Biography of Sidney Montagu 1581-1644

Paternal Family Tree: Montagu

Maternal Family Tree: Anne Pakenham 1485-1544

In 1557 [his father] Edward Montagu (age 27) and [his mother] Elizabeth Harrington (age 12) were married.

In 1581 Sidney Montagu was born to [his father] Edward Montagu (age 51) and [his mother] Elizabeth Harrington (age 36).

On 21st September 1585 [his brother] Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 22) and [his sister-in-law] Elizabeth Jeffrey (age 17) were married at Weekley, Northamptonshire.

On 1st June 1601 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 38) and [his sister-in-law] Catherine Spencer (age 15) were married. The difference in their ages was 23 years.

On 26th January 1602 [his father] Edward Montagu (age 72) died at Brigstock, Boughton.

On 29th March 1608 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu (age 40) was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells.

On 14th May 1608 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu (age 40) was enthroned Bishop of Bath and Wells at Wells Cathedral [Map].

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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On 24th February 1612 [his brother] Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 49) and [his sister-in-law] Frances Cotton (age 34) were married at Weekley, Northamptonshire.

On 9th November 1613 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 50) and [his sister-in-law] Anne Wincot (age 60) were married.

In 1616 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 53) was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

On 3rd July 1616 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu (age 48) was translated to Bishop of Winchester.

On 19th May 1618 [his mother] Elizabeth Harrington (age 73) died.

On 20th July 1618 [his brother] Bishop James Montagu (age 50) died. He was buried at Bath Abbey [Map].

In 1619 Sidney Montagu (age 38) and Paulina Pepys (age 37) were married.

In 1620 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 57) was created 1st Viscount Mandeville, 1st Baron Montagu of Kimbolton.

Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes

Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.

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In 1620 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 57) was appointed Lord Treasurer.

On 26th April 1620 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 57) and [his sister-in-law] Margaret Crouch Countess Manchester (age 15) were married. She by marriage Viscountess Mandeville. The difference in their ages was 42 years.

On 16th May 1622 [his son] Henry Montagu was born to Sidney Montagu (age 41) and [his wife] Paulina Pepys (age 40). He died aged two in 1625.

On 16th February 1625 [his brother] Edward Montagu 1st Baron Montagu (age 62) and [his sister-in-law] Anne Crouch Baroness Montagu (age 52) were married. She by marriage Baroness Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.

On 28th April 1625 [his son] Henry Montagu (age 2) drowned after having fallen into a pond swelled by heavy rain. Some sources, including the local guidebook, say he was chasing an orange. He was buried at All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map].

On 27th July 1625 [his son] Edward Montagu 1st Earl Sandwich was born to Sidney Montagu (age 44) and [his wife] Paulina Pepys (age 43). He married 7th November 1642 Jemima Crew Countess Sandwich, daughter of John Crew 1st Baron Crew and Jemima Waldegrave Baroness Crew, and had issue.

Around 1626 [his daughter] Elizabeth Montagu was born to Sidney Montagu (age 45) and [his wife] Paulina Pepys (age 44). She married before 1642 Gilbert Pickering 1st Baronet and had issue.

In 1626 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 63) was created 1st Earl Manchester. [his sister-in-law] Margaret Crouch Countess Manchester (age 21) by marriage Countess Manchester.

On 16th November 1641 [his wife] Paulina Pepys (age 60) died. She was buried at All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map].

Before 1642 [his son-in-law] Gilbert Pickering 1st Baronet (age 30) and [his daughter] Elizabeth Montagu (age 15) were married.

On 7th November 1642 [his son] Edward Montagu 1st Earl Sandwich (age 17) and [his daughter-in-law] Jemima Crew Countess Sandwich (age 17) were married.

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy

The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.

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On 7th November 1642 [his brother] Henry Montagu 1st Earl Manchester (age 79) died. His son [his nephew] Edward (age 40) succeeded 2nd Earl Manchester, 2nd Viscount Mandeville, 2nd Baron Montagu of Kimbolton.

On 17th January 1644 Sidney Montagu (age 63) and Anne Isham were married. He died a month later.

On 25th February 1644 Sidney Montagu (age 63) died. He was buried at All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map].

1665 Battle of Vågen

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 14th September 1665. To hear that poor Payne, my waiter, hath buried a child, and is dying himself. To hear that a labourer I sent but the other day to Dagenhams, to know how they did there, is dead of the plague; and that one of my own watermen, that carried me daily, fell sick as soon as he had landed me on Friday morning last, when I had been all night upon the water (and I believe he did get his infection that day at Brainford), and is now dead of the plague. To hear that Captain Lambert and Cuttle are killed in the taking these ships; and that Mr. Sidney Montague is sick of a desperate fever at my Baroness Carteret's (age 63), at Scott's-hall. To hear that Mr. Lewes hath another daughter sick.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 22nd September 1665. Among other discourse concerning long life, Sir J. Minnes (age 66) saying that his great-grandfather was alive in Edward the Vth's time; my [his son] Lord Sandwich (age 40) did tell us how few there have been of his family since King Harry the VIIIth; that is to say, the then [his grandfather] Chiefe Justice, and his son the [his father] Lord Montagu, who was father to Sir Sidney¹, who was his father. And yet, what is more wonderfull, he did assure us from the mouth of my Lord Montagu himself, that in King James's time ([when he] had a mind to get the King (age 35) to cut off the entayle of some land which was given in Harry the VIIIth's time to the family, with the remainder in the Crowne); he did answer the King in showing how unlikely it was that ever it could revert to the Crown, but that it would be a present convenience to him; and did show that at that time there were 4,000 persons derived from the very body of the Chiefe Justice. It seems the number of daughters in the family having been very great, and they too had most of them many children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This he tells as a most known and certain truth.

Note 1. These are the words in the MS., and not "his son and the Lord Montagu", as in some former editions. Pepys seems to have written Lord Montagu by mistake for Sir Edward Montagu.

In 1671 or 1676 [his former wife] Anne Isham died. She was buried at All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map].

                    16th June 1884. Erected by Edward Montagu 8th Earl Sandwich (age 44). Wall plaque listing those buried beneath the chancel of All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map].
                
                    [his son] Henry Montagu. Note. Mistake. Died 1625.
                
                    Sidney Montagu
                
                    [his former wife] Paulina Pepys, wife of Sidney Montagu
                
                    [his granddaughter-in-law] Mary Anne Boyle, wife of [his grandson] Edward Montagu 2nd Earl Sandwich                

                    Edward Montagu 2nd Earl Sandwich                

                    [his great grandson] Richard Montagu                

                    Mary Montagu                

                    [his grandson] Charles John Montagu                

                    Edward Montagu Viscount Hinchingbrooke                

                    [his grandson] James Montagu                

                    [his grandson] Sidney Wortley-Montagu                

                    [his grandson] Dean John Montagu                

                    [his great grandson] Edward Montagu 3rd Earl Sandwich                

                    [his great grandson] Colonel John Montagu                

                    Unknown Sarah Montagu died 1739, widow of Edward Montagu
                
                    Edward Montagu                

                    Captain William Montagu                

                    Mary Montagu                

                    Elizabeth Montague-Dunk                

                    Maria Henrietta Powlett                

                    John George Montagu                

                    John Montagu 4th Earl Sandwich                

                    Dorothy Fane Countess Sandwich                

                    Charlotte Maylor
                
                    John Montagu 5th Earl Sandwich                

                    George Montagu 6th Earl Sandwich                

                    Catherine Caroline Montagu Countess Colonna-Walewski                

                    Louise-Marie Colonna-Walewska
                
                    Louisa Lowry-Corry Countess of Sandwich                

                    Mary Paget Countess Sandwich                

                    Sydney Montagu                

                    John William Montagu 7th Earl Sandwich.