George Browne, 8th Viscount Montagu
Encyclopedia
George Samuel Browne, 8th Viscount Montagu (26 June 1769 – October 1793) was an English nobleman.
While traveling in Europe with his friend Charles Sedley Burdett (second son of Francis Burdett
), the two became obstinately determined to ride a fishing boat over the Rhine Falls
, despite the warnings of the local inhabitants, none of whom could be hired or persuaded to help them. They died in the attempt, and he was succeeded in the viscountcy by a distant cousin, a clergyman.
In the same week that the unfortunate Viscount met his death, the family home of Cowdray House
was destroyed by fire; a circumstance which provided the foundation for a factitious legend of a "curse of fire and water" upon the Browne family for having received Battle Abbey
at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
.
While traveling in Europe with his friend Charles Sedley Burdett (second son of Francis Burdett
Francis Burdett (1743)
Francis Burdett was a member of the noble Burdett Family of Bramcote which had a lineage of Baronetcy. He failed to inherit the hereditary baronetcy as he died; in 1794; before his father did; in 1797, thus he was only the son and father of two Bramcote Burdett Baronets...
), the two became obstinately determined to ride a fishing boat over the Rhine Falls
Rhine Falls
The Rhine Falls is the largest plain waterfall in Europe.The falls are located on the Upper Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich. They are 150 m ...
, despite the warnings of the local inhabitants, none of whom could be hired or persuaded to help them. They died in the attempt, and he was succeeded in the viscountcy by a distant cousin, a clergyman.
In the same week that the unfortunate Viscount met his death, the family home of Cowdray House
Cowdray House
Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated just east of Midhurst, West Sussex standing on the north bank of the River Rother...
was destroyed by fire; a circumstance which provided the foundation for a factitious legend of a "curse of fire and water" upon the Browne family for having received Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey is a partially ruined abbey complex in the small town of Battle in East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the scene of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St...
at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
.