Earl of Enniskillen
Encyclopedia
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 1789 for William Cole, 1st Viscount Enniskillen. He had already been created Viscount Enniskillen in the Peerage of Ireland in 1776 and had inherited the title Baron Mount Florence, of Florence Court in the County of Fermanagh, which had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1760 for his father John Cole
John Cole, 1st Baron Mountflorence
John Cole, 1st Baron Mountflorence was an Irish peer and politician.Born in Dublin, he was the son of John Cole, Member of Parliament for Enniskillen...
, who had earlier represented Enniskillen
Enniskillen (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Enniskillen was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Enniskillen was not represented.-1692–1801:...
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...
.
Lord Enniskillen was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He represented Fermanagh
Fermanagh (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh was a UK Parliament constituency in Northern Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament.-Boundaries:This constituency comprised the whole of County Fermanagh, except for the Borough of Enniskillen.-Members of Parliament:-References:...
in the British 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...
, served as Lord Lieutenant of County Fermanagh and sat as an Irish Representative Peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
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....
from 1804 to 1840. In 1815 he was created Baron Grinstead, of Grinstead in the County of Wiltshire, 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 him and the later Earls an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
His son, the third Earl, was a palaeontologist and also sat as 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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Fermanagh. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl, who represented Enniskillen
Enniskillen (UK Parliament constituency)
Enniskillen was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Boundaries:...
in Parliament as a Conservative. His son, the fifth Earl, was Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh. He was succeeded by his nephew, the sixth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. Galbraith Lowry Egerton Cole, third son of the fourth Earl. the titles are held by his only son, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1989.
The ancestral seat of the Cole family was Florence Court
Florence Court
Florence Court is a large 18th century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name Florencecourt. It is owned and managed by the National...
in County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
. The house has been in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
since 1953.
Michael Cole, ancestor of the Earls of Enniskillen, was the brother of Sir John Cole, 1st Baronet (see Baron Ranelagh
Baron Ranelagh
Baron Ranelagh, of Ranelagh in the County of Wicklow, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 18 April 1715 for Sir Arthur Cole, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Enniskillen and Roscommon Borough in the Irish House of Commons...
).
Barons Mountflorence (1760)
- John Cole, 1st Baron MountflorenceJohn Cole, 1st Baron MountflorenceJohn Cole, 1st Baron Mountflorence was an Irish peer and politician.Born in Dublin, he was the son of John Cole, Member of Parliament for Enniskillen...
(1709–1767) - William Willoughby Cole, 2nd Baron MountflorenceWilliam Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of EnniskillenWilliam Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen , styled The Honourable from 1760 to 1767, then known as Lord Mountflorence to 1776 and as Viscount Enniskillen to 1789, was an Irish peer and politician....
(1736–1803) (created Earl of Enniskillen in 1789)
Earls of Enniskillen (1789)
- William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1736–1803)
- John Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of EnniskillenJohn Cole, 2nd Earl of EnniskillenJohn Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of Enniskillen KP , known as Viscount Cole from 1789 to 1803, was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament....
(1768–1840) - William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen (1807–1886)
- John Willoughby Michael Cole, Viscount Cole (1844–1850)
- Lowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of EnniskillenLowry Cole, 4th Earl of EnniskillenLowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen KP , known as Viscount Cole from 1850 to 1886, was an Irish peer and Conservative Member of Parliament.-Biography:...
(1845–1924)- William Willoughby Cole (1870–1870)
- John Henry Michael Cole, 5th Earl of Enniskillen (1876–1963)
- Michael Galbraith Lowry Cole, Viscount Cole (1921–1956)
- David Lowry Cole, 6th Earl of Enniskillen (1918–1989)
- Andrew John Galbraith Cole, 7th Earl of Enniskillen (b. 1942)
The heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
is the present holder's first cousin Berkeley Arthur Cole (b. 1949). He is the eldest son of the Hon. Arthur Gerald Cole (1920–2005), younger brother of the sixth Earl.