Obituary: Lady Elizabeth Montagu

LADY Elizabeth Montagu of Hinchingbrooke was laid to rest in the family vault at St Mary s Church in Brampton on Monday. She died, aged 88, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on January 10. It was the last time a member of the Montagu family, which b

LADY Elizabeth Montagu of Hinchingbrooke was laid to rest in the family vault at St Mary's Church in Brampton on Monday. She died, aged 88, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on January 10.

It was the last time a member of the Montagu family, which brought Hinchingbrooke House (now part of the school) in 1627, will be buried in the vault, said Eileen Collier, a parish councillor and editor of the village magazine Brampton Matters.

Forty family mourners were led by Lady Elizabeth's nephew, the 11th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu.

The service was conducted by lay reader Ann Allsopp and included tributes by the Earl, his brother, the Hon Robert Montagu, and family friend Anne Balfour-Fraser.

In the 1950s, Lady Elizabeth, who grew up at Hinchingbrooke, wrote a collection of poetry commended by Sir John Betjeman, and novels, including Waiting for Camilla (1953), Small Corner (1955) and This Side of the Truth (1957) - the latter was highly commended by Graham Greene.

The family sold Hinchingbrooke House in the late 1960s. The 11th Earl and his family now live in Bearminster, Dorset.