Earl of Bessborough
Encyclopedia
Earl of Bessborough is a title 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,...

. It was created in 1739 for Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, who had previously represented Newtownards
Newtownards (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Newtownards was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...

 and County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

. In 1749 he was given the additional title of Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby, in the County of Leicester, in the Peerage of Great Britain
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...

, which entitled him to a seat in the British House of Lords. The titles Viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon
Duncannon
Duncannon is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky promontory jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village.Primarily a fishing village, Duncannon also relies heavily on...

 in the County of Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

, and Baron Bessborough, of Bessborough, Piltown
Piltown
Piltown, historically known as Ballypoyle , is a small village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It lies on the R698 regional road, which was the N24 national primary road before the locality was bypassed in 2002....

 in the County of Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...

, had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1723 and 1721 respectively for Lord Bessborough's father William Ponsonby, who had earlier represented County Kilkenny
Kilkenny County (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Kilkenny County was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Kilkenny County was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...

 in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

.

The first Earl was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He was a Whig politician and served as a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...

, as a Lord of the Admiralty and as Joint Postmaster General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...

. His son, the third Earl, represented Knaresborough
Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Knaresborough was a parliamentary constituency which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and then one MP until its abolition in 1885.-Before the Great Reform Act:...

 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...

 as a Whig and like his father served as a Lord of the Admiralty. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl
John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough
John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough PC , known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician...

. He was a prominent Whig politician and served as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
The Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues were established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown into a three-man commission...

, as 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...

, as Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...

 and as First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1834, ten years before he succeeded his father, he was raised to 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...

 in his own right as Baron Duncannon, of Bessborough in County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...

.

His eldest son, the fifth Earl, was a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician and held office under Lord Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....

 and William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

 as Lord Steward of the Household. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Earl. He never married and on his death in 1906 the titles passed to his younger brother, the seventh Earl. He was a clergyman. His grandson, the ninth Earl, was 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 also served as Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

 from 1931 to 1935. In 1937 he was created Earl of Bessborough in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

His son, the tenth Earl, sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and served as Joint Under-Secretary of State for Education in 1964 and as Minister of State at the Ministry of Technology in 1970. He was later a member of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. Lord Bessborough had one daughter but no sons and on his death in 1993 the earldom of Bessborough created in 1937 became extinct. He was succeeded in the other titles by his first cousin, the eleventh Earl. He was the son of Major the Hon. Cyril Myles Brabazon Ponsonby, second son of the eighth Earl. the titles are held by his son, the twelfth Earl, who succeeded in 2002.

The Ponsonby family are one of the most ennobled in Britain and Ireland and several other members of the family have gained distinction. The Hon. John Ponsonby, second son of the first Earl, served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and was the father of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby
William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby
William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby , PC was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Ponsonby was the son of the Hon...

, and George Ponsonby
George Ponsonby
George Ponsonby PC , was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and education:...

, 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:...

. Major-General the Hon. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby
Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby
Major General The Honourable Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, GCMG, KCB, KCH , styled The Honourable from 1806 to 1837, was a British military officer, the second son of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough and Henrietta Spencer....

, second son of the third Earl, was the father of General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby, who was the father of Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby
Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby
Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby GCB GCVO PC , was a British soldier and courtier.Ponsonby was the second son of General Sir Henry Ponsonby and his wife the Hon. Mary Elizabeth...

, and Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the third son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough...

. The Hon. William Ponsonby
William Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley
William Francis Spencer Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley was an English Whig and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1826 and 1837...

, third son of the third Earl, was created Baron de Mauley
Baron de Mauley
Baron de Mauley, of Canford in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the Whig politician the Hon. William Ponsonby, who had earlier represented Poole, Knaresborough and Dorset in the House of Commons...

 in 1838 while Lady Caroline Ponsonby, only daughter of the third Earl, was the wife of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...

, but is perhaps best remembered for her affair with Lord Byron. Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane
Spencer Ponsonby-Fane
Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby, later Ponsonby-Fane, GCB ISO was an English cricketer and civil servant.He was born in 1824 in Mayfair, the sixth son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough.-Cricket:...

, sixth son of the fourth Earl, was for many years Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Department
Lord Chamberlain's Office
The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is presently concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, the State Opening of Parliament, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the wedding of...

 and was admitted to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 in 1901.

The family seat is Stansted Park
Stansted Park
Stansted Park is near the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. It lies within the parish of Stoughton, near the village of Rowland's Castle over the border in Hampshire....

 in Rowland's Castle
Rowland's Castle
Rowland's Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border....

 in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.

Coat of arms

The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the earldom is: Gules, a chevron between three combs argent. This can be translated as: a red shield with three white hair combs.

Viscounts Duncannon (1723)

  • William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon (1659–1724)
  • Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon
    Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough
    Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough was a British politician and peer. He was the son of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon and Mary Moore. He was an active politician from 1705 to 1757 in Great Britain and Ireland. He represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of...

     (1679–1758) (created Earl of Bessborough in 1739)

Earls of Bessborough (1739)

  • Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough
    Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough
    Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough was a British politician and peer. He was the son of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon and Mary Moore. He was an active politician from 1705 to 1757 in Great Britain and Ireland. He represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of...

     (1679–1758)
  • William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough
    William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough
    William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough PC PC was an Irish and English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Hon. William Ponsonby from 1723 to 1739 and Viscount Duncannon from 1739 to 1758...

     (d. 1793)
  • Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough was a British peer.Ponsonby was the eldest son of the 2nd Earl of Bessborough and succeeded to his father's titles in 1793...

     (1758–1844)
  • John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough
    John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough
    John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough PC , known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician...

     (1781–1847)
  • John George Brabazon Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough
    John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough
    John George Brabazon Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough PC , styled Viscount Duncannon from 1844 until 1847, was a British cricketer, courtier and Liberal politician.-Background:...

     (1809–1880)
  • Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough was a British peer and cricketer. He was the third son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough and his wife Lady Maria Fane...

     (1815–1895)
  • Walter Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough (1821–1906)
  • Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough
    Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough
    Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, KP, CB, CVO was a British peer.-Biography:Ponsonby was the eldest son of Rev. Walter Ponsonby and his wife, Louisa, the daughter of Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans...

     (1851–1920)
  • Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough
    Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough
    Captain Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough was a British businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 14th since Canadian Confederation....

     (1880–1956)
  • Frederick Edward Neuflize Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough
    Frederick Edward de Neuflize "Eric" Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough , known as Viscount Duncannon from 1920 to 1956, was a British diplomat, businessman, playwright, Conservative politician, and peer....

     (1913–1993)
  • Arthur Mountifort Longfield Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough
    Arthur Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough
    Arthur Mountifort Longfield Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough , was a British peer.He was the son of Maj. Hon. Cyril Myles Brabazon Ponsonby, second son of Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife Rita Narcissa Longfield, daughter of Lt. Col. Mountifort John Courtenay Longfield...

     (1912–2002)
  • Myles Fitzhugh Longfield Ponsonby, 12th Earl of Bessborough
    Myles Ponsonby, 12th Earl of Bessborough
    Myles Fitzhugh Longfield Ponsonby, 12th Earl of Bessborough , is a British peer.He is the son of Arthur Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife Patricia Minnigerode, daughter of Col. Fitzhugh Lee Minnigerode....

     (b. 1941)


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 Arthur William Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon (b. 1974)

See also

  • Baron Ponsonby
    Baron Ponsonby
    Baron Ponsonby may refer to:*Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly, sometimes known as Baron Ponsonby, of Imokilly*Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede*Baron Ponsonby, of Sysonby, a subsidiary title of the Earls of Bessborough...

  • Baron de Mauley
    Baron de Mauley
    Baron de Mauley, of Canford in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the Whig politician the Hon. William Ponsonby, who had earlier represented Poole, Knaresborough and Dorset in the House of Commons...

  • Baron Sysonby
    Baron Sysonby
    Baron Sysonby, of Wonersh in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for the courtier Sir Frederick Ponsonby. He was the second son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough, while Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron...

  • Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede
    Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede
    Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, of Shulbrede in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1930 for the politician Arthur Ponsonby. Ponsonby was the third son of General Sir Henry Ponsonby and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of...

  • Ponsonby Baronets of Wootton
    Ponsonby Baronets
    The Ponsonby Baronetcy, of Wootton in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 27 January 1956 for the Conservative politician Charles Ponsonby. He had earlier represented Sevenoaks in the House of Commons and served as Parliamentary Private...

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