Paulet St Andrew St John, 8th Baron St John of Bletso
Encyclopedia
Paulet St Andrew St John, 8th Baron St John of Bletso (died 1714) was an English
peer
. Andrew St John, his father, was the heir of his second cousin, the 3rd Earl of Bolingbroke; they both died in 1711, but Paulet St. John was born postumously and succeeded to the Barony (not the Earldom, which had not belonged to the common ancestor) when he was born. He died at the age of three, and was succeeded by his uncle, William St John.
Sources differ in the numbering of the later Barons St. John:
The fourth Baron St. John had been created Earl of Bolingbroke; when the Long Parliament
was called, both the aged Earl and his eldest son were summoned, the younger one by a writ of acceleration
in his father's subsidiary title of Baron St. John of Bletso. Normally, writs of acceleration ended in the reunion of titles when the father died; but in this case the son (Oliver St. John, 5th Baron St. John of Bletso) died two years later, fighting for the Parliament at the Battle of Edgehill
, and his father died in 1646, and was succeeded by his second son's son.
There is no question that Oliver St. John was Baron St. John of Bletso; he could speak and vote as a Peer of Parliament; but the numbering of the barons chiefly matters to sources, like encyclopedias and genealogies, which distinguish between peers of different generations and they differ; Debrett's and the Complete Peerage reckon Oliver St. John as one of these Baron St. John, but the Barons themselves do not, down to the present Baron St John ignore the writ of acceleration given to Oliver St John (d. October 1642) as does the register of the House of Lords and have therefore accepted Paulet St Andrew St John as the 7th Baron.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
. Andrew St John, his father, was the heir of his second cousin, the 3rd Earl of Bolingbroke; they both died in 1711, but Paulet St. John was born postumously and succeeded to the Barony (not the Earldom, which had not belonged to the common ancestor) when he was born. He died at the age of three, and was succeeded by his uncle, William St John.
Sources differ in the numbering of the later Barons St. John:
The fourth Baron St. John had been created Earl of Bolingbroke; when 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...
was called, both the aged Earl and his eldest son were summoned, the younger one by 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 subsidiary title of Baron St. John of Bletso. Normally, writs of acceleration ended in the reunion of titles when the father died; but in this case the son (Oliver St. John, 5th Baron St. John of Bletso) died two years later, fighting for the Parliament at the Battle of Edgehill
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....
, and his father died in 1646, and was succeeded by his second son's son.
There is no question that Oliver St. John was Baron St. John of Bletso; he could speak and vote as a Peer of Parliament; but the numbering of the barons chiefly matters to sources, like encyclopedias and genealogies, which distinguish between peers of different generations and they differ; Debrett's and the Complete Peerage reckon Oliver St. John as one of these Baron St. John, but the Barons themselves do not, down to the present Baron St John ignore the writ of acceleration given to Oliver St John (d. October 1642) as does the register of the House of Lords and have therefore accepted Paulet St Andrew St John as the 7th Baron.