Earl of Guilford
Encyclopedia
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....
in 1660 (as Countess of Guilford) for Elizabeth Boyle
Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Guilford
Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Guilford was an English peeress. She was created 1st Countess of Guildford for life at the Restoration on 14 July 1660, which became extinct upon her death c. 3 September 1667...
. She was the daughter of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh
William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh
William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh was an English naval officer and courtier.William Feilding was the son of Basil Fielding of Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire, , and of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Walter Aston and his wife, Elizabeth Leveson.The descent of the Feildings from the house of Habsburg,...
, and the widow of Lewis Boyle, 1st Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky. The title was for life only and became extinct on her death in 1667. The title was created for a second time in the Peerage of England in 1674 for John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
Sir John Maitland, 1st Duke and 2nd Earl of Lauderdale, 3rd Lord Thirlestane KG PC , was a Scottish politician, and leader within the Cabal Ministry.-Background:...
. For more information on this creation, see the article on him as well as the Earl of Lauderdale
Earl of Lauderdale
Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Earl was created Duke of Lauderdale but died without male issue when the dukedom became extinct. The earldom passed to his brother Charles,...
.
Despite these earlier creations the title of Earl of Guilford is chiefly associated with one branch of the North family. This branch of the family descends from the prominent lawyer and politician the Hon. Sir Francis North
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford PC KC was the third son of the 4th Baron North, and was created Baron Guilford in 1683, after becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in succession to Lord Nottingham....
, second son of Dudley North, 4th Baron North
Dudley North, 4th Baron North
Dudley North, 4th Baron North K.B. was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1660.-Life:...
(see the Baron North
Baron North
Baron North, of Kirtling Tower in the County of Cambridge, is an abeyant title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 17 January 1554, for Sir Edward North. He was a successful lawyer, clerk of the Parliament and chancellor of the Court of Augmentations. The barony was created by writ, which...
for earlier history of the family). He was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...
from 1675 to 1682 and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
from 1682 to 1685. In 1683 he was created Baron Guilford, of Guilford (now spelled Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
) in the County of Surrey, 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....
. He died at an early age and was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He served as President of the Board of Trade from 1713 to 1714 and was also Lord-Lieutenant of Essex. His son, the third Baron, represented Banbury
Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Banbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a strongly Conservative seat.The constituency was created January 26, 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton...
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 1734 he succeeded his cousin as seventh Baron North and in 1752 he was honoured when he was created Earl of Guilford in the Peerage of Great Britain.
He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. Known mainly under his 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...
of Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, he was one of the most influential statesman of the second half of the 18th century. As Prime Minister of Great Britain between 1770 and 1782, he was a major figure in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. North also held two of the other great offices of state, those of Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl. He represented several constituencies in the House of Commons. Lord Guilford had no sons and on his death the barony of North fell into abeyance between his daughters (see the Baron North
Baron North
Baron North, of Kirtling Tower in the County of Cambridge, is an abeyant title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 17 January 1554, for Sir Edward North. He was a successful lawyer, clerk of the Parliament and chancellor of the Court of Augmentations. The barony was created by writ, which...
for further history of this title). He was succeeded in the barony of Guilford and the earldom by his younger brother, the fourth Earl. He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was Member of Parliament for Banbury
Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Banbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a strongly Conservative seat.The constituency was created January 26, 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton...
from 1792 to 1794 and also served as Governor of Ceylon
Governor of Ceylon
The British Governor of Ceylon was an official who ruled Ceylon during the British colonial period between 1798 and 1948....
from 1798 to 1805. He was also childless and on his death the titles passed to his cousin, the sixth Earl. He was a clergyman. He was succeeded by his grandson, the seventh Earl. His son, the eighth Earl, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal East Kent Yeomanry. When he died the peerages were inherited by his grandson, the ninth Earl. As of 2009 the titles are held by the latter's only son, the tenth Earl, who succeeded in 1999.
Three other members of the North family may also be mentioned. Frederic Dudley North (1866–1921), great-grandson of Reverend Charles Augustus North, younger brother of the sixth earl, was a prominent civil servant in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His son Charles Frederic North (1887–1979) was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
from 1947 to 1953. Jonathan North (b. 1931), son of the Hon. John Montagu William North, second son of the eighth Earl, succeeded his maternal grandfather as second Baronet, of Southwell, in 1947 (see North Baronets
North Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname North, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two creations are extinct while one is still extant...
).
Lacking a different secondary title, the heirs apparent to the earldom have continued to use, without any legal basis, Lord North as a 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...
. An unqualified reference to Lord North almost always refers to Frederick North, Lord North
Frederick North, Lord North
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...
, later second Earl of Guilford.
The family seat is Waldershare House, near Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The town in Surrey from which both titles derive is now spelt Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
.
Barons Guilford (1683)
- Francis North, 1st Baron GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Baron GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Baron Guilford PC KC was the third son of the 4th Baron North, and was created Baron Guilford in 1683, after becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in succession to Lord Nottingham....
(1637–1685) - Francis North, 2nd Baron GuilfordFrancis North, 2nd Baron GuilfordFrancis North, 2nd Baron Guilford PC was a British peer and member of the House of Lords.-Life:In 1685, he succeeded his father as Baron Guilford. From 1703 to 1705, Guilford was Lord Lieutenant of Essex. In 1712, he was appointed to the Privy Council, and was First Lord of Trade from 1713 to...
(1673–1729) - Francis North, 3rd Baron GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Earl of GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Earl of Guilford , known as The Lord Guildford between 1729 and 1752, was a British peer and politician.North was the son of Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford, and his wife Alicia...
(1704–1790) (created Earl of Guilford in 1752)
Earls of Guilford (1752)
- Francis North, 1st Earl of GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Earl of GuilfordFrancis North, 1st Earl of Guilford , known as The Lord Guildford between 1729 and 1752, was a British peer and politician.North was the son of Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford, and his wife Alicia...
(1704–1790) - Frederick North, 2nd Earl of GuilfordFrederick North, Lord NorthFrederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...
(1732–1792) - George Augustus North, 3rd Earl of GuilfordGeorge North, 3rd Earl of GuilfordGeorge Augustus North, 3rd Earl of Guilford , known as the Honourable George North until 1790 and as Lord North from 1790 to 1792, was a British politician....
(1757–1802) - Francis North, 4th Earl of GuilfordFrancis North, 4th Earl of GuilfordFrancis North, 4th Earl of Guilford was a British peer and Member of Parliament, styled Hon. Francis North until 1802....
(1761–1817) - Frederick North, 5th Earl of GuilfordFrederick North, 5th Earl of GuilfordFrederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford , known as the Honourable Frederick North until 1817, was a British politician and colonial administrator....
(1766–1827) - Francis North, 6th Earl of Guilford (1772–1861)
- Dudley North, Lord North (1829–1860)
- Dudley Francis North, 7th Earl of Guilford (1851–1885)
- Dudley Francis North, Lord North (1875–1875)
- Frederick George North, 8th Earl of Guilford (1876–1949)
- Francis George North, Lord North (1902–1940)
- Edward Francis North, 9th Earl of Guilford (1933–1999)
- Piers Edward Brownlow North, 10th Earl of Guilford (b. 1971)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Frederick North, Lord North (b. 2002)