Arms of Manners: Or, two bars azure a chief quarterly azure and gules; in the 1st and 4th quarters two fleurs-de-lis and in the 2nd and 3rd a lion passant guardant or
Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whose family's line the title continues. The heir apparent to the dukedom has the privilege of using the courtesy title of Marquess of Granby.[1]
Thomas Manners (c. 1488–1543), son of the 11th Baron de Ros, was created Earl of Rutland in the Peerage of England in 1525. He was the great-grandson of Richard Plantagenet. The barony of 'de Ros' (sometimes spelt Ros, Roos or de Roos) was created by Simon de Montfort with a writ of summons to the House of Lords for Robert de Ros (1223–1285) in 1264. The title may pass through the female line when there is no male heir, and accordingly, when the 3rd Earl, Edward Manners (c. 1548–1587), left no sons, the barony of Ros passed to the family of his daughter Elizabeth (died 1591) who became the wife of the 2nd Earl of Exeter. The 3rd Earl was succeeded as the 4th Earl by his brother John (died 1588). The barony of Ros was restored to the Manners family when Francis Manners, the 6th Earl (1578–1632), inherited it in 1618 from his cousin William Cecil (1590–1618). However, Francis died without male issue and the assumption of the courtesy title of Lord Ros for the eldest son of subsequent earls appears to have had no legal basis.[2] On the death of the seventh Earl in 1641 the Earldom passed to his distant cousin John Manners of Haddon Hall, grandson of the second son of the first Earl.
In 1703, the ninth Earl of Rutland was created Duke of Rutland and Marquess of Granby by Queen Anne.
Marquess of Granby
The most notable Marquess of Granby was John Manners (1721–1770), eldest son of the third Duke. He was an accomplished soldier and highly popular figure of his time; in 1745 he became a colonel; his military career flourished during the Seven Years' War.
At the Battle of Minden (1 August 1759), although his role was small, he commanded the reserve cavalry. In 1760, at the Battle of Warburg, he led a cavalry charge which routed the French, losing his hat and wig in the process. In recognition of this, soldiers of the Blues and Royals (his former regiment) have the unique privilege in the British Army of being permitted to salute while not wearing headgear. Granby's losing his helmet and wig in the charge gave rise to the expression 'going bald-headed' at something.[3]
In 1758, the King made him Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards and in 1766, as Lieutenant-General, he became Commander-in-Chief (a basically political appointment). His title was honoured by being used by a large number of pubs throughout Britain.[4] As Colonel, he provided for his most capable soldiers such that when they could no longer be of service to the Regiment, he would give them financial support to start a pub, the sole condition being that the pub was to be named "The Marquis of Granby" after him.[5][6] The towns of Granby, Quebec in Canada and Granby, Massachusetts and Granby, Connecticut in the United States as well as Granby Street in Norfolk, Virginia, USA were also named after him. So too were two forts, Fort Granby, in Tobago, and Fort Granby in South Carolina.
He died before his father, and therefore did not become Duke.
Subsidiary titles
The subsidiary titles of the dukedom are: Marquess of Granby (created 1703), Earl of Rutland (1525), Baron Manners, of Haddon in the County of Derby (1679), and Baron Roos of Belvoir, of Belvoir in the County of Leicester (1896). The title Baron Roos of Belvoir is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the remaining titles being in the Peerage of England. The most senior subsidiary title, Marquess of Granby, is the courtesy title used by the Duke's eldest son and heir.
The Manners family own medieval Haddon Hall, Derbyshire and Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire that were successively extended and rebuilt until the 19th century. Some rooms in both buildings are open to the public.[7] They are Grade I in architecture, set in listed parks, woodland and gardens and span a central water feature, which acted as models for other landscaped estates.[8]
In 2009, to mark 500 years of the occupancy of Belvoir Castle by the family, two aircraft from RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, bore the Duke's coat of arms. On 11 June 2009, the Duke visited the station to see the aircraft: a King Air from 45 (Reserve) Sqn and a Dominie from 55 (Reserve) Sdn.[9]
Burials
The traditional burial place of the Manners family was St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford. Since elevation to the dukedom in 1703 most Dukes have been buried in the grounds of the mausoleum at Belvoir Castle. The mausoleum at Belvoir Castle was built by John Henry Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland, following the death of his wife, Elizabeth Howard (1780–1825), daughter of the 5th Earl of Carlisle. After its construction, most of the 18th-century monuments in Belton Church were moved to the mausoleum which then became the family's main place of burial.[10]
There are no further known heirs either to the Dukedom of Rutland or to the Earldom of Rutland.
Coat of arms
The original coat of arms of the Manners family had a chief of plain gules. The quartered chief, with the fleurs-de-lis of France and lion passant guardant of England, was granted as an augmentation by King Henry VIII to Thomas Manners at the time of his creation as Earl of Rutland, in recognition of his descent in the maternal line from King Edward III.[11]
On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Peacock in its pride proper
Escutcheon
Or two Bars Azure a Chief quarterly of the last and Gules, in the first and fourth, two Fleur-de-lis, and in the second and third, a Lion passant guardant, all Or
Supporters
On either side a Unicorn Argent armed, maned, tufted and unguled Or
^The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time by Sir Bernard Burke, 1884 edition, p. 656.
