Earl of Conway was a title in the Peerage of England

Peerage of England

The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....

. It was created in 1679 for Edward Conway, 3rd Viscount Conway

Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway

Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway PC, FRS was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683.-Life:...

, subsequently Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Secretary of State for the Northern Department

The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...

. The Conway family descended from Sir John Conway, Governor of Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

. His son Edward Conway

Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway

Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC was an English soldier and statesman.-Life:He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of Arrow, and his wife Ellen or Eleanor, daughter of Sir Fulke Greville of Beauchamp's Court, Warwickshire....

 served as Secretary of State

Secretary of State (England)

In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....

 and 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...

. He was created Baron Conway, of Ragley in the County of Warwick, in 1624, and Viscount Conway, of Conway Castle, in 1627, both in the Peerage of Ireland

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,...

. In 1627 he was also made Viscount Killultagh in the Peerage of Ireland

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,...

. He was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. He was a soldier and politician. In 1628 he was summoned to 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....

 through a writ of acceleration

Writ of acceleration

A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...

 in his father's junior title Baron Conway. On his death the titles passed to his only son, the aforementioned third Viscount, who was elevated to an earldom in 1679. The Earl of Conway was childless and all the titles became extinct on his death in 1683.

The Conway estates were inherited by the Earl's second cousin Popham Seymour

Popham Seymour-Conway

Popham Seymour-Conway, born Seymour was an Anglo-Irish landowner and rake, the eldest son of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet by his second marriage to Laetitia Popham, daughter of Alexander Popham....

, who was shortly afterwards killed in a duel by a Colonel Kirk. The estates then passed to the next brother Francis Seymour

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC , was a British politician, born Francis Seymour.-Background:...

. Both assumed the additional surname of Conway in accordance with the Earl's will. In 1703, Francis was created Baron Conway, of Ragley in the County of Warwick, in the Peerage of England. In 1712 he was also made Baron Conway and Killultagh, of Killultagh in the County of Antrim, in the Peerage of Ireland

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,...

. His son, the second Baron, was created Marquess of Hertford

Marquess of Hertford

The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain.The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Beauchamp of Hache...

 in 1793. See this title for further history of the peerages.

The family seats of the Conway family were Conway Castle in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall is located south of Alcester, Warwickshire, eight miles west of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Hertford and is one of the stately homes of England.-The present day:...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

.

Viscounts Conway (1627)

• Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway
  Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway
  Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC was an English soldier and statesman.-Life:He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of Arrow, and his wife Ellen or Eleanor, daughter of Sir Fulke Greville of Beauchamp's Court, Warwickshire....
  
   (1564–1631)
• Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway
  Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway
  Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway PC was an English politician, military commander and peer.-Early life and education:...
  
   (1594–1655)
• Edward Conway, 3rd Viscount Conway
  Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway
  Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway PC, FRS was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683.-Life:...
  
  (1623–1683) (created Earl of Conway in 1679)