Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon


Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon was a British peer and politician. He was styled Lord Norreys from birth until acceding in 1854.

Background

Born at Dover Street, he was the eldest son of Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon and his first wife Emily Gage, fifth daughter of General Hon. Thomas Gage. Bertie was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Master of Arts in 1829. On 11 June 1834, he received a Doctorate of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.

Career

Norreys was commissioned a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Oxfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry on 9 July 1827. He was promoted to captain on 26 December 1830 and to major on 14 April 1847. He resigned his commission by May 1855.
In 1830, he became Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire and held the seat for almost a year. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county on 26 March 1831. In 1832, the representation for the constituency was increased to three members and Bertie was re-elected that year to complement his successors. He was then elected MP for Abingdon in 1852 and on succeeding to his father's title and leaving the British House of Commons two years later, he became Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.
In 1876, he sold the manor of Dorchester to Sir John Christopher Willoughby, 5th Baronet.

Family

On 7 January 1835, he married Elizabeth Harcourt, the only daughter of his fellow MP, George Granville Harcourt at Nuneham Courtenay. They lived at Wytham Abbey in Berkshire and had nine children:
Lord Abingdon died in Mayfair, London in 1884 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Montagu. He left part of his Oxfordshire estates to his second son Francis.