Sir Edward Wortley Montagu

Edward Wortley Montagu was born on 8 February 1678 and died on 22 January 1761. He was an English individual involved in coal-owning and politics, and held the diplomatic position of British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He was married to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a writer, and was the father of Edward Wortley Montagu, a writer and traveller.

He was the son of Sidney Wortley Montagu and the grandson of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich. His education included attendance at Westminster School and admission to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1693. In the same year, he entered the Middle Temple, and later, in 1706, the Inner Temple; he was called to the bar in 1699.

Between 1700 and 1701, Montagu undertook a Grand Tour, accompanied at times by Joseph Addison. During this period, he visited France and Switzerland.

Montagu was associated with the Whig party. His first election to Parliament was as the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1705. The election resulted in a close contest, with Montagu and Sir John Cotton elected over John Pedley amidst allegations of bribery. He served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 1714 to 1715.

In 1715, Montagu ran for Parliament in Westminster. The election was uncontested, and he was returned as a representative alongside Sir Thomas Crosse, a Tory. On 10 May 1716, he was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and was also elected as the representative of the Levant Company, a position nominated by King George I. He arrived in Adrianople (modern-day Edirne) on 13 March 1717 to oversee ongoing negotiations between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire.

His diplomatic efforts were unsuccessful, and he was not accredited as Ambassador in Constantinople before being recalled in October 1717. He left Turkey on 15 July 1718 and traveled in the East for some time. Upon his return to England, Montagu experienced a rift with the Whig leadership.

He continued to serve in Parliament, representing Huntingdon again from 1722 to 1734. In 1726, he was a signatory, along with his father, to the formation of the Grand Allies coal cartel in North East England. Coal business activities had preoccupied him since around 1709, including participation in earlier coal cartels involving his father.

In 1727, Montagu inherited Wortley Hall from his father, located near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. He served as a Member of Parliament for Peterborough from 1734 until his death in 1761.

Wortley Hall was remodeled during his ownership. In 1743, a South front design by Giacomo Leoni was implemented. Between 1757 and 1761, the East Wing was added, with the work carried out by John Platt. Howard Colvin suggests that the design was probably by Matthew Brettingham. Posthumously, further work continued under Platt, with the West Wing added in the 1780s for Montagu's daughter Mary.

Montagu is notably recognized for his relationship with Mary Pierrepont, daughter of Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull. They married in 1712 following an elopement and correspondence. Upon his death, he bequeathed Wortley Hall and a substantial fortune to his daughter Mary, having disinherited his son Edward in 1755, providing only a small allowance. His daughter Mary married John Stuart, the future Prime Minister, the 3rd Earl of Bute.