Elizabeth Montagu, Duchess of Manchester

Elizabeth Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (c.1740 – 26 June 1832), formerly Elizabeth Dashwood, was the wife of George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester. Dowager Duchess of Manchester from 1788-1832.

Her Grace The Duchess of Manchester
Born	Elizabeth Dashwood 1740 Kirtlington Park
Died	26 June 1832(1832-06-26) (aged 91–92) Berkeley Square, London
Spouse	George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester ​ ​ (m. 1762)​
Parent(s)	Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet Elizabeth Spencer

She was born at Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire, a daughter of Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Spencer (whose sister Anne was Duchess of Hamilton).^[1] One of Elizabeth Dashwood's sisters, Anne Dashwood, became Countess of Galloway.

She married the Duke of Manchester on 22 or 23 October 1762, at St George's, Hanover Square, London, in the same year he inherited the dukedom.^[2]Their children were:

• Lady Ana Maria Montagu, who died in childhood
• George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1763–1772), who died in childhood and did not inherit his father's title
• Lady Caroline Maria Montagu (1770-1847), who married James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, and had children
• William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester (1771–1843)
• Lord Frederick Montagu, MP (1774–1827)
• Lady Emily Montagu (died 1838)^[3]

Diana Disarming Cupid, Elizabeth Dashwood and Her Son George Montagu, Viscount Manderville. by Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds painted the duchess, along with her son George, Viscount Mandeville, in about 1766.^[4]The duchess was herself an amateur artist, whose pocket book is held by the Royal Academy of Arts in London.^[5]

The Duchess of Manchester at one time snobbishly refused to speak to the French actor Monsieur Tessier because he earned his living, the Duchess of Devonshire was dismayed at the duchess's snobbery and pointedly danced with him at Almack's ball.^[6]

The duke died in 1788, following which his widow received an annual pension of £3000, as official compensation for the loss of his income as Collector of Customs.^[7]

The dowager duchess died at her home in Berkeley Square, London, in 1832, in her 92nd year,^[8] and was buried at Kimbolton.^[7]

References

1. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VI, page 270.
2. George Naylor, The Register's of Thorrington (n.n.: n.n., 1888).
3. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 2585.
4. "George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville; Elizabeth Montagu (née Dashwood), Duchess of Manchester". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
5. "Elizabeth Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (1741 - 1832)". Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
6. The Duchess by Amanda Foreman, page 44
7. Cave, Edward (1832). THE GENTLEMEN'S MAGAZINE, AND HISTORICAL CHRONICLE. FROM JULY TO DECEMBER, 1832. VOLUME CII. (BEING THE TWENTY-FIFTH OF A NEW SERIES) PART THE SECOND. pp. 91–.
8. Edward Hamilton (1884). A Catalogue Raisonné of the Engraved Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A., from 1755-1822: With a Description of the Different States of Each Plate, a Biographical Sketch of Each Person, and a List of the Pictures from which the Engravings Were Taken, with Dates of Painting, Names of the Possessors, and Other Particulars. P. and D. Colnaghi.