Sir John Leveson Gower: Money Matters & The Duke of Rutland

Description:In 1692 Sir John married Lady Katherine Manners (1675-1722), the daughter of the first Duke of Rutland, John Manners. Many of Sir John’s private papers are letters exchanged with the Duke relating to financial concerns.

In a letter dated 28th March 1699 Sir John writes angrily about the Duke’s ‘demands’ which he states ‘most of my friends thought unreasonable’.

The demands relate to Sir John’s ‘marriage agreement’. In an earlier letter from the Duke of Rutland to Sir John, dated 27th May 1698 the Duke outlines the financial requirements necessary to secure his daughter, and to ensure that she was provided for in the event of her husband’s death. He writes ‘I do expect the same two thousand pounds a year joynture for my Daughter…or two thousand pounds a year Rent Charge which you know I insisted upon, and since these resolutions I have by my Cousin Bagshaws desire consented to take eighteen hundred pounds a year Rent Charge’.

The Duke concludes his letter writing ‘when you have resolved upon one of these three ways for my Daughters Joynture I hope you and I may not deserve the imputation of knavery, or folly, or want of honour’. The Duke’s comments convey an accusatory tone, implying that he perceived Sir John to have been guilty of ‘knavery’.

Despite the Duke of Rutland’s clear demands in this letter, Sir John’s letter of March 1699 suggests that he was reluctant to come to a resolution on the Duke’s terms. Sir John writes ‘I was not a little surprised to be told that the settling of 2000 librae joynture in Land would not be sufficient to make it good’. Sir John’s offer of a land jointure worth £2000 was not accepted by the Duke, who demanded a financial jointure of ‘two thousand pounds a year’.

Sir John’s letter implies that the Duke failed to accept this offer as Lady Katherine’s land jointure would not offer her independent security as it would remain associated with Sir John’s estate. However, Sir John’s letter indicates that he would not resolve to give Lady Katherine a financial settlement as doing such would relinquish his authority to provide for Lady Katherine using the estate’s resources. He writes ‘now give me Leave to state what my councell tell me, there is no dispute but Lady Katherine by a fine may relinquish or part with her joynture as she pleaseth but when I have executed the settlement I have made myself only tenant for life I have then no power of charging the estate or any part of it with provision for her’.

The letters exchanged between Sir John and the Duke of Rutland show how marriage at this time was based on negotiating a feasible financial contract between families.

Attachments

Transcription of Letter Dated 27th May 1698 (26 KB)

Transcription of Letter Dated 28th March 1699 (32 KB)