| Admin History | The Monckton family can trace its lineage back to the 14th century and Simon Monckton of the lordship of Monckton in Yorkshire. Successive family members, from Simon onwards, married into landed families, consolidating their land holdings. Families into which the Moncktons married include many from Yorkshire such as Mostyn, Wentworth, Hussey, Sutton and Saville and many of these names appear within the documents in the collection. It was through these links that the Moncktons came to hold considerable lands in Yorkshire, including the lordship of Cavil from 1454.
From 1617, three successive male heirs were knighted. Robert, the son of Sir Philip, the last knight, followed the precedent set by earlier family members and became a Member of Parliament. He was an active supporter of King William I and Mary. Robert's only surviving son, John (1695-1751), succeeded to the family estates in 1722 and was made 1st Viscount Galway in 1727, an Irish representative peerage. He married Elizabeth, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Rutland. Their son, William, 2nd Viscount Galway (d 1772), inherited the Arundell family estates from his aunt, Lady Frances, sister to the 3rd Duke of Rutland. She had married John, second son of Lord Arundell, and William added Arundell to his surname. In the 19th century, this was subsequently omitted from the surnames of all but those succeeding to the Galway title.
As Irish peers were able to become members of the House of Common, George Edward, 6th Viscount (1805-1876), and George Edmund, 7th Viscount (d 1931), served in this capacity until 1887 when the Irish Viscountcy was superseded by an English Barony. The 7th Viscount then went into royal service, being aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V. George Vere Arundell, 8th Viscount, was appointed Governor-General of New Zealand in 1935.
Serlby Hall, Nottinghamshire, was purchased by the 2nd Viscount Galway in the eighteenth century and remained the family seat until the 1970s. |
| Custodial History | The initial collection (Ga) was acquired in 1953. Several accruals were subsequently acquired between 1958 and 1974 (Ga C, Ga 2). The papers of General Robert Monckton (Ga M) were acquired in 1984. There are further uncatalogued accruals. |
| FindingAids | Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.
In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus: 7 Typescript Catalogues, and a Summary Catalogue
At the National Register of Archives, The National Archives, Kew: 5 Typescript Catalogues
Online:
Catalogues for each of the accruals are available on the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue. Follow the links in 'Related Record' below to browse each of the sub-fond catalogues Ga1, Ga2, GaC and GaM.
Access to the old typescript catalogue was also made available online during the national Access to Archives (A2A) project in 2000-2004. This catalogue is now available through Discovery, hosted by The National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk). The version on our own Manuscripts Online Catalogue will be more up to date.
Family and Estate Resource relating to the Monckton-Arundell family and their records, published on the Manuscripts and Special Collections website: http://tinyurl.com/j3wdg8a |