ORIGIN OF THE TITLES
OF SOME OF THE
ENGLISH NOBILITY.

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"It is an ancient received saying, that there is no Poverty but is descended of Nobility; nor no Nobility but is descended of Beggary."

History of the Gwedir Family, p. 94.

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Westmoreland, Earl.—From the County.

Burghersh[221], Baron (Fane).—Bartholomew, Baron of Burghersh, was the Tenth Knight of the Order of the Garter, at the Institution 1350; who left a Daughter and Heir, who married Edward Le Despenser; which official Title was afterwards erected into a Barony by Summons, A. D. 1285; and was for a long time merged in the Family of Fane, Earl of Westmoreland, till the failure of Male Issue in a direct line, 1762. The Earldom and Barony of Burghersh passed to a distant branch, of the name of Fane; but the Barony of Le Despenser went by a Female to Sir Francis Dashwood, Bart. in right of his Mother.

Le Despenser, Baron (Stapleton).—A nominal Title from official derivation. It was held originally by Descent and Summons, A.D. 1295. Anno 23 Edward I. it passed by Marriage to the Earl of Westmoreland; and, being a Fee, descended to Sir Francis Dashwood, Bart.; and after him to his Sister, Lady Austen, and now, 1788, is vested in Sir Thomas Stapleton, Bart. of Oxfordshire.

Wentworth[222], Viscount (Noel).—After the Barony of Wentworth had continued for several successions in the name of Wentworth, of Nettlestead in Suffolk, the Title devolved on Anne, the Wife of John Lord Lovelace, whose Daughter Martha inherited the Barony of Wentworth, and to whom the Title was confirmed, by Descent, in Parliament, A.D. 1702; and she walked at the Coronation of Queen Anne as Baroness Wentworth in her own right. She dying without Issue, 1745, the Title devolved on the Descendants of Sir William Noel, Bart. who had married Margaret, another Daughter of Lord Lovelace, by Anne, the Heiress of Wentworth Lord Wentworth. Hence the Title passed to Edward, the eldest Son of Sir Clobery Noel, Bart. who succeeded to his Father's Title of Baronet, 1733; and to the Barony of Wentworth, as Heir of Margaret, 1745. He was created Viscount Wentworth of Wellesborough, co. Leic. 1762.

Howland, Baron (Russell).—A Barony in the Duke of Bedford, granted in honour of Elizabeth, Daughter of John Howland, Esq. of Streatham in Surrey (by whom the Family acquired that estate), who married Wriothesley, Grandson of the first Duke of Bedford, and the eldest Son of Lord William Russell, who was beheaded 1683[223].

Normanby, Marquis, extinct (Sheffield).—The second Title of Sheffield Duke of Buckingham, taken from an obscure place in Lincolnshire.

Chandos, Duke (Brydges).—The Patent is dated April 29, 1719, wherein the Grantee is styled "Duke of Chandos in the County of Hereford." The Dukedom became extinct, by the death of James the third Duke, s. p. 1789. The Barony exists (1790), if a claim to it can be established, as that creation bears date A. D. 1554.

Arundel OF Wardour, Baron (Arundel[224]).—From Wardour Castle in Wiltshire. He is a Count of the Empire by Grant of Rodolph II. A. D. 1595[225].

Sondes, Baron (Watson).—A revived Title, from the inheritance of part of the estates of Lewis Watson, Earl of Rockingham and Viscount Sondes. Lewis Watson, having married the Heiress of Sir George Sondes, K.B. was created Earl of Rockingham and Viscount Sondes, in honour of his Wife's Father, 1714; so that the present Title is nominal. The Estate at Lees-Court in Kent came by the above marriage.

Onslow and Cranley, Baron (Onslow).—This Barony is both nominal and local, for the Family came from Onslow in Shropshire. Their first settlement in Surrey was at Knowle, in the Parish of Cranley, whence came the second Barony by creation to George Onslow, the Son of Arthur (the Speaker), in the life-time of his Cousin Richard, then Lord Onslow, 1776. The original Patent, 1716, to Richard (who was Speaker also) the eldest Son of Sir Arthur Onslow, Bart. was limited to the Heirs Male of his Father, which carried the Title of Baron Onslow of Onslow and Clendon[226], to the Son of Arthur (the Speaker), on the death of his Cousin Richard Lord Onslow, 1776[227].

N.B. George Lord Onslow and Cranley was created into the latter Title, May 14, 1776; and succeeded his Cousin Richard in the Title of Onslow, on the 8th of the following October.

Berkeley, Earl.—From Berkeley Castle, the present Seat of the Family, in Gloucestershire. The Barony of Berkeley is a Feudal Honour by the Tenure of the Castle of Berkeley; and the Possessor of it had Summons to Parliament as a Baron by that Tenure, anno 23 Edward I.[228]

Dursley, Viscount.—From Dursley in Gloucestershire, the original Seat of the Family.

De Clifford, Baron (Southwell).—From Clifford Castle in Herefordshire; where Walter Fitz-Ponce, whose Father possessed it by marriage, resided, and took the name of Clifford. The first Fitz-Ponce came hither with the Conqueror, to whom he was related. The Barony passed in the Female Line to the Family of Southwell, to which it was confirmed A.D. 1775. The first Summons to Parliament was anno 23 Edward I. 1295.

Ducie, Baron, of Morton and Tortworth (Reynolds).—The Peer of the name of Ducie was descended from Sir Robert Ducie, Lord Mayor of London, 1631; and who had been created a Baronet[229]. The Issue Male of the name of Ducie failing, the Title was renewed by Patent, 1763, to Matthew Ducie, Lord Ducie of Morton in Staffordshire; with a Limitation to Thomas and Francis Reynolds, his Nephews, and their Heirs Male successively, by the Style of Lord Ducie of Tortworth in Gloucestershire. Thomas Reynolds succeeded to this Title on the death of his Uncle, 1770; and dying without Issue 1785, it devolved on his Brother Francis; who dying in 1808, was succeeded by his Son Thomas, present Lord Ducie.

Powis, Earl (Herbert).—Powis is a part of Shropshire bordering on Wales; and was formerly a little Kingdom, still known by the name of Powis-Land. The first Baron was created by Henry I. on a surrender of the actual Territory, and an acknowledgment of service[230].

Ludlow, Viscount.—From the Town of that name in Shropshire[231].

Audley, Baron (Thicknesse-Touchet). Audley is in Staffordshire. John Touchet married Joan, eldest Daughter of Lord Audley of Heleigh, whose Descendant was found Heir, and had Summons to Parliament, A.D. 1296[232]. The honour of Peerage in the name of Touchet, who was also Earl of Castlehaven in Ireland, ended in a Daughter (Lady Elizabeth), who married Philip Thicknesse, Esq. and died in 1762, leaving Issue; the Barony (being a Fee) passed to George Thicknesse, her Son, on the death of the Earl of Castlehaven, 1777; and who has taken, by sign-manual, 1784, the additional name of Touchet. The Earldom is extinct.

Abergavenny, Earl (Nevile).—This is a Title derived from a Lord Marcher, and taken, among many others now merged or extinct, from the place conquered. Mr. Pennant says, it is the only surviving Title of that nature[233].

Nevile, Viscount.—From the Name.

Middleton, Baron (Willoughby).—From an obscure Village, near Sutton-Coldfield, in Warwickshire[234].

Coventry, Earl.—From the City, or the Name.

Deerhurst, Viscount (Coventry).—From a place in Gloucestershire.

Stanhope, Earl.—A nominal Title. The first Peer of this Branch was created Viscount Stanhope of Mahon, and Baron Stanhope of Elvaston, in the County of Derby, 1717, from his having taken Port-Mahon, in the Island of Minorca, 1708.

Mahon, Viscount (Stanhope).—The same Peer was created Earl Stanhope 1718, by which his second Title became "Viscount Mahon."

Dudley and Ward, Viscount (Ward).—The Barony of Ward is nominal, and was conferred in 1644. The Viscounty (by creation in 1763) is derived from a Village near Birmingham in Warwickshire.

N. B. The Viscounty includes both Honours; the Title being Viscount Dudley and Ward.

Dorchester, Earl (Damer).—Lord Milton, a Baron both of England and Ireland, was created Earl of Dorchester in Dorsetshire, 1792.

Milton, Viscount.—From Milton Abbey, the Seat of the Family, in Dorsetshire. The Title of Viscount was granted by the Patent in 1792.

Dorchester, Baron[235] (Carleton).—Sir Guy Carleton, K. B. was created Baron of Dorchester in Oxfordshire, 1786. Sir Dudley Carleton was created Baron Carleton 1626, and Viscount Dorchester in Oxfordshire 1628. It is, however, denied by the Heralds that Sir Guy is of that Family.

Leeds, Duke (Osborne).—From the Town of Leeds in Yorkshire.

Carmarthen, Marquis.—From Carmarthen in Wales.

Danby, Earl.—From a Castle of the name in Cleveland, a District of Yorkshire.

Albemarle, Earl.—otherwise Aumerle, and Aumale [Albo Marla, or White Marle], from a Town in Normandy, which gave Title to a Peer of France. It was conferred by William III. when at war with Louis XIV.

Bury, Viscount (Keppel).—In Suffolk.

Harrington, Earl (Stanhope[236]).—From a Village in Northamptonshire.

Petersham, Viscount (Stanhope).—A Village near Richmond in Surrey[237].

Suffolk, Earl.—From the County.

Bindon, Viscount (Howard).—In Dorsetshire. It was the Seat of Lord Marney (A. D. 1607); and came to this Branch of the Family of Howard by a Marriage with the Heiress of Lord Marney[238].

Shipbrooke, Viscount.—Richard Vernon was possessed of the Barony of Shipbroke, in Cheshire, in the time of Richard the First[239].

Orwell, Baron (Vernon).—Vernon, Baron of Shipbroke, was one of the Barons (of the Palatinate of Chester) created by Hugh Lupus, the first Norman Earl of Chester. Extinct[240].

Beaulieu, Earl; Beaulieu, Baron (Hussey-Montague).—Beaulieu is an Abbey in Hampshire, and was part of the Estate of John (Montagu) Duke of Montagu, inherited by his Daughter and Co-heiress the Duchess of Manchester, who married Sir Edward Hussey, K. B. Upon this marriage he took the additional name of Montague.

Vernon, Baron (Vernon).—The Title is nominal and local, from Vernon in Normandy[241]. The Descent is from Hamon de Massie-Venables, of Kinderton, in Cheshire, who was one of Hugh Lupus's Palatinate Barons, as Earl of Chester.

Harcourt, Earl.—The Title is from the Name, which is local, from a Town in Normandy, and which is also the Title of a French Dukedom.

Nuneham, Viscount (Harcourt).—From the Earl's Seat in Oxfordshire. The Earldom was erected in 1749.

Grafton, Duke.—From a Village in Northamptonshire, which was erected into an Honour, and conferred by King Charles II. on his Natural Son by the Duchess of Cleveland.

Euston, Earl (Fitzroy).—From the Seat in Suffolk.

Devonshire, Duke (Cavendish).—From the County. Descended from a Gentleman Usher to Cardinal Wolsey[242].

Hartington, Marquis (Cavendish).—From an obscure Village (the Property of the Duke) in the Peak of Derbyshire.

Dorset, Duke.—From the County. Sir Lionel Cranfield, Knight, Lord Cranfield, &c. was a Shop-keeper in London, as his Father had been before him[243].

Effingham, Earl (Howard).—From Effingham in Surrey, a Seat of this Branch of the Family, and where there was a Castle.

Sussex, Earl.—From the County.

Longueville, Viscount (Yelverton).—Sir Henry Yelverton, the Second Baronet, married Susan Baroness Grey of Ruthyn, Daughter and sole Heiress of Charles Longueville, Lord Grey of Ruthyn. To this Title the eldest Son of Sir Henry succeeded on the death of his Mother (being a Barony in Fee); and was followed by his Brother Henry, who was created Viscount Longueville 1690. Talbot Yelverton, the eldest Son of Henry, was created Earl of Sussex in 1717.

Beaufort, Duke.—Henry Beaufort, third Duke of Somerset, temp. Henry VII. had a Natural Son, to whom he gave the names of Charles Somerset (afterwards a Knight), whose Descendant was created Duke of Beaufort. Thus, by a Child of Casualty, the Name and Title have changed positions; as what was Beaufort Duke of Somerset is now Somerset Duke of Beaufort.

Worcester, Marquis (Somerset). From the City.

Manchester, Duke.—From the Town.

Mandeville, Viscount (Montagu).—A nominal Title from Geoffrey de Mandeville, who possessed Kimbolton, the Seat of the Family, temp. Guil. Conq.[244]

Mandeville is a Village in Normandy (a corruption of Magnaville, i. e. Magna Villa), which gave name to the person who accompanied William the Conqueror[245].

Waldegrave, Earl.—Waldegrave is a Village in Northamptonshire.

Chewton, Viscount (Waldegrave).—From a place in Somersetshire[246].

Mount-Edgecumbe, Earl.—Baron Edgecumbe by Creation, 1742. Earl of Mount-Edgecumbe by Creation, 1789. From the Family Seat in Cornwall.

Valletort, Viscount (Edgecumbe).—From an old Norman Barony (De Valle TortÂ), with Lands annexed, in Devonshire, the property of the Family[247].

Gainsborough, Earl.—From the Town.

Campden, Viscount (Noel).—Campden is in Gloucestershire.

Sir Baptist Hicks, created Viscount Campden 1628, left two Daughters, the elder of whom married Lord Noel, one of whose Descendants (Edward) was created Earl of Gainsborough 1682.

Digby, Earl.—This Title, when a Barony, was nominal (though local in itself, from Digby, co. Lincoln) till Henry, the late Peer, was created Earl of Digby in 1790. He dying in 1793, was succeeded by Edward the present Earl.

Coleshill, Viscount (Digby).—In Warwickshire. The Manor of Coleshill was forfeited by Sir Simon Montfort, on a charge of High Treason in supporting Perkin Warbeck; when it was given to Simon Digby, then Deputy Constable of Coleshill Castle[248].

Montagu, or Montacute, Viscount (Browne).—From a high Hill in a Village in Somersetshire; where William Earl of Moreton, Maternal Brother to William the Conqueror, built a Castle, which, as it rises from its base to a sharp point, he called Mons acutus. Thus far the tradition; and Bishop Gibson, in his Edition of Camden's Britannia, allows this to have been the place from which Sir Anthony Browne, the first Viscount, had the Title[249].

Rutland, Duke.—From the County.

Granby, Marquis (Manners).—From a Village in Nottinghamshire.

The Barony of Roos of Hamlake[250] gives Title to the eldest Son of a Marquis of Granby, in his Father's life-time.

Kent, Duke.—From the County.

Harold, Earl (Grey), Extinct.—From a place of the name in Bedfordshire.

There was in this Family the Viscounty of Gooderich, from Gooderich Castle in Herefordshire.

Abingdon, Earl.—In Berkshire.

Norreys, Baron (Bertie).—James Bertie, the first Earl of Abingdon (who was the second Son of Montagu Bertie, the second Earl of Lindsey) was the Issue of a second Wife; viz. Bridget Baroness Norreys of Rycote in her own right. He had Summons to Parliament as Baron Norreys in 1572, and was created Earl of Abingdon in 1682[251].

Dacre, Baron (Roper, late Barrett-Leonard).—Originally both nominal and local, the first Peer having been Dacre of Dacre Castle in Cumberland.

Being a Barony in Fee, it has had owners of different names[252].

Godolphin, Earl.—From a Hill (perhaps anciently a Seigniory) in Cornwall. The proper name is Godolcan, corrupted into Godolphin. The word signifies, in the Cornish language, "White Eagle;" agreeably to which, the Arms of the Family are, "Gules, an Eagle displayed between three Fleurs de Lis Argent[253]."

Rialton, Viscount.—From a Village in Cornwall[254].

Tankerville, Earl.—Originally from a Town and Castle in Normandy[255]. The present Title is derived from Ford Lord Grey of Werk, who was created Earl of Tankerville (a dormant Title in his Family) in 1695. This Earl left an only Daughter, who married Charles Bennet, Baron of Ussulston, who was afterwards (1714) created Earl of Tankerville.

Ussulston, Baron (Bennet).—From one of the Hundreds of Middlesex.

Arlington, Earl.—The Title was derived from Arlington in Middlesex, the Seat of Sir Henry Bennet, who was created Baron Arlington 1664, and Earl of Arlington in 1672. He died in 1685.

Thetford, Viscount (Bennet), Extinct.—In Norfolk.

Bridgewater, Duke (Egerton).—The Lord Chancellor was the founder of this Family, and was a Natural Son of Sir Richard Egerton, Knight, of Ridley in Cheshire, by the Daughter of one Sparks of Bickerton[256].

Grey de Wilton, Baron (Egerton).—The present Peer (Sir Thomas Egerton, Bart.) is descended from Bridget, sole Sister and Heir to Thomas Lord Grey of Wilton, a Female Barony, denominated from Wilton in the County of Hereford[257].

Hertford, Earl.—From the Town.

Beauchamp, Viscount (Conway).—Nominal and local, from a place in Normandy.

Scarborough, Earl.—From Scarborough in Yorkshire.

Lumley, Viscount (Lumley, with the additional name of Sanderson).—From Lumley Castle, in the Bishoprick of Durham.

Rivers, Baron (Pitt).—The first of the name, De Redvers, came hither with William the Conqueror, and was made Earl of Devonshire. Baldwin de Redveriis (or Riveriis), Earl of Devonshire, had Estates in the neighbourhood of Exeter[258].

George Pitt, Ancestor of the present Lord Rivers (created in 1776), married Jane Daughter of Savage, Earl Rivers of Rock-Savage in Cheshire, Relict of George, the sixth Lord Chandos. She brought a large Estate to her second Husband, partly as Heiress of Savage Earl Rivers, and partly from her first Husband.

Darlington, Earl.—From Darlington, in the Bishoprick of Durham.

Barnard, Viscount (Vane).—From Barnard-Castle, in the Bishoprick of Durham.

Brownlow, Baron (Cust).—A nominal Title; for Sir Richard Cust, Bart. married Anne Daughter of Sir William Brownlow, Bart. Sister, and at length Heir, to John Brownlow, Viscount Tyrconnel, of the Kingdom of Ireland, seated at Belton in Lincolnshire.

Hawkesbury, Baron (Jenkinson).—Though this Family is styled of Walcot in Oxfordshire, it was originally seated at Hawkesbury in Gloucestershire.

Heathfield, Baron (Eliot).—Sir George Augustus Eliot, K. B. who commanded at Gibraltar during the celebrated Siege, chose this place in Sussex (his property) for his Title. It is said that the decisive Battle, called "The Battle of Hastings," was fought on this spot[259].

Camden, Marquis.—From his House at Chislehurst in Kent, formerly the residence of Camden the celebrated Antiquary, and now called Camden Place.

Bayham, Viscount (Pratt).—From Bayham Abbey, in Sussex, an Estate in the Family of Pratt, and now in possession of the Marquis.

Dynevor, Baroness (Rice and De Cardonel).—From Dinevawr in Caermarthenshire. She is the Daughter of the first Earl Talbot, and Widow of George Rice, Esquire. In the year 1780 the Earl was created Baron of Dinevawr, with limitation to his Daughter and her Issue male; and which took place on the Earl's death, in 1782. She enjoyed the Title till her death, 1793, when it descended to her eldest Son George Talbot Rice, who, in pursuance of the Will of his Grandmother, Lady Talbot (whose maiden name was De Cardonel), changed his Name, Arms, and Crest, to those of De Cardonel only, by Sign Manual, in May 1793 [See the Gazette].[260]

Newcastle, Duke (Holles).—From Sir William Holles, Lord Mayor of London[261].

Holderness, Earl (Darcy), Extinct.—For the origin of the Family, see Leland's Itinerary, vol. VI. p. 24.

Northampton, Marquis (Parr), Extinct.—For the origin of this Family, see also Leland's Itinerary, vol. VIII. p. 96.