Earl FitzWilliam
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
and the Peerage of Great Britain
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family. This family claim descent from William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
. The Fitzwilliams acquired extensive holdings in South Yorkshire, largely through strategic alliances through marriage. In 1410, Sir John Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough, who died in 1421, married Margaret Clarell, daughter of Thomas Clarell of Aldwark, the descendant of a major Norman landholding family. Thus did the Fitzwilliams acquire the Clarell holdings.
Sir William Fitzwilliam
William Fitzwilliam
William FitzWilliam may refer to:*William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton , English courtier*William FitzWilliam , Lord Deputy of Ireland...
(c.1460-1534) was an Alderman and Sheriff of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and acquired the Milton Hall
Milton Hall
Milton Hall is the largest private house in Cambridgeshire, England, and formerly a part of Northamptonshire. It dates from 1594, being the historical home of the Fitzwilliam family, and is situated in an extensive park in which some original oak trees from an earlier Tudor Deer Park...
estate in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
in 1506. His grandson Sir William FitzWilliam
William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy)
- Early life :FitzWilliam was born at Milton, Northamptonshire, the eldest son of Sir William and grandson of William Fitzwilliam , alderman and sheriff of London, who had been treasurer and chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey and who purchased Milton in 1506...
served as Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
from 1571 to 1575 and from 1588 to 1594. His grandson William FitzWilliam was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Lord Fitzwilliam, Baron of Liffer, alias Lifford, in the County of Donegal, in 1620. His grandson, the third Baron (who succeeded his father in 1658), was in 1716 created Earl Fitzwilliam, of the County of Tyrone with the subsidiary title Viscount Miltown, in the County of Westmeath, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He sat as 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,...
for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
. On his death the titles passed to his son, the third Earl. He also represented Peterborough in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. In April 1742 he was created Lord Fitzwilliam, Baron of Milton in the County of Northampton, in the Peerage of Great Britain, and in 1746 he was further honoured when he was made Earl Fitzwilliam, of Norborough with the subsidiary title Viscount Milton, both in the County of Northampton, also in the Peerage of Great Britain. Lord Fitzwilliam married Lady Anne Watson-Wentworth (d. 1769), daughter of Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham
Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham
Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC was a British peer and Whig politician.Watson-Wentworth was the only son and heir of Hon...
, and sister of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC , styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime...
.
He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was a prominent Whig politician and served as Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
and as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1782 he inherited the Watson-Wentworth estates (including Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. "One of the great Whig political palaces", its East Front, long, is the longest country house façade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms and covers an...
) on the death of his uncle Lord Rockingham, which made him one of the greatest landowners in the country. When he died the titles passed to his son, the fifth Earl. He represented several constituencies in the House of Commons and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1851. In 1856 Lord Fitzwilliam assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Wentworth. He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the sixth Earl. He sat as Member of Parliament for Malton
Malton (UK Parliament constituency)
Malton, also called New Malton, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295 and 1298, and again from 1640, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885...
and County Wicklow and served as Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire
Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire
This is a list of those who have held the position of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire from its creation in 1660 to its abolition on 31 March 1974. From 1699 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of Yorkshire...
. His eldest son William FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton, was also a Member of Parliament but predeceased his father. Lord Fitzwilliam was therefore succeeded by his grandson, the seventh Earl. He was the eldest son of Viscount Milton. He represented Wakefield
Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in Parliament as a Liberal Unionist. When he died the titles passed to his son, the eighth Earl. He was killed in an aircrash 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...
in 1948.
On his early death the line of the eldest son of the sixth Earl failed and titles passed to the late Earl's first cousin once removed, the ninth Earl. He was the son of Captain the Hon. Sir William Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, fourth son of the sixth Earl. When he died in 1952 this line of the family also failed and the titles were inherited by his second cousin, the tenth Earl. He was the son of George Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, son of the Hon. George Wentworth-Fitzwilliam
George Wentworth-FitzWilliam
-Background:Wentworth-FitzWilliam was a younger son of Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliam, and Mary, daughter of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas...
, MP, third son of the fifth Earl. On his death in 1979 all the titles became extinct. The family seat of Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. "One of the great Whig political palaces", its East Front, long, is the longest country house façade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms and covers an...
was sold while the more than 80,000 acre (320 km²) estate including much of the town of Malton
Malton, North Yorkshire
Malton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 4,000 people....
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, was retained. The other family seat, Milton Hall, and its considerable estate of over 50,000 acres (200 km²) together with valuable properties in Peterborough and the surrounding area continue by descent in the family.
The Bourne Park Estate, near Canterbury, Kent, England, remains in the ownership of Lady Juliet Tadgell, née Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, only child of the 8th Earl by his wife the former Olive Dorothea Plunket.
The eldest son of the Earl Fitzwilliam bore the courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
Viscount Milton.
Lady Mabel Fitzwilliam
Lady Mabel Fitzwilliam
Lady Mabel Florence Harriet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam was an English socialist politician, later known as Lady Mabel Smith....
, a socialist politician and "an ardent pioneer in education and social welfare", was a granddaughter of the 6th Earl.
Barons Fitzwilliam (1620)
- William Fitzwilliam, 1st Baron Fitzwilliam (d.1644)
- William Fitzwilliam, 2nd Baron FitzwilliamWilliam FitzWilliam, 2nd Baron FitzWilliamWilliam Fitzwilliam, 2nd Baron Fitzwilliam was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England between 1640 and 1653....
(c.1609–1658) - William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Baron Fitzwilliam (1643–1719) (created Earl Fitzwilliam in 1716)
Earls Fitzwilliam (1716; 1746)
- William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl Fitzwilliam (1643–1719)
- John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam (1681–1728)
- William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl FitzwilliamWilliam Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl FitzwilliamWilliam FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam was a British peer.He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum Lound, Nottinghamshire...
(1719–1756) (created Earl Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1746) - William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl FitzwilliamWilliam FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliamWilliam Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC , styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates, making him one of the richest people in...
(1748–1833) - Charles William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl FitzwilliamCharles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliamCharles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam KG was a British nobleman. He was three times President of the Royal Statistical Society ....
(1786–1857)- William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton (1812–1835)
- William Thomas Spencer Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 6th Earl FitzwilliamWilliam Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliamWilliam Thomas Spencer Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam, KG was a British peer and Liberal politician....
(1815–1902)- William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount MiltonWilliam Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount MiltonWilliam Wentworth Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton was a British politician and explorer.Milton was the eldest son of William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam, and his wife Lady Frances Harriet, daughter of George Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton, and was educated at Eton and Trinity College,...
(1839–1877)
- William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton
- William Charles de Meuron Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl FitzwilliamWilliam Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliamWilliam Charles de Meuron Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam was a British aristocrat. He was born in Pointe de Meuron, Canada and died at the family's seat...
(1872–1943) - (William Henry Lawrence) Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl FitzwilliamPeter Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 8th Earl FitzWilliamWilliam Henry Lawrence Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam, DSO , styled Viscount Milton before 1943, was a British soldier and aristocrat.-Biography:...
(1910–1948) - Eric Spencer Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 9th Earl Fitzwilliam (1883–1952)
- William Thomas George Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 10th Earl Fitzwilliam (1904–1979)
External links
- Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1968 edition)
- www.thepeerage.com