Robert Monckton

Robert Monckton ( – 1722) was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1713. He took an active part supporting William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution, and was notable for his involvement in a number of exceptionally bitter and prolonged electoral disputes.

Background and early life Robert Monckton's father was Sir Philip Monckton, of Cavil, near Howden, Yorkshire. His mother was Anne Eyre, daughter of Robert Eyre of Highlow Hall, Derbyshire. Robert was the eldest son and had one brother, William, a naval officer, and a sister, Margaret.

Robert Monckton's education seems to have been patchy. On 26 May 1677, aged 17, he entered Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, the college formerly attended by Oliver Cromwell, but by 19 Nov. 1678 he was receiving legal training at the Middle Temple. He inherited the family estates at about the age of 20.

Revolutionary career Wiliam III's army lands at Torbay, a key event of the Glorious Revolution, in which Robert Monckton took part. Unlike his father, who preened himself on his apparently shaky royalist credentials, Robert had Puritan associates: he was listed as Low Church in an analysis of the 1705 Parliament.

Political career

MP for Pontefract Monckton became a client of the Whig grandee John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. With Newcastle's support, he contested the previously Tory constituency of Pontefract at the 1695 English general election. His Whig running mate was Sir William Lowther of Swillington, a Presbyterian landowner who was jeered as a "Commonwealthsman" when he plied the electorate with wine. However, Lowther and Monckton had taken the precaution of securing a number of burgage votes in the borough and there was actually a sizeable Dissenting community in the town, described by an Anglican clergyman as a "schismatic town." Lowther topped the poll with 80 votes and Monckton came a close second with 78. Sir John Bland, a defeated Tory, petitioned against the election, claiming electoral malpractice by the returning officer, but the petition failed.

The elections produced a Whig majority in the House of Commons, and William III, who had previously sought to balance Whigs and Tories, now leaned for support on the Whig Junto – a small elite grouping centred on John Somers, later Baron Somers; Charles Montagu, later Earl of Halifax; Thomas Wharton, later Marquess of Wharton and Edward Russell, later Earl of Orford. Monckton was aligned with the Country Whigs, The borough had seen bitter contests in the past, as it was a scot and lot borough, with a wide franchise, though a small electorate. As a result of Newcastle's influence, Monckton was returned as Member of Parliament unopposed in January 1701, along with Cyril Arthington, who had contested the seat unsuccessfully in the past and had the support of another local landowner.

The parliament had a Tory majority and the Junto soon found themselves accused of treason. The first move to redefine party loyalties came in February with a motion to urge the King to recognise the Duke of Anjou, Louis XIV's grandson, as 'King of Spain'. This was a direct attack on the foreign policy of William himself and the previous administration. Monckton denounced this fiercely, saying that "if this vote was carried, he should expect that the next vote would be for owning the pretended Prince of Wales" Monckton accused him of failing to consult the board of trade. He also claimed to have seen a letter referring to an annual 2,000 louis d'or bribe that Moore had been promised. It seems that Monckton's attack was made in concert with a group of Whig leaders, including Lord Halifax. However, it was also rumoured that his contribution was also part of a Tory internecine feud, favouring Harley against Bolingbroke.

The queen died in August 1714, and with a new reign, a new dynasty and a new session of parliament, Monckton retired to his Yorkshire estates. He died in 1722 and was buried on 13 November.

Marriage and Family

In 1692, Monckton married Theodosia Fountaine, daughter and co-heir of John Fountaine of Melton on the Hill, near Doncaster, and Hodroyd, near Barnsley, Yorkshire. They had a number of children. Robert's heir was John Monckton, later to become the 1st Viscount Galway. He was a very successful Whig politician and a more pliable client of the Pelhams than Robert had proved.