Michael Marsham was born on 22 November 1910 at Washpit Farm in Rougham, near King"s Lynn in Norfolk, England. His father was Reginald Hastings Marsham (1865-1922), the second son of Charles Marsham, 4th Earl of Romney, who was thus his paternal grandfather, and his mother was Dora Hermione North (d1923).
He became an orphan at the age of twelve. He worked as the manager an estate owned by Shane O"Neill, 3rd Baron O"Neill and located in Randalstown, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He collected rents from the Roman Catholic tenants who lived on the estate.
During World World War II, he served as a Major in the Royal Artillery of the British Army and was stationed in County Londonderry.
He returned to his job as an estate manager shortly after the war in 1945, up until 1963, when he retired in Norfolk. As a result, he served as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords from 1975 to 1999, when he lost his seat in the House as a result of the House of Lords Acting 1999.
Even though he served in the House for twenty-five years, he never made a single speech. He was interviewed in The Lord"s Tale, a television documentary directed by Molly Dineen about hereditary peers.
In the documentary, he joked that nobody cared about his views, but that the Conservative Party was happy to have his vote on their side.
A keen fox hunter, he served as the secretary of the West Norfolk Foxhounds. Additionally, he was the President of The Marine Society. He died on 5 June 2004 at Washpit Farm in Rougham.
He was ninety-three years old.
He also took part in the Countryside March organised by the Countryside Alliance in September 2002, when 400,000 people marched in central London to stand up for the interests of rural Britain.
