Blackburn was allowed to join him. After a humiliating lawsuit in which he pleaded that he had acted with extreme foolishness, coupled with a loan from his brother-in-law, the Earl of Leitrim, he was eventually freed.
In 1797 he returned to Ireland with Miss Blackburn. Although he owed his own liberty to the rebellious spirit of the French Revolution, he had a horror of Jacobinism and now took an active part in an anticipated uprising in Ireland. He formed a company of yeomen and trained it in his own peculiar fashion. The men were drilled without weapons; they simulated rifle shots by clapping their hands and presented arms in a complicated pantomime involving a series of hand signals. He also developed a number of new drills with names such as Serpentine and Eel-in-the-Mud. All this military activity convinced Massereene that he was a natural leader of men, an assessment not subscribed to the military establishment of the time.
When not drilling his troops, Massereene continued to indulge his personal whims. From time to time he ordered the dining table, completely set, all the chairs and an elaborate dinner, to be hoisted onto the roof by means of a pulley. His guests climbed to the roof by means of a small ladder inside the house, but once they had assembled, Massereene usually declared himself dissatisfied with the arrangements and ordered everything to be taken down again. When one of his dogs died, all the local dogs were invited to its funeral at Antrim Castle. Some 50 of them, provided with white scarves, acted as a guard of honour.
When his loyal and unappreciated first wife died, Massereene married Miss Blackburn who, together with her family, had gained control of his fortune. On his death a few years later, his brothers contested the will and gained the verdict they sought.