Sir George Manners, their son, married Grace, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepoint, and sister to the Earl of Kingston, by whom he had issue, with others, John Manners, his eldest son, who not only succeeded him, but also succeeded his own cousin George, seventh Earl of Rutland, in his title and estates, and thus became eighth Earl of Rutland. He married Frances, daughter of Edward, Lord Montague of Boughton, by whom he had issue four sons and seven daughters.
He was Sheriff of Derbyshire in the ninth and eleventh years of Charles I., and also represented that county in Parliament. His lordship was attached to the Parliamentary interest during the Civil Wars, and was one of the twenty-two peers who remained at Westminster when the king summoned both houses to attend him at Oxford. As a consequence, his castle of Belvoir was seized by the Royalists, and was held by them and Sir Gervase Lucas, and here the king frequently resided; it was finally surrendered to the Parliamentarians in January, 1645-6. In 1649 the castle was demolished, by consent of the earl, who soon afterwards set about rebuilding it, which he completed in 1668. During this time the earl lived principally at Haddon Hall, where he died in 1679. Here he lived in a style of almost princely magnificence, maintaining a large number of servants and retainers, and dispensing, especially at Christmas time, his hospitality with a lavish hand.
About this time, from 1660 to 1670, although the family only occasionally resided here, there were generally killed and consumed every year at Haddon between thirty and forty beeves, from four to five hundred sheep, and a number of swine, so that there was no lack of the good things of this world for visitors to this hospitable place.
This nobleman was succeeded by his third and only surviving son, John Manners, as ninth Earl of Rutland. This nobleman was born in 1638, and, in 1679, was created a peer in his own right by the title of Baron Manners of Haddon; and in September of the same year, his father dying, he became Earl of Rutland. When twenty years of age he had married the Lady Anne Pierrepoint, daughter of the Marquis of Dorchester, from whom he was afterwards divorced; and married, secondly, Lady Diana Bruce, widow of Sir Seymour Shirley, and daughter of the Earl of Aylesbury, who died in child-bed. His lordship married, thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Baptist Noel, Viscount Campden, by whom only he had surviving issue. He lived a country life, and “kept up his old mansion at a bountiful old rate,” and in a style of even greater magnificence and open-handedness than his father. It is said that at Haddon alone he kept seven score of servants, and that every day saw his grand old banqueting-hall filled to overflowing with retainers and guests. In 1703 the Earl was raised to the highest dignity in the realm, by the titles of Marquis of Granby and Duke of Rutland. He died in January, 1710-11, aged seventy-three, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, John Manners.
John, second Duke of Rutland, when scarcely seventeen years of age, was married to Katherine, second daughter of Lord William Russell, who was beheaded in 1683. He then bore the title of Lord Roos; and the wedding festivities seem, judging from some curious letters still extant concerning them, to have been of the most lavishly extravagant character. This lady who was sister to the Duchess of Devonshire and to the Duke of Bedford, gave birth to five sons and four daughters, and died in child-bed, in 1711. The Duke married, secondly, Lucy, daughter of Lord Sherard, and sister of the Earl of Harborough, by whom also he had issue, six sons and two daughters: his grace died in 1721, and was succeeded, as third Duke of Rutland, by his eldest son, John Manners. This nobleman, who was born in 1696, married, in 1717, Bridget, only daughter and heiress of Lord Lexington (an alliance that gave him a large accession of estates), by whom he had issue thirteen children, nearly all of whom died young.
He was the last of the family who made Haddon Hall a residence.
The estates of Lord Lexington having been settled upon the younger branch of the family, the second and surviving sons, successively, took, by Act of Parliament, the additional surname of Sutton, and thus founded the family of Manners-Sutton.
The Duke, who was familiarly known as “the old man of the hill,” dying in 1779, was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Manners, son of the celebrated Marquis of Granby, Commander-in-chief of the British forces in Germany, and Master of the Ordnance, who died during his father’s lifetime. Charles, fourth Duke of Rutland, married Mary Isabella, daughter of Charles Noel, Duke of Beaufort, by whom he had issue four sons—viz., John Henry, who succeeded him, Charles Henry Somerset, Robert William, and William Robert Albini; and two daughters—viz., the Lady Elizabeth Isabella, married to Richard Norman, Esq., and Lady Catherine Mary, married to Lord Forester. His grace died while holding office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and was succeeded by his eldest son—John Henry Manners, as fifth Duke of Rutland, who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Carlisle, and by her had issue, among others, his grace the present Duke of Rutland (third son, the two elder ones having died before their father), and Lord John Manners, M.P. His grace died in 1857, aged seventy-nine.
The present peer, Charles Cecil Manners, sixth Duke of Rutland, Marquis of Granby, Earl of Rutland, and Baron Manners of Haddon, &c., &c., was born in 1815, and has held many important appointments. His grace is not married: the heir to the title and estates being his brother, Lord John Robert Manners (Marquis of Granby, by courtesy), M.P. for North Leicestershire, who is also known for the official posts he has held in the government of this country.
