Viscount Gormanston
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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,...
held by the head of the Preston family. It was created in 1478. The holder is the senior Viscount of Ireland, as well as the bearer of the oldest vicomital
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
title in either Britain or Ireland. The Preston family descends from Sir Robert Preston, who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
. Sometime between 1365 and 1370 he was created Baron Gormanston in the Peerage of Ireland by writ. His great-grandson, the fourth Baron, 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...
. In 1478 he was created Viscount Gormanston in the Peerage of Ireland. His great-great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Viscount, was a supporter of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and was outlawed after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
In 1800 Jenico Preston had the outlawry reversed and was summoned to the Irish House of Lords
Irish House of Lords
The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediaeval times until 1800. It was abolished along with the Irish House of Commons by the Act of Union.-Function:...
as the twelfth Viscount Gormanston. He was the great-grandson of Anthony Preston, the de jure ninth Viscount Gormanston, the nephew of the seventh Viscount. The twelfth Viscount was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Viscount. In 1868 he was created Baron Gormanston, in the County of Meath, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
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...
, which gave the Viscounts an automatic seat in the House of Lords. His son, the fourteenth Viscount, notably served as Governor of British Guiana and as Governor of Tasmania. the titles are held by the latter's great-grandson, Jenico Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston who succeeded to the titles in 1940 at the age of seven months after his father was killed during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in the Second World War. Known as Nicholas Gormanston, he is married to Lucy Fox
Robin Fox family
The Robin Fox family is a family with several members in the acting and related professions over a number of generations. Robin Fox , an actor and theatrical agent, and his wife Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, actress and daughter of the English playwright Frederick Lonsdale, had 3 sons,...
, his second wife.
Another member of the Preston family was Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara was an Irish soldier of the 17th century. He was a descendant of Sir Robert de Preston, who in 1363 purchased the lands of Gormanston, County Meath, and who was keeper of the Great Seal in Ireland some years later....
. He was the second son of the fourth Viscount Gormanston. Also, John Preston, 1st Baron Tara
John Preston, 1st Baron Tara
John Preston, 1st Baron Tara , was an Irish politician.Preston was the son of John Preston, a descendant of a younger brother of Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara, second son of Christopher Preston, 4th Viscount Gormanston...
, was a descendant of a younger brother of the first Viscount Tara.
Barons Gormanston (1365–1370)
- Robert Preston, 1st Baron Gormanston (d. 1396)
- Christopher Preston, 2nd Baron Gormanston (d. 1422)
- Christopher Preston, 3rd Baron Gormanston (d. 1450)
- Robert Preston, 4th Baron GormanstonRobert Preston, 1st Viscount GormanstonRobert Preston, Ist Viscount Gormanston was an Irish nobleman and statesman who held the offices of deputy to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Lord Deputy of Ireland.He was the son of Christopher Preston, 3rd Baron Gormanston and Jane d'Artois...
(d. 1503) (created Viscount Gormanston in 1478)
Viscounts Gormanston (1478)
- Robert Preston, 1st Viscount GormanstonRobert Preston, 1st Viscount GormanstonRobert Preston, Ist Viscount Gormanston was an Irish nobleman and statesman who held the offices of deputy to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Lord Deputy of Ireland.He was the son of Christopher Preston, 3rd Baron Gormanston and Jane d'Artois...
(1435–1503) - William Preston, 2nd Viscount Gormanston (d. 1532)
- Jenico Preston, 3rd Viscount Gormanston (1502–1569)
- Christopher Preston, 4th Viscount Gormanston (1546–1599)
- Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston (1584–1630)
- Nicholas Preston, 6th Viscount Gormanston (1608–1643)
- Jenico Preston, 7th Viscount Gormanston (d. 1691) (outlawed 1691)
- Jenico Preston, de jure 8th Viscount Gormanston (1640–1700)
- Anthony Preston, de jure 9th Viscount Gormanston (d. 1716)
- Jenico Preston, de jure 10th Viscount Gormanston (1707–1757)
- Anthony Preston, de jure 11th Viscount Gormanston (1736–1786)
- Jenico Preston, 12th Viscount Gormanston (1775–1860) (restored 1800)
- Edward Anthony John Preston, 13th Viscount Gormanston (1796–1876)
- Jenico William Joseph Preston, 14th Viscount GormanstonJenico Preston, 14th Viscount GormanstonJenico William Joseph Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston GCMG , was an Anglo-Irish colonial administrator.Gormanston was born the son of Edward Anthony John Preston, 13th Viscount Gormanston, and his wife Lucretia, daughter of William Charles Jerningham, and was born at Gormanston Castle, County...
(1837–1907) - Jenico Edward Joseph Preston, 15th Viscount Gormanston (1879–1925)
- Jenico William Richard Preston, 16th Viscount Gormanston (1914–1940)
- Jenico Nicholas Dudley Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston (b. 1939)
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 Hon. Jenico Francis Tara Preston (b. 1974)