Marquess of Ely, of 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...

, 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 1800 for Charles Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely

Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely

Charles Tottenham Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely KP, PC was an Irish peer and politician.Born Charles Tottenham, he assumed the surname of Loftus in 1783, after inheriting the estates of his uncle Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He represented Fethard in the Irish House of Commons from 1776 to 1783...

. He was born Charles Tottenham, the son of John Tottenham, who had been created a Baronet, of Tottenham Green in the County of Wexford, in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1780, by the Honourable Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, and sister and heiress of Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely KP, PC , styled The Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known as Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was an Irish peer and politician....

 (see Earl of Ely

Earl of Ely

Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of Loftus Hall in the County of Wexford, in 1751. In 1756 he was further...

 for earlier history of the Loftus family). In 1783 he succeeded to the Loftus estates on the death of his maternal uncle the Earl of Ely and assumed the same year by Royal license the surname of Loftus in lieu of his patronymic. In 1785 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of Loftus Hall

Loftus Hall

Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman....

 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...

. He was further honoured when he was made Viscount Loftus, of Ely, in 1789, Earl of Ely, in the Kingdom of Ireland

Kingdom of Ireland

The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...

, in 1794, and Marquess of Ely, of the County of Wexford, in 1800, all in the Peerage of Ireland, becoming one of the few persons to rise to the rank of Marquess without having inherited any peerages. In 1801 he was created Baron Loftus, of Long Loftus in the County of York

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, 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...

, by which title the Marquesses of Ely sat 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....

 until the passage 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;...

. Lord Ely also succeeded his father as second Baronet in 1786.

Lord Ely was succeeded by his eldest son, John, the second Marquess. He had previously represented County Wexford in both the Irish and British Parliaments. On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, John, the third Marquess. He briefly represented Woodstock

Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)

Woodstock, sometimes called New Woodstock, was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Woodstock in the county of Oxfordshire and the surrounding countryside and villages, and elected two Members of Parliament from its re-enfranchisement in 1553 until 1832...

 in Parliament in 1845. This line of the family failed on the early death of his son, John, the fourth Marquess, in 1889. The late Marquess was succeeded by his first cousin John Loftus, the fifth Marquess. He was the eldest son of Reverend Lord Adam Loftus, third son of the second Marquess. The fifth Marquess died childless in 1925 and was succeeded by his youngest brother, George, the sixth Marquess. The latter's only surviving son, George, the seventh Marquess, was High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 of 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....

. On his death in 1969 without surviving children the line of the second Marquess failed. The late Marquess was succeeded by his third cousin once removed, Charles Tottenham, who became the eighth Marquess. He was the great-grandson of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles John Tottenham, DL

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

, JP

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, eldest son of the Right Reverend Lord Robert Tottenham (who had not assumed the surname Loftus), second son of the first Marquess. The eighth Marquess lived in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. As of 2011 the titles are held by his eldest son, Charles, the ninth Marquess.

Several other members of the family may also be mentioned. Charles Tottenham

Charles Tottenham (1685–1758)

Charles Tottenham was an Irish Member of Parliament.He was the son of Edward Tottenham, of Tottenham Green, by his second wife, Jane Hudle.He sat in the Irish House of Commons for New Ross...

, father of the first Baronet, represented New Ross

New Ross (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

New Ross was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-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...

. Charles Tottenham

Charles Tottenham (1716–1795)

Charles Tottenham was an Irish Member of Parliament.He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Fethard from 1755 to 1760, for New Ross from 1761 to 1768, for Bannow from 1768 to 1776, for Clonmines from 1776 to 1790 and again for Fethard from 1790 to his death.He was son of Charles Tottenham and...

, brother of the first Baronet, also represented New Ross in the Irish Parliament. The aforementioned the Right Reverend Lord Robert Tottenham, second son of the first Marquess, was Bishop of Clogher

Bishop of Clogher

The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the other of the Roman Catholic Church.-History:Clogher is one...

. Henry Loftus Tottenham (1860–1950), son of John Francis Tottenham, son of Lord Robert Tottenham, was an Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Sir Alexander Robert Loftus Tottenham (1873–1946), son of John Francis Tottenham, was administrator of Pudukkottai

Pudukkottai

Pudukkottai is a town and a municipality in Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pudukkottai District was carved out of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts in January 1974.It is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District....

 in British India. The Very Reverend George Tottenham (1825–1911), son of Lord Robert Tottenham, was Dean of Clogher. Lord Augustus Loftus, fourth son of the second Marquess, was a prominent diplomat.

The title refers to Ely in County Wicklow

County Wicklow

County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...

, not to the City of Ely

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...

 in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, and the second syllable is pronounced to rhyme with "lie" rather than "lee" (and so the title is pronounced in the same way as the first name Eli

Eli (name)

The given name Eli has several origins. All masculine names are derived from Hebrew:# with spelling , a reference to Eli, the high priest in the Books of Samuel. Traditional English-speaking Christian uses of the name are generally based on this Eli...

).

The similar title Marquess of the Isle of Ely was created with the Dukedom of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...

 in 1726.

Tottenham, later Loftus Baronets, of Tottenham Green (1780)

• Sir John Tottenham, 1st Baronet (1714–1786)
• Sir Charles Loftus, 2nd Baronet
  Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely
  Charles Tottenham Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely KP, PC was an Irish peer and politician.Born Charles Tottenham, he assumed the surname of Loftus in 1783, after inheriting the estates of his uncle Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He represented Fethard in the Irish House of Commons from 1776 to 1783...
  
   (1738–1806) (created created Baron Loftus in 1785, Viscount Loftus in 1789, Earl of Ely in 1794 and Marquess of Ely in 1800)

Marquesses of Ely (1800)

• Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely
  Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely
  Charles Tottenham Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely KP, PC was an Irish peer and politician.Born Charles Tottenham, he assumed the surname of Loftus in 1783, after inheriting the estates of his uncle Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He represented Fethard in the Irish House of Commons from 1776 to 1783...
  
   (1738–1806)
• John Loftus, 2nd Marquess of Ely
  John Loftus, 2nd Marquess of Ely
  John Loftus, 2nd Marquess of Ely KP , styled The Honourable John Loftus from 1785 to 1794 and Viscount Loftus from 1794 to 1806, was an Irish peer....
  
   (1770–1845)
• John Henry Loftus, 3rd Marquess of Ely (1814–1857)
• John Henry Wellington Graham Loftus, 4th Marquess of Ely (1849–1889)
• John Henry Loftus, 5th Marquess of Ely (1851–1925)
• George Herbert Loftus, 6th Marquess of Ely (1854–1935)
• George Henry Wellington Loftus, 7th Marquess of Ely (1903–1969)
• Charles John Tottenham, 8th Marquess of Ely (1913–2006)
• (Charles) John Tottenham, 9th Marquess of Ely (b. 1943)

The present Marquess has only one son, Lord Andrew John Tottenham (b. 1973), who is adopted. Children adopted into a family do not acquire rights of succession to a peerage title. 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 brother Lord Timothy Craig Tottenham (b. 1948). The heir presumptive's 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 his eldest son Scott Craig Tottenham (b. 1977).