Social Victorians/People/Montrose

Overview

The "aristocratic lady writer" Lady Violet Greville (Beatrice Violet Graham Greville) was the daughter of James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose and Caroline Graham, Duchess of Montrose, who married two more times after the Duke of Montrose died in 1874. The 5th Duchess, sister in law of Lady Violet Graham the writer, was also named Violet: Violet Hermione (née Graham) Graham.

Known on the track as Mr Manton, Caroline Graham ran a successful stable and had a larger-than-life and, apparently, difficult personality. In "The Vagaries of 'Mr Manton," the Dundee Evening Telegraph reports stories about Caroline, Duchess of Montrose's temper, her loss of a lady's maid she had mistreated and her to be carried up the new elevator shaft by a groomsman:

The death of the Dowager-Duchess Montrose has deprived sporting society of one of its most remarkable figures and smoking-room raconteurs of inexhaustible material. "Mr Manton's" notoriously violent temper was responsible for most of the anecdotes of her vagaries, and for her success on the turf not having been what it might have been had she been able to keep her temper and her trainers. Some three years ago I told the story — a true one — of her Grace's maid who, determined to avenge the insults heaped on her while doing her mistress's hair before dinner, carefully plaited it and out of the back of the chair, and when the Duchess was thus firmly secured to a not very light piece furniture, gave her a violent box on the ear, walked out of the room, and five minutes later left the house, her luggage having by arrangement with the other servants already been despatched to the station. The sequel is characteristic of the late Duchess. She declared she would never again run such risk, and had a special backless seat purchased; and on none other would she sit when having her hair done for several months after the aforesaid maid's departure. Another story is fairly common property — of how, when trying by herself to work a new lift in her house, before the engineers had passed it ready for use, she was carried down into the "well," whence she shouted violent expletives her servants above, until a footman secured and descended a ladder at considerable risk, and carried the lady up under one arm. She brought an action against the liftmakers to recover damages for "shock to the system," but lost the day. Mr Milner, her third husband, and now her widower, was born nearly 50 years after the lady whose loss he doubtless mourns.

Caroline Graham, 4th Duchess died in 1894, but Marcus Henry Milner, her 3rd husband, more than 40 years younger than she was, attended the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball with the 5th Duke and Duchess.

Also Known As

• Family name: Graham
• Duke of Montrose
  • Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke (30 December 1874 – 10 December 1925)
• Duchess of Montrose
  • Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford Graham (30 December 1836 – 16 November 1894)
  • Violet Hermione Graham Graham (24 July 1876 – 21 November 1940)
• Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford Graham Stirling-Crawford Milner was also known as Mr. Manton for her horse-breeding and -racing operations.
• Marcus Henry Milner: "Mr. 'Harry' Milner (familiarly known in the City as 'Millions')."

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies

Marcus Henry Milner

• Mr. F. B. (Francis Bingham) Mildmay
• Mr. St. John Wontner, "the well-known solicitor practising in the West End police-courts"

Organizations

• Messrs. Bourke and Sandys: "one of the zealous assistants of that well-known firm of stockbrokers" headed by Algernon Bourke

Timeline

1836 October 15, James Graham and Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford married.

1874 December 30, James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose, died.

1876 January 22, Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford Graham and William Stuart Stirling-Crawford married.

1876 July 24, Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham and Violet Hermione Graham married.

1888 July 26, Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford Graham Stirling-Crawford and Marcus Henry Milner married. According to the Nottingham Evening Post of 31 July 1888,

METROPOLITAN NOTES. [FROM LONDON CORRESPONDENTS.] London, Monday Evening.

Society has not had for some time so piquant a piece of gossip to deal with as that arising out of the marriage of the Dowager Duchess of Montrose a few days since with Mr. Milner. In any case, the union of bride of seventy with a bridegroom of twenty-four would have caused remark, but this has created the more because of the extreme secrecy with which it is surrounded. The church authorities St. Andrew's, Fulham, where the ceremony was performed, knew nothing, l am told, of the condition of the parties to the suit until the licence was in their hands, and though the Duchess was arrayed in bridal costume there was no lady either with her or in the church at the time, she being accompanied only by Mr. Algernon Bourke, who was stated to be her legal adviser, the bridegroom being similarly supported only by lawyer, in the person of Mr. St. John Wontner, the well-known solicitor practising in the West End police-courts.

The bridegroom, who had earned the necessary residential qualification by staying at the Queen's Club, led his wife, after the ceremony, into the vestry, where the marriage settlements were signed; but they did not drive away, the Duchess departing as she had come with Mr. Bourke. How the news of the wedding first reached the friends not the least curious part of the story, which runs that Mr. Mildmay, the Liberal Unionist member for Totnes, who is a personal acquaintance the bridegroom, happened go to St. Andrew's to practice upon the organ at the time the ceremony was to take place, and, to his astonishment, saw his friend being married. The reason given at the church for the extreme quietude of the wedding was that there had recently been a death in one of the families.

1888 November 22, the Duchess of Montrose was in court about an unpaid bill; there is also a mention of a visit by the Prince of Wales:

In the Queen's Bench Division, London, on Wednesday, Mr Sanders, carrying on business as an orchid grower at St Alban's, commenced an action against the Duchess of Montrose to recover £1,730 for orchids supplied and for furnishing a conservatory at Newmarket. A sum of £700 was paid into court, and the remaining £1,000 was disputed on the ground that the orchids had not been supplied to order. For the plaintiff it was stated that her grace had expressed herself delighted with the orchids, but thought there were too many white flowers. She said the Prince of Wales was coming there to dinner, and asked plaintiff whether he thought he could supply in time some coloured plants. The plaintiff said he could, and in his evidence said the original arrangement was that he should supply 1,000 orchids for 1,000 guineas. Several experts were examined, and expressed the opinion that the prices charged for work done and orchids supplied were fair. The further hearing of the case was adjourned.

1894 July 28, Saturday, the Aberdeen Evening Express published a report about conflict between the Duchess and Mr. Milner:

Racing circles are following with eager interest the conflict between "Mr Manton" and her husband the manner in which the latter's annuity is to be paid. When the Dowager-Duchess Montrose married Mr Harry Milner she assigned to him three thousand year out of the five thousand pounds that came to her under the will Mr Stirling Crawfurd, the understanding being that all the instalments should be paid to the credit of the Duchess's account with her bankers in London. Mr Milner was a party to this arrangement, but he has now revoked it, to the indignation of his wife, who is contesting the matter hotly.

It is now six years since the Dowager-Duchess made her last matrimonial experiment. Her husband was at the time one of the zealous assistants of that well-known firm of stockbrokers, Messrs Bourke & Sandys; and Mr Algernon Bourke, the head the firm, went down to Fulham to give her away. The honeymoon began with a visit to the Jockey Club box Sandown and ended at the Lake of Geneva. Even now Mr Henry Mr Henry Milner is only in his thirtieth year, while his wife first saw the light in 1818, and was married to the fourth Duke of Montrose close on thirty years before her present husband was born.

Lady Breadalbane and Lady Greville, who is still Lady Violet Greville when writing plays, never took Mr Henry Milner seriously as a stepfather, nor is he regarded with the veneration due to a parent by the comparatively venerable Duke of Montrose.

1894 November 16, Friday, Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, died:

Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, passed away at 1.20 this morning. The duchess was well known in the racing world as "Mr Manton," and at the time of her death had some 17 horses in training, including Shrine, Grand Duke, Medora, Adoration, Lady Caroline, Broad Corrie None the Wiser, Jocasta Mecca, and Beggar's Opera. Last year her Grace won 11 races, the stakes amounting to over £4,000. The principal winners were Mecca, which was successful in several valuable juvenile races, and Medora, who won the Goodwood Stewards' Cup. Her chief success in the handicap department this year was achieved in the Cezarewitch, the "All scarlet" being carried into third place by the seven year old mare Shrine. The deceased Duchess had, during her long career, owned some of the best known race horses of the century, including the filly Thebais, who secured the One Thousand Guineas and the Oaks in 1891, and the Liverpool Autumn Cup three years later. Her Grace was very shrewd in equine matters, and her opinion was often sought by some of the highest personages in the country in regard to the purchase of thoroughbreds. Deceased had this year leased most of the Sefton Farm yearlings to Sir Frederick Johnstone, and they are now in training at Kingsclere. She struck all her horses out of Lincoln, Liverpool, and Manchester engagements on October 30th. The Duchess was a daughter of the second Baron Decies. She was born in 1818, and married, firstly, the fourth Duke of Montrose, who died in 1874; secondly, Mr William Stuart Stirling Crawford, who died in 1883; and thirdly, Mr Henry Miller [sic], who survives her. The deceased expired at her London residence in Belgrave-square, where she had been lying ill for several weeks. Although her illness had caused much anxiety to her family, her immediate death was not expected, and on Sunday a slight improvement being noticcd, the present Duke and Duchess left for Scotland, where they now are. Up to midnight no change appeared, but shortly afterwards her breathing became laboured, and she passed away quietly from sudden failure the heart, in the presence of her two daughters, Baroness Greville and the Marchioness of Breadalbane.

1897 June 28, Monday, according to the Morning Post, Douglas, 5th Duke and Violet, Duchess of Montrose were invited to the 28 June Queen's Garden Party, the official end of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London.

1897 July 2, Douglas, 5th Duke of Montrose and Violet, Duchess of Montrose attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose (at #170 in the list of people who attended), sat at Table 6.

Violet Graham, Duchess of Montrose (at 186) sat at Table 8. According to the Westminster Gazette, "[t]he Duchess of Montrose wore a sapphire-blue velvet gown, with muslin fichu and powdered hair."

Harry (Marcus Henry) Milner (at 612) — Caroline, Duchess of Montrose's 3rd husband — was dressed as a "Chasseur, Louis XV., ... after the picture by Van Loo; coat, Louis XV. period; turquoises richly embroidered on skirts, cuffs, breast, and pockets with beautiful gold embroidery; laced shirt and jabot, buff riding breeches; hat, three cornered, laced and edged with gold."

Demographics

• Nationality: Anglo-Irish

Family

• James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose (8 September 1755 – 30 December 1836)
• Lady Jemima Elizabeth Ashburnham (1 January 1762 – 17 September 1786)
  1. Unknown son Graham
• Lady Caroline Maria Montagu (10 August 1770 – 24 March 1847)

1. Lady Georgiana Charlotte Graham (– 13 February 1835)
2. Lady Emily Graham Foley (– 1 January 1900)
3. Lady Caroline Graham (– 24 March 1875)
4. Lady Lucy Graham (25 September 1793 – 16 September 1875)
5. James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose (16 July 1799 – 30 December 1874)
6. Lord Montagu William Graham (2 February 1807 – 21 June 1878)

• Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford Graham Stirling-Crawford Milner (c. 1818? – 16 November 1894)
• James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose (16 July 1799 – 30 December 1874)

1. Beatrice Violet Graham, Lady Violet Greville (13 February 1842 – 29 Feb 1932)
2. Agnes Caroline Graham ( – 8 May 1873)
3. James John Graham, Marquess of Graham (7 Feb 1845 – 31 Jan 1846)
4. James Graham, Marquess of Graham (22 Jun 1847 – 3 Apr 1872)
5. Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose (7 November 1852 – 10 December 1925)
6. Alma Imogen Leonora Charlotta Graham, later Marchioness of Breadalbane (7 Sep 1854 – 10 May 1932)

• William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd (Crawford?) ( – 23 February 1883), her second husband
• Marcus Henry Milner (16 April 1864 – 16 January 1939), her third husband (He was 22; she was 68 if she was 16 at her first marriage, in 1836.)

• Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose (7 November 1852 – 10 December 1925)
• Violet Hermione (née Graham) Graham ( – 21 November 1940)

1. James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose (1 May 1878 – 20 January 1954)
2. Helen Violet Graham (1 July 1879 – 27 August 1945)
3. Hermione Emily Graham Cameron (22 February 1882 –1978)
4. Douglas Malise Graham (14 October 1883 – 20 November 1974)
5. Alastair Mungo Graham (12 May 1886 – 1976)

• James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose (1 May 1878 – 20 January 1954)
• Lady Mary Louise Douglas-Hamilton (1 November 1884 – 21 February 1957)

1. James Angus Graham, 7th Duke of Montrose (2 May 1907 – 10 February 1992)
2. Lady Mary Helen Alma Graham (11 April 1909 – 7 February 1999)
3. Lord Ronald Malise Hamilton Graham (20 September 1912 – 11 June 1978)
4. Lady Jean Sibyl Violet Graham (7 November 1920 – 13 October 2017)

Algernon William Fulke Greville's Family

• Fulke Southwell Greville-Nugent, 1st Baron Greville (17 February 1821 – 25 January 1883)
• Lady Rosa Emily Mary Anne Nugent Greville-Nugent

1. Algernon Greville-Nugent, 2nd Baron Greville (1841–1909)
2. Hon. George Frederick Greville-Nugent (1842–1897)
3. Hon. Robert Southwell Greville-Nugent (26 March 1847 – 1912)
4. Hon. Reginald James Macartney Greville-Nugent (1848–1878)
5. Hon. Patrick Emilius John Greville-Nugent (6 August 1852 – 1925), married Ermengarda Ogilvy on 5 June 1882
6. Hon. Mildred Charlotte Greville-Nugent (d. 1906), married Alexius Huchet, Marquis de La Bêdoyére on 26 August 1869

Relations

• Lady Caroline Maria Montagu was the daughter of the Duke of Manchester.

Questions and Notes

1. Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose, is Lady Violet Greville's brother.
2. The Boston Guardian reports this:

   The Dowager Duchess of Montrose, who died last week at the age of 76, was a well-known figure on the turf, running her horses in the name of "Mr. Manton." Her first husband was the father of the present Duke of Montrose, and she has retained the title derived from this union through two succeeding matrimonial arrangements. Her second husband, Mr. Stirling Crawfurd [sic], was a wealthy land-owner, and when he died, 11 years ago, he left her a large fortune and a château at Cannes. Five years later society was startled by the announcement that the Duchess then a woman of 70 [confirming that she was born in 1818], had taken for her third husband Mr. Harry Milner, a young man of 24, who had previously been engaged with an aristocratic stockbroking firm in the City. The Duchess had a life-rent annuity of £5,000 a year, and of this she assigned £3,000 a year to Mr. Milner, on the understanding that all the annuity cheques were to be paid into her account. This arrangement was adhered to until early in the present year, when Mr. Mlner countermanded the order. The result has been domestic differences and lawsuits, to which the Duchess's death has put a stop. On the turf her "all scarlet" colours were well-known on many race-courses, among them most celebrated of her victories being those of Thebaia, who won the Thousand Guineas and the Oaks in 1881. It is understood that her château at Cannes, one of the most beautiful in the neighbourhood, is now the property of Lord Rendel, better known as Mr. Stuart Rendel, the entertainer of Mr. Gladstone.

3. Personal details about Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, especially around the race track:

   "Mr. Manton" has been a familiar figure in the paddock at every great English race meeting. Next to that of the venerable Sir John Astley, it was probably the best known. The duchess was tall and straight and heavily built. In her youth she had been rather good looking, a woman of a high-bred English type. On the racecourse she wore tailor-made clothes of a very horsey cut, including check gowns, covert coats, white cravats with horseshoe pins, and left hats. She was in the habit of bidding for yearlings in public and of superintending the stables personally.