Viscount Ullswater
Encyclopedia
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...
. It was created in 1921 for James Lowther
James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater
James William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, GCB, PC, JP, DL was a British Conservative politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1905 and 1921.-Background and education:The son of Hon...
upon his retirement as Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
. He was the eldest son of the Hon. William Lowther
William Lowther (diplomat)
William Lowther was a British diplomat and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1892....
, third son of the Hon. Henry Lowther
Henry Lowther (politician)
Henry Cecil Lowther, DL, JP was an English Conservative politician and an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1819 to 1843...
, second son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale
William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale
William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale of the second creation KG was a British Tory politician and nobleman.-Life:...
(see Earl of Lonsdale
Earl of Lonsdale
Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 , and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowther family....
and Lowther Baronets
Lowther Baronets
There have been seven Baronetcies created for members of the Lowther family, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, two in the Baronetage of England, two in the Baronetage of Great Britain and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
for earlier history of the family). The first Viscount lived to the age of 93, and was pre-deceased by both his eldest son the Hon. Christopher Lowther
Christopher Lowther (politician)
Major Christopher William Lowther was a British Conservative Party politician, the eldest son of James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater....
, a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, and his eldest son's eldest son John Arthur Lowther (1910–1942) (who was Private Secretary to Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
and was killed in the same air crash as him), the title being inherited by his seven-year old great-grandson, the second and present Viscount, in an extremely rare instance of a great-grandson succeeding his great-grandfather in a peerage. The second Viscount held office in the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
administrations of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
and since 2003 he is one of the ninety elected hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
s that remain in 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....
after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
. As a descendant of the first Earl of Lonsdale he is also in remainder to this peerage and its subsidiary titles. The current holder of the earldom, Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale
Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale
Hugh Clayton Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale is the eldest son of James Lowther, 7th Earl of Lonsdale, and the only son by his first wife Tuppina Cecily Bennet, and is the current holder of the title, Earl of Lonsdale....
, is Lord Ullswater's fourth cousin.
Two of the first Viscount's younger brothers also gained distinction. Sir Gerard Lowther, 1st Baronet
Sir Gerard Lowther, 1st Baronet
Sir Gerard Augustus Lowther, 1st Baronet PC KCMG CB was a British diplomat.Lowther was the second son of William Lowther and his wife Charlotte Alice, daughter of James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale. James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, was his elder brother and Sir Cecil Lowther his younger...
, was a diplomat and Sir Cecil Lowther
Cecil Lowther
Major-General Sir Cecil Lowther, KCMG, CB, CVO, DSO, FRGS was a British general and Conservative politician, the fourth son of William Lowther....
a soldier and politician.
Viscounts Ullswater (1921)
- James William Lowther, 1st Viscount UllswaterJames Lowther, 1st Viscount UllswaterJames William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, GCB, PC, JP, DL was a British Conservative politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1905 and 1921.-Background and education:The son of Hon...
(1855–1949)- Hon. Christopher William LowtherChristopher Lowther (politician)Major Christopher William Lowther was a British Conservative Party politician, the eldest son of James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater....
(1887–1935) - Gon. John Arthur Lowther (1910–1942)
- Hon. Christopher William Lowther
- Nicholas James Christopher Lowther, 2nd Viscount UllswaterNicholas Lowther, 2nd Viscount UllswaterNicholas James Christopher Lowther, 2nd Viscount Ullswater, LVO, PC , succeeded his great-grandfather in the Viscountcy of Ullswater in 1949...
(b. 1942)
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 the Hon. Benjamin James Lowther (b. 1975)