Vol 3 - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Manor of Lackham Vol 3 : The Montagu family
writing to Williamson when he was secretary to the Secretary of State
Henry Bennet
James and Diana had three sons; Edward 239 , James 240 and Antonie 241
and two daughters called Elizabeth (the first died aged five, and
possibly two others called Diana and Jane)
When James II died his son Edward inherited aged 4 242 . He appears in
the records first in connection with the care of the poor locally.
Under an Act of 1601 overseers of the poor set to work children whose
parents were not able to maintain them or, with the assent of two
Justices, to apprentice such children. The term was to end at 24 years
of age for boys and 21 for females. By 1688 Lacock had developed a
system whereby every ratepayer had responsibility for looking after
apprentice children, the number assigned was fixed in proportion to
their rateable value. In 1688 it is recorded that “Mr Montagu took
George Wastfield and Anne Shewring 243 ”.
Edward studied at Christ’s College, Oxford, matriculating aged 18, in
July 1690 244 and was MP for Chippenham in 1698 245 . His biography in
the “History of Parliament” gives useful details about him, not least that
239 LPR son of James Montagu and Diana his wife bap 18/6/1672
240 LPR son of James Montagu and Diana his wife bap 31/1/1674
241 LPR son of James Montagu and Diana his wife bap 29/4/1676
242 therefore born 1672, as in the footnote three aboe
243 Hinton FH (1940) The Relief of the Poor of Lacock 1583-1834 WAM vol XIX no
CLXIII p183, this would have made Edward 16 at the time
244 Alumni Oxiensis 1500 – 1714 vol 3
245 Goldney (1889) Records of Chippenham p333
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