gate, Norfolk. One of the daughters, Emily, married Norman Macleod Ferrers, D.D., formerly master of Gonville and Caius College.
His works are:
- ‘An Historical Account of the XXXIX Articles,’ Cambridge, 1829, 4to; second edit. 1835, 4to.
- ‘Masters's History of the College of Corpus Christi in the University of Cambridge; with additional matter and a continuation to the present time,’ Cambridge, 1831, 4to.
- ‘Hebrew Characters derived from Hieroglyphics. The original pictures applied to the interpretation of various words and passages in the Sacred Writings, and especially of the History of the Creation and Fall of Man,’ London, 1835, 8vo; second edit. Cambridge, 1835, 8vo.
- ‘The Table of Abydos correctly interpreted: corroborative of the Chronology derived from the Sacred Writings,’ London, 1836, 8vo.
- ‘A Collection of Letters, Statutes, and other Documents from the MS. Library of Corpus Christi College, illustrative of the History of the University of Cambridge during the time of the Reformation, from a.d. md. to mdlxxii.,’ London, 1838, 8vo.
- ‘The Phænomena and Diosemeia of Aratus, translated into English Verse, with Notes,’ London, 1848, 8vo.
[Private information; Gent. Mag. new ser. ix. 333, xxxiii. 667; Graduati Cantabr. (Romilly); Le Neve's Fasti (Hardy), i. 225, 445, iii. 682.]
LAMB, MARY ANN (1764–1847), sister of Charles Lamb. [See under Lamb, Charles.]
LAMB, Sir MATTHEW (1705–1768), politician, second son of Matthew Lamb or Lambe, an attorney of Southwell, and the legal adviser of the Cokes of Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, was born in 1705, was educated to the law, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. Robert, bishop of Peterborough, was his elder brother. In 1734 the death of his uncle Peniston Lamb, who had been a successful ‘pleader under the bar,’ placed him in the possession of a considerable fortune. He rapidly extended his business, became the confidential adviser of Lord Salisbury and Lord Egmont, and according to Hayward (Celebrated Statesmen, i. 332), feathered his nest at their expense. He was probably the Councillor Lamb of Lincoln's Inn who in 1738 was appointed solicitor to the revenue of the post office (Gent. Mag. 1738). Two years later he married Miss Charlotte Coke, who, on the unexpected death of her brother, George Lewis Coke, in 1751, inherited Melbourne Hall. He acquired Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, by purchase from the representatives of Sir Thomas Winnington in 1746. Lamb was already in parliament, having been returned for Stockbridge in 1741, and he was elected for Peterborough in 1747, which borough he represented until his death. On 17 Jan. 1755 he was created a baronet, and in the following year removed from Red Lion Square to Sackville Street, Piccadilly. He died on 5 Nov. 1768, leaving property estimated at nearly half a million, besides half a million in ready money. Lamb had three children: Peniston, who succeeded to the baronetcy, and was created first lord (1770) and viscount (1781) Melbourne in the Irish peerage; Charlotte, who married Henry, second earl of Fauconberg, in 1766, and died in 1790; and Anne, who died unmarried in 1768.
[Torrens's Memoirs of Lord Melbourne, vol. i. chap. i.; Lord Melbourne's Papers, ed. Sanders, chap. i.]
LAMB, WILLIAM, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), second son of Peniston, first viscount Melbourne (1748–1819), by Elizabeth (1749–1818), only daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, bart., of Halnaby, Yorkshire, was born 15 March 1779. His father, son of Sir Matthew Lamb [q. v.], inherited a large property, which he promptly squandered. He was member for Ludgershall in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1784, when he was a silent follower of Lord North. He afterwards sat for Malmesbury and Newport, Isle of Wight (1784–93); was created an Irish baron in 1770 by the title of Lord Melbourne of Kilmore, and an Irish viscount in 1781. He was appointed gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales in 1784, and created an English peer in 1815. Lady Melbourne (who was married 13 April 1769) was a remarkable woman. Though Horace Walpole thought her affected (Letters, ed. Cunningham, vii. 63), and she was the object of some scandal (Wraxall, Memoirs, ed. Wheatley, v. 370; Hayward, Celebrated Statesmen, p. 336; and Greville, pt. ii. vol. iii. p. 241), Byron on her death, 6 April 1818, called her ‘the best, and kindest, and ablest female I have ever known, old or young’ (Moore, Byron, p. 379; see also p. 206). The rise of the family was due to her brilliant qualities. She was thrice painted by Reynolds; in 1770, mezzotint by Finlayson, and twice in 1771, together with her eldest child, Peniston (born 3 May 1773). The first picture was engraved by Watson; the second, ‘Maternal Affection,’ by Dickinson.
William Lamb was his mother's favourite child, and she set herself to form his character. His childhood was passed at Brocket
