Nicholas Monck

For the English civil servant, seeNicholas Monck (civil servant).

The Right Reverend Nicholas Monck
Bishop of Hereford
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of London
Installed	1660
Predecessor	Vacant
Successor	Herbert Croft
Other post(s)	Provost of Eton
Orders
Ordination	1 December 1660
Consecration	6 January 1661 byGilbert Sheldon
Personal details
Born	c. 1610 Potheridge,Merton,Devon
Died	(1661-12-17)17 December 1661
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Susannah Payne
Alma mater	Wadham College, Oxford

Arms of Monck ofPotheridge,Devon:Gules, a chevron between three lion's heads erased argent

Nicholas Monck(c. 1610 – 7 December 1661) was aBishop of HerefordandProvost of Eton College,both royal appointments made by King Charles II following the 1660Restoration of the Monarchywhich was largely effected by his elder brotherGeorge Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle(1608–1670),KG.Nicholas Monck was "a great assistant in the Restoration to his brother".

Origins

He was born in 1610 atPotheridgein the parish ofMerton,Devonshire, the third son of SirThomas Monck(1570–1627), Knight, of Potheridge, where his ancestors had been seated for at least 18 generations in an unbroken male line.His mother was Elizabeth Smith, a daughter (by his first marriage) of SirGeorge Smith(died 1619) of Madworthy, near Exeter,Devon, a merchant who served as aMember of ParliamentforExeterin 1604, was three timesMayor of Exeterand was Exeter's richest citizen, possessing 25manors.Elizabeth's half-sister by their father's second marriage was Grace Smith, wife of the heroicCivil WarRoyalistcommander SirBevil Grenville(1596-1643) ofBidefordin Devon andStowe, Kilkhamptonin Cornwall, killed in action at theBattle of Lansdowne(1643) and mother ofJohn Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath(1628–1701), who greatly assisted his half-first cousinGeorge Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle(1608–1670) in effecting theRestoration of the Monarchyin 1660.

Career

In 1629 he matriculated atWadham College, Oxfordand graduated B.A. on 3 March 1630-1, and M.A. on 30 October 1633.Instead of entering the army like his two surviving elder brothers, he took holy orders, as was usual for younger sons of the gentry. From 1640 he served asRectorofLangtree,a parish near Potheridge, and was given the Rectory ofKilkhamptonin Cornwall by his half-cousin Sir John Grenville(later 1st Earl of Bath). After 1646 he obtained the smallrectoryofPlymtreein Devon, having in 1642 married the daughter of the then rector, whose family held theadvowson,and this was confirmed to him by General Monck's influence with Cromwell. During theCivil Warhis sympathies certainly leaned to the royalist side, and in 1653 he was presented by his kinsman, SirJohn Granville(later 1st Earl of Bath), to the valuable living ofKilhamptoninCornwall,worth about £260 a year.

After Cromwell's death Grenville sent 'the honest clergyman' up to London, where he received through George Monck's brother-in-law,Thomas Clarges,instructions to go to Scotland and ascertain his brother's intentions. Nicholas therefore sailed for Edinburgh, in August 1659, on the ostensible errand of arranging a marriage for one of his daughters. He found the general engaged with a council of officers, but confided his mission to the general's chaplain, John Price, who was in the confidence of the royalist party. From Price, Monck received every encouragement. The next day the brothers met, and various accounts are given of their interview, but all agree that the general refused to commit himself as to his future conduct.

After the Restoration, Nicholas was nominated by King Charles II asProvost of Eton College,on the recommendation of Granville. There was no pretence of election on the part of the Fellows of Eton College, who much incensed by the king's arbitrary proceeding, refused to make an entry of the appointment in the College register. A copy of the royal letter, dated 7 July 1660, nominating Monck is extant in Eton'sCollege Library.Most of the puritan fellows resigned or were ejected, and 'new regulations were drawn up by the new provost and fellows, the former's stipend being fixed at £500 a year, besides 'wood, capons, 20 dozen of candles, and 20 loads of hay.' On 1 August 1660 Nicholas was createdDoctor of Divinityat Oxford University, and on 1 December 1660, he was appointed by the king asBishop of Hereford,a see which had been vacant for fourteen years. He was to hold his provostship in addition for two years. He was consecrated on 6 January 1660-1 inWestminster Abbeyby theArchbishop of York,but lived to enjoy his new dignity only for eleven months.

Marriage and children

Engraving ofNicholas Monck and the Rawlinson Family,by Joseph Nutting, early 18th century

In 1642 he married Susannah Payne, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Payne, Rector ofPlymtreein Devon, and widow of Christopher Trosse. By his wife he had children as follows:

• Nicholas Monck, son andheir apparent,who died young;
• Mary Monck, co-heiress, who married Arthur Fairwell of Westminster,
• Elizabeth Monck, co-heiress, who married Curwen Rawlinson of Carke Hall,Cartmell, Lancashire.Her monument, erected by her son the antiquaryChristopher Rawlinson(1677–1733), survives in St. Mary's Church, Cartmell, and describes her father Nicholas Monck as "a great assistant in the Restoration to his brother".

Death and burial

He died on 17 December 1661, aged 51, at his lodgings in Old Palace Yard,Palace of Westminster,and was buried on the 20th inWestminster Abbey,his brother the Duke of Albemarle having attended the funeral as chief mourner.In 1723 his grandson Christopher Rawlinson erected in his memory a pyramidical monument in black and white marble in St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster Abbey.

Sources

• Bradley, Emily Tennyson(1894)."Monck, Nicholas".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 162–163.
• Knighton, C. S. (September 2004). "Monck, Nicholas (c.1610–1661)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18941.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)