The founder of the English family of Montagu was "Drogo de Montagud", as his name appeared in its
Latinised form in the
Domesday Book of 1086. From his pattern of landholdings he appears to have been a knight or follower of
Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of King
William the Conqueror. Most of his sixteen English estates listed in the Domesday Book were held from Robert, Count of Mortain as his feudal overlord, with only one held directly from the king, namely Knowle. His principal landholdings were in the Hundred of Wincanton in Somerset, near
Bruton Priory where some of the early family were buried. His Domesday Book holdings included:
Held in-chief Knowle Chenolle (Knowle) (in the Hundred of Wincanton), held
in-chief from the crown. In the Domesday Book entry for
Chenolle he is called "Drogo de Montagud". The ancient estate is situated between the villages of Shepton Montagu and Stoney Stoke, on the east side of a knoll or hill, now represented by Knowle Park Farm, 1.5 km east of Shepton Montagu Church, and by Knowle Rock Farm, 0.8 km further east. Grants of
free warren were obtained for Knowle in 1314 and 1317 and a
deer park was in existence in 1397, which in 1569 was a mile "in compass". It was retained by the Montagu family until the extinction of the senior male line on the death of
Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1388–1428) when it passed through his daughter to the Neville family.
Held from Robert, Count of Mortain Shepton Montague Sceptone (now
Shepton Montague) (in the Hundred of Wincanton), held from Robert, Count of Mortain. He is named simply as "Drogo" in the Domesday Book entry.
Stony Stoke Stoche (now
Stoney Stoke) (in the Hundred of Wincanton). It was an addition to the manor of
Sceptone, thus also held from Robert, Count of Mortain. He is named simply as "Drogo" in the Domesday Book entry.
Bishopstone , viewed from east, with St Michael's Hill (the "sharpness" of which is greatly exaggerated) at left (the summit of which is 620 metres south-west of the Montacute House)
Biscopestone in the hundred of Tintinhull, Somerset. Now Bishopstone, the site of
Montacute Priory within the village of
Montacute, and to the immediate north of the Priory the Elizabethan mansion
Montacute House. In this manor Robert, Count of Mortain "has his castle, which is called "Montagud" (
Ipse Comes (Moriton) tenet in dominio Biscopestone et ibi est castellum eius quod vocatur Montagud The summit of St Michael's Hill is situated 620 metres south-west of the present
Montacute House. It became known at some time before 1086 by the Latin name of
Mons Acutus, meaning "Sharp Mountain", being referred to in the
Domesday Book "Montagud". One of the Count's four tenants at
Biscopestone is named in the Domesday Book as "Drogo", who held one hide, believed to be the "Drogo de Montagud", the tenant of
Chenolle (Knowle). This has added some mystery to the origin of the surname "de Montagu". It is stated in some sources that the English
de Montagu family, Earls of Salisbury, took its surname from its supposed manor of origin in Normandy, said to be Montaigu-les-Bois, in the arrondissement of
Coutances, which remained in the possession of a French family called "de Montaigu" until the death of Sebastien de Montaigu in 1715, without children. According to the
Duchess of Cleveland (
Battle Abbey Roll, 1889):
"(Drogo de Montaigu) had come to England in the train of the Earl of Mortain, and received from him large grants of lands, with the custody of the castle, built either by the Earl or his son William, in the manor of Bishopston, and styled, from its position on a sharp-topped hill, Monte Acuto" (sic,
Mons Acutus). The French spelling "Mont-Aigu" means "sharp mountain", and the family's name was
Latinised as
de Monte Acuto (ablative form of
Mons Acutus - "from the Sharp Mountain"). Authorities are not agreed as to whether the family was named after the hill in Bishopton, or whether the hill, village, parish and priory, were named after the family, thus ultimately after Montaigu-les-Bois in Normandy.
Tintinhull Tintehalle (Tintinhull), in the Hundred of Tintinhull, situated 1.5 miles north of Bishopstone.
Thorne Torne (Thorne), in the hundred of Stone, Somerset, situated 3.4 km east of Bishopstone. Held from Robert, Count of Mortain. At some time before 1160 Drogo donated land at Thorne and at Bishopstone to
Montacute Priory and made grants to
Bruton Priory, where he was buried.
Montagues of Boveney Controversy The earliest proven ancestor of this
cadet branch is Robert Montague (c. 1528 - 1575), who was a
tenant farmer and held 30 acres of land from the Lord of Cippenham in
Buckinghamshire. He married Margaret Cotton the daughter of Roger Cotton, who resided in
Berkshire. Robert bore the
coat of arms of
Simon de Montagu, but this lineage cannot be established. The separation from the main family line would have been around 1300. The origin of how Robert acquired Simon's coat of arms is unknown but research has stated that "Whatever may have been the origin of the pellets, the fact still remains, that the Boveney family bear the Arms of Sir Simon Montague of A.D. 1300, which arms were also born by his son lord William Montacute and by his grandson the first Earl of Salisbury. Heraldry, or more properly Armory, is the short hand of History, its purpose was to identify persons and property and to record descent and alliance. Hundreds of persons may be entitled to the same initials, may possess precisely the same names; but only the members of a particular family can lawfully bear certain armorial ensigns, and the various branches of even that family have their separate differences to distinguish one from the other. The Boveney family bear the same name as the descendants of Drogo". However, professional genealogist Myrtle Stevens Hyde mentioned this family line can only be traced to Robert Montague and the professional stance on this family is that they assumed the surname Montague in the early 1500s, and were originally a family called Elot in Berkshire. The Boveney Branch of Montagues eventually became prosperous land owners as well as tenants between the 15th and 18th centuries. One descendant was Reverend Lawrence Montague served as the
Vicar of
Dorney and his son
Richard was educated at
King's College and eventually became the
Dean of
Hereford College. Another descendant of this family line was Peter Montague who became the first Montague to immigrate to
Jamestown, Virginia in November 1621. He became a wealthy land owner along the
Charles River in Virginia and served on the
Virginia House of Burgesses between 1651 and 1658. Peter's descendants include
Robert Latane Montague, a Virginia politician and Robert's son
Andrew Jackson Montague, who served as the 44th
governor of Virginia. Another prominent descendant of Peter was Bessie Wallis Warfield, who married
Edward VIII,
Duke of Windsor.
Montague Y-DNA Project The Montague Y-DNA Project is a
surname DNA project including all the variations of the surname Montague such as Montagu, Montaigu, Montacue, etc.
Y-chromosome analysis shows that there are multiple unrelated
male lines in the Montague DNA Project and some, such as the Montagues of Boveney, claim descent from the original family line of Drogo as stated in the DNA Project "By 1603 the heraldry used by the Montague family of Sutton Montis came into use by the Montague family of Boveney and Winkfield, the most prominent of them was
Richard Montague Bishop of Chichester and Norwich. The transfer cannot be explained nor can the sudden rise in wealth, especially for the Winkfield branch who achieved the status of Gentleman prior to 1633. William Mountague of Boveney had his arms and pedigree entered into the 1634 Heralds Visitation of Buckinghamshire and showed the connection to Richard Montague Bishop of Chichester and Norwich and also that of Peter and Richard Mountague who both emigrated to America early in the 17th century". To date there is no bearer of the Montague surname that traces back to Drogo, so it is not known which Y-DNA group belongs to Drogo's descendants. ==Notable members==