Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet

Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet (c. 1740 - 24 September 1815) was son of Sir Roger Martin, 3rd Baronet and Sophia Mordaunt. He inherited his baronetcy from his father, who was the third Martin Baronet, upon his death in 1762. He lived in Burnham Market in Norfolk

Career

Burnham Westgate Hall

Sir Mordaunt was a marshall of the vice admiralty court in Jamaica.

In 1808 he purchased Burnham Westgate Hall, which he built onto. In particular he built a number of farm buildings. A keen agriculturalist, he wrote many letters and articles on the relative benefits of the mangel wurzel as a crop and is documented as the first person to introduce the plant, as well as sainfoin to the county and greatly improved the growth of potatoes and other vegetables. On his death he left the hall-described by White as "a hand-some mansion, beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberies, and situated near the church", to his son and heir Roger

Personal life

On 5 August 1765 Sir Mordaunt married Everilda-Dorothea Smith (1743 - 21 September 1800), daughter of the Reverend William Smith rector of Burnham Market and by her had two sons and seven daughters:

• Sophia Eliza Martin (c. 1766 - 18 November 1827), died unmarried.
• Everilda-Dorothea Martin (5 June 1767 - 27 November 1839), married Rev. Thomas Bernard and by him had five sons.
• Mordaunt Martin (February 1769 - 25 November 1869), died as a child.
• Anna-Maria Martin (c. 1770 - 1853), married Rev. John Glasse rector of Burnham.
• Caroline Martin (1773 - 3 June 1848), married Rev. James Monroe of Monken Hadley in Middlesex and by him had one son.
• Frances Martin (c. 1775 - 27 July 1802), died unmarried.
• Sir Roger Martin, 5th Baronet (22 February 1778 - 15 December 1854), married Mary Ann Clark and was without issue.
• Catherina Martin
• Louisa Martin, married a Capt. Wolley

Governess to these children from 1775-1780 was a very young Jane Arden, the first friend of Mary Wollstonecraft. She later set up a school and published educational works as Jane Gardiner. She named her daughter Everilda, after Lady Martin. Governesses were often isolated and oppressed,^[1] but the Martins treated her well - on a return visit, "more as a daughter than as an humble 'gouvernante'". She commented that the family atmosphere was intellectual, refined, and Christian.

Burnham was within visiting distance of Houghton Hall, then in the possession of Horace Walpole; the Martins took their former employee to admire the famous collection of paintings there.^[2]

Sir Mordaunt remarried on 4 August 1808 to Catherine (21 July 1759 - 29 April 1825), daughter of Rev. Armine Styleman and widow of Rev. Edward North, with whom he had no children and who survived him. He died on 24 September 1815, when his title passed to his eldest son. Sir Mordaunt was buried in Burnham Westgate Church with his first wife Everilda-Dorothea.

References

• Burke, John (1838), A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England, Microform Ltd., p. 439 
• Debrett, John; Collen, George William ed. (1840), The baronetage of England. revised, corrected and continued, Oxford University, p. 373 
• Debrett, John; Courthorpe, William ed. (1839), The baronetage of England, J. G. & F. Rivington, p. 130 
• Burke, John; Courthorpe, William ed. (1832), A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire, Vol. 2, H. Colburn and R. Bentley, p. 147 
• Hervey, William, Clarenceux king of arms (1866), The visitation of Suffolke, Lowestoft, London: S. Tymms, Whittaker and co., pp. 230–231 
• Burnham Westgate Church - Monument Inscriptions, Burnham Westgate: burnhammarket.co.uk, pp. 45–50  External link in |publisher= (help)
• St John Priest, Richard Parkinson (1813), General view of the agriculture of Buckinghamshire, Sherwood, Heeley & Jones, p. 219 
• White, William (1854), History, gazetteer, and directory of Norfolk, and the city and county of the city of Norwich, R. Leader, p. 665 
• Churchill, Penny (2011), An exceptional country estate in Norfolk, retrieved 2012-01-30 
• Nicholls, John (1815), The Gentleman's magazine, 118, E. Cave, p. 379 
• Matcham, Mary Eyre (1911), The Nelsons of Burnham Thorpe: A record of a Norfolk family compiled from unpublished letters and notebooks, London: John Lane, pp. 163–168 
• Jones, Elizabeth, Reminiscences of Elizabeth Jones (nee Helsham, 1801-1866), retrieved 2012-01-31