Sidney Meadows

Sir Sidney Meadows (c. 1699 – 15 November 1792) was a British Member of Parliament and Knight Marshal of the King's Household during the reign of George II and George III.

Family
He was the eldest son of the diplomat Sir Philip Meadowes (1672-1757), of Brompton, Kensington, and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Edward Boscawen. On 2 June 1742 he married Jemima, daughter of the Hon. Charles Montagu of Durham and granddaughter of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich. Earl Sandwich's grandson - Edward Montagu  - and his wife  Elizabeth, leader of  the Blue Stockings Society, were Meadows' brother and sister-in-law. Horace Walpole references the wealth of Sir Sidney and Lady Meadows in his published correspondence.

In 1768, Queen Charlotte "set   the worthy King to work  to patch up" with Sir Sidney the  scandal of the  "stolen marriage"  Sir Sidney's daughter Frances (1741-1769) - Charlotte's  Maid of Honour - had made with Captain Campbell, "a penniless officer". Despite not "giving notice to the queen or her father", Charlotte kept the peace  and generously gave "her late maid of honour a thousand pounds". Frances  died in "childbed" i.e., giving birth to her only son.



Career
Through the influence of his uncle Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth, Meadows was returned to Parliament for Penryn in 1722 and for Truro in 1727. In 1734 he was nominated Member for Tavistock by the Duke of Bedford. All his recorded votes were against the government and he did not stand in 1741. In 1757 he succeeded his father and in 1758 he was appointed Knight Marshal, one of the judges (along with the Lord Steward of the Household) of the Marshalsea Court. He held this office until his death. In 1761, Sidney Meadows was promoted to the position of Deputy Ranger of Richmond Park in the grazing and agricultutral branches under the direction of King George III, himself  interested in the management of the park. Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute was Ranger. Sidney's brother, Philip (1708-1781), took over the role of Deputy Ranger of Richmond Park and held it until his death.

Equestrian
A talented horseman, Meadows made many improvements in the "art of horsemanship". George Stubbs painted a  portrait of him  upon  his horse. Meadows conducted a riding house in Mayfair and gave riding lessons to the nobility, believing they would   benefit from his expertise. A "strong-built man", Meadows was still giving horse-riding instructions  when "approaching eighty". Hester Thrale, celebrated member of the Blue Stockings Society,  observed both his horses and his equestrian skills favourably when visiting him at his "riding house".