Baron Acton
Encyclopedia
Baron Acton, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. It was created on 11 December 1869 for the prominent historian and Liberal
Member of Parliament
Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet
.
His son, the second Baron, was a diplomat and also held minor office in the Liberal administrations
of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith
. In 1919 he assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Lyon, which was that of his father-in-law. His son, the third Baron, sold the family home in 1947 and settled in Rhodesia. The fourth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1989, lost his seat in the House of Lords
after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
. However, on 17 April 2000 he was created a life peer
as Baron Acton of Bridgnorth, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire. Consequently, Lord Acton was able to return to the House of Lords where he sat on the Labour
benches. He died in 2010 and was succeeded by his son.
The Acton Baronetcy, of Aldenham
in the County of Shropshire
, was created in the Baronetage of England on 17 January 1644 for Edward Acton. He represented Bridgnorth
in both the Short Parliament
and the Long Parliament
and was a supporter of King Charles I
during the Civil War
. His son, the second Baronet, grandson, the third Baronet, and great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, all sat as Members of Parliament for Bridgnorth. On the death of the latter's son, the fifth Baronet, the line of the eldest son of the second Baronet failed.
The title was inherited by the late Baronet's second cousin once removed, the sixth Baronet. He was the son of Edward Acton, who had settled in Besançon in France
as a physician; Edward (of Besançon) was the son of another Edward, son of Walter, second son of Sir Walter Acton second Baronet. He served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Naples
. Acton married his niece Mary Anne Acton. Their second son Charles Januarius Edward Acton, known as Cardinal Acton, was a prominent clergyman in the Catholic Church. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, the seventh Baronet. In 1832 he married Marie Louise Pelline von Dalberg
, only child and heiress of Emmerich Joseph von Dalberg, Duke of Dalberg, a member of an ancient German aristocratic family. In 1833 he assumed by Royal license the surname of Dalberg-Acton. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Baronet, who in 1869 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Acton.
The heir presumptive is the present holder's uncle, Reverend Canon Dr John Charles Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 1943).
The former Acton family seat was Aldenham Park in Shropshire, which was sold in 1947.
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created on 11 December 1869 for the prominent historian and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
.
Liberal Government 1905-1915
With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority...
of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
. In 1919 he assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Lyon, which was that of his father-in-law. His son, the third Baron, sold the family home in 1947 and settled in Rhodesia. The fourth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1989, lost his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
. However, on 17 April 2000 he was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Acton of Bridgnorth, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire. Consequently, Lord Acton was able to return to the House of Lords where he sat on the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
benches. He died in 2010 and was succeeded by his son.
The Acton Baronetcy, of Aldenham
Aldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...
in the County of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, was created in the Baronetage of England on 17 January 1644 for Edward Acton. He represented Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgnorth was a parliamentary borough in Shropshire which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1885.It...
in both the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
and the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
and was a supporter of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. His son, the second Baronet, grandson, the third Baronet, and great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, all sat as Members of Parliament for Bridgnorth. On the death of the latter's son, the fifth Baronet, the line of the eldest son of the second Baronet failed.
The title was inherited by the late Baronet's second cousin once removed, the sixth Baronet. He was the son of Edward Acton, who had settled in Besançon in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as a physician; Edward (of Besançon) was the son of another Edward, son of Walter, second son of Sir Walter Acton second Baronet. He served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. Acton married his niece Mary Anne Acton. Their second son Charles Januarius Edward Acton, known as Cardinal Acton, was a prominent clergyman in the Catholic Church. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, the seventh Baronet. In 1832 he married Marie Louise Pelline von Dalberg
Dalberg
Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle of Dalberg or Dalburg near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate...
, only child and heiress of Emmerich Joseph von Dalberg, Duke of Dalberg, a member of an ancient German aristocratic family. In 1833 he assumed by Royal license the surname of Dalberg-Acton. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Baronet, who in 1869 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Acton.
Coat of arms
The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the barony is: Quarterly: 1st and 4th, gules, semée of cross crosslets fitchée or two lions passant guardant in pale argent (for Acton); 2nd, quarterly: 1st and 4th, azure, six fleurs-de-lis three two and one argent, a chief dancetty of the last; 2nd and 3rd, or, a cross patonce gules; over all an escutcheon gules thereon a tower argent, a chief dancetty of the last (for Dalberg); 3rd, azure, a lion passant or between three plates each charged with a griffin's head erased sable (for Lyon).Acton Baronets, of Aldenham (1644)
- Sir Edward Acton, 1st Baronet (1600–1659)
- Sir Walter Acton, 2nd Baronet (1623–1665)
- Sir Edward Acton, 3rd Baronet (c. 1650–1716)
- Sir Whitmore Acton, 4th Baronet (1678–1732)
- Sir Richard Acton, 5th Baronet (1712–1791)
- Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th BaronetSir John Acton, 6th BaronetSir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was commander of the naval forces of Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV....
(1736–1811) - Sir Ferdinand Richard Edward Dalberg-Acton, 7th BaronetSir Ferdinand Dalberg-Acton, 7th BaronetSir Ferdinand Richard Edward Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet was a British baronet.He was born in Sicily where his father Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet, a former Prime Minister of Naples, had been forced to flee in 1806. His mother was the eldest daughter of his father’s brother, General Joseph Edward...
(1801–1837) - Sir John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 8th BaronetJohn Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron ActonJohn Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
(1834–1902) (created Baron Acton in 1869)
Barons Acton (1869)
- John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron ActonJohn Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron ActonJohn Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
(1834–1902) - Richard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron ActonRichard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron ActonRichard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, KCVO, JP, DL was a British Peer and diplomat. Despite his British roots and long service, having been born abroad, he was not formally a British subject, until he was naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1911...
(1870–1924) - John Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron ActonJohn Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron ActonJohn Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton, CMG, MBE, TD, DL was a British Peer. The son of Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, he succeeded to the barony upon the death of his father....
(1907–1989) - Richard Gerald Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron ActonRichard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron ActonRichard Gerald Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton and Baron Acton of Bridgnorth was a British Labour politician....
(1941–2010) - John Charles Ferdinand Harold Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 5th Baron ActonJohn Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 5th Baron ActonJohn Charles Harold Ferdinand Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 5th Baron Acton .Born in Oxford, he was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford . He married Lucinda Percival in 1998. He is today an author and farmer living in Gloucestershire, England...
(b. 1966)
The heir presumptive is the present holder's uncle, Reverend Canon Dr John Charles Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 1943).
The former Acton family seat was Aldenham Park in Shropshire, which was sold in 1947.