PEERAGES
Last updated 29/03/2017 (16 Feb 2024)
Date Rank Order Name Born Died Age
POLWARTH
26 Dec 1690
23 May 1697
B[S]
B[S]
1
1
Patrick Hume
Created Lord Polwarth 26 Dec 1690 and again 23 May 1697
He was later created Earl of Marchmont in 1697
13 Jan 1641 2 Aug 1724 83
2 Aug 1724 2 Alexander Hume-Campbell, 2nd Earl of Marchmont 1 Jan 1675 27 Feb 1740 65
27 Feb 1740 3 Hugh Hume-Campbell
On his death the creation of 1697 became dormant, while the creation of 1690 passed to -
15 Feb 1708 10 Jan 1794 85
10 Jan 1794 4 Anne Anstruther 11 Mar 1822
11 Mar 1822 5 Diana Scott 4 Jun 1735 20 Jul 1827 92
20 Jul 1827 6 Hugh Hepburne-Scott
MP for Berwickshire 1780‑1784
10 Sep 1758 28 Dec 1841 83
28 Dec 1841 7 Henry Francis Hepburne‑Scott
MP for Roxburghshire 1826‑1832; Lord Lieutenant Selkirk 1845‑1867
1 Jan 1800 16 Aug 1867 67
16 Aug 1867 8 Walter Hugh Hepburne‑Scott
Lord Lieutenant Selkirk 1878‑1920
30 Nov 1838 13 Jul 1920 81
13 Jul 1920 9 Walter George Hepburne‑Scott
Lord Lieutenant East Lothian 1937‑1944
7 Feb 1864 24 Aug 1944 80
24 Aug 1944 10 Henry Alexander Hepburne‑Scott 17 Nov 1916 4 Jan 2005 88
4 Jan 2005 11 Andrew Walter Hepburne‑Scott 30 Nov 1947
POMFRET
27 Dec 1721 E 1 Thomas Fermor, 2nd Baron Leominster
Created Earl of Pomfret 27 Dec 1721
23 Mar 1698 8 Jul 1753 55
8 Jul 1753 2 George Fermor
PC 1771
25 Jun 1722 9 Jun 1785 62
9 Jun 1785 3 George Fermor 6 Jan 1768 7 Apr 1830 62
7 Apr 1830 4 Thomas William Fermor 12 Oct 1770 29 Jun 1833 62
29 Jun 1833
to    
8 Jun 1867
5 George Richard William Fermor
Peerage extinct on his death
31 Dec 1824 8 Jun 1867 42
PONSONBY
13 Mar 1806 B 1 William Ponsonby
Created Baron Ponsonby 13 Mar 1806
MP [I] for Cork City 1764‑1776, Bandon Bridge 1776‑1783 and Kilkenny County 1783‑1800; MP for co. Kilkenny 1801‑1806; PC [I] 1784
15 Sep 1744 5 Nov 1806 62
5 Nov 1806
20 Apr 1839
to    
21 Feb 1855
 
V
2
1
John Brabazon Ponsonby
Created Viscount Ponsonby 20 Apr 1839
MP [I] for Tallow 1793‑1798 and Dungarvan 1798‑1800
On his death the Viscountcy became extinct whilst the Barony passed to -
1770 21 Feb 1855 84
21 Feb 1855 3 William Ponsonby 6 Feb 1816 2 Oct 1861 45
2 Oct 1861
to    
10 Sep 1866
4 William Brabazon Ponsonby
Peerage extinct on his death
18 Aug 1807 10 Sep 1866 59
PONSONBY OF ROEHAMPTON
19 Apr 2000 B[L] Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Created Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton for life 19 Apr 2000
27 Oct 1958
PONSONBY OF SHULBREDE
17 Jan 1930 B 1 Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby
Created Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede 17 Jan 1930
MP for Stirling 1908‑1918 and Brightside 1922‑1930; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1931
16 Feb 1871 24 Mar 1946 75
24 Mar 1946 2 Matthew Henry Hubert Ponsonby 28 Jul 1904 29 Apr 1976 71
29 Apr 1976 3 Thomas Arthur Ponsonby 23 Oct 1930 13 Jun 1990 59
13 Jun 1990 4 Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby
Created Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton for life 19 Apr 2000
27 Oct 1958
PONSONBY OF SYSONBY
12 Jun 1749 B 1 Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough
Created Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby 12 Jun 1749
See "Bessborough"
1679 4 Jul 1758 79
PONTEFRACT
1 Oct 1674
to    
3 Jul 1716
B 1 George Fitzroy
Created Baron of Pontefract, Viscount Falmouth and Earl of Northumberland 1 Oct 1674 and Duke of Northumberland 6 Apr 1683
Illegitimate son of Charles II; Lord Lieutenant Surrey 1702‑1714; KG 1684; PC 1713
Peerages extinct on his death
28 Dec 1665 3 Jul 1716 50
PONTYPRIDD
8 Feb 1912
to    
14 Dec 1927
B 1 Sir Alfred Thomas
Created Baron Pontypridd 8 Feb 1912
MP for Glamorganshire East 1885‑1910
Peerage extinct on his death
16 Sep 1840 14 Dec 1927 87
POOLE
11 Jul 1958 B 1 Oliver Brian Sanderson Poole
Created Baron Poole 11 Jul 1958
MP for Oswestry 1945‑1950; PC 1963
11 Aug 1911 28 Jan 1993 81
28 Jan 1993 2 David Charles Poole 6 Jan 1945
POPAT
10 Jul 2010 B[L] Dolar Amarshi Popat
Created Baron Popat for life 10 Jul 2010
14 Jun 1953
POPE
16 Oct 1628 B[I] 1 Sir William Pope
Created Baron Pope and Earl of Downe 16 Oct 1628
See "Downe"
15 Oct 1573 2 Jun 1631 57
POPPLEWELL
6 Jun 1966
to    
11 Aug 1977
B[L] Ernest Popplewell
Created Baron Popplewell for life 6 Jun 1966
MP for Newcastle upon Tyne West 1945‑1966
Peerage extinct on his death
10 Dec 1899 11 Aug 1977 77
PORCHESTER
17 Oct 1780 B 1 Henry Herbert
Created Baron Porchester 17 Oct 1780 and Earl of Carnarvon 3 Jul 1793
See "Carnarvon"
20 Aug 1741 3 Jun 1811 69
PORRITT
5 Feb 1973
to    
1 Jan 1994
B[L] Sir Arthur Espie Porritt, 1st baronet
Created Baron Porritt for life 5 Feb 1973
Governor General of New Zealand 1967‑1972
Peerage extinct on his death
10 Aug 1900 1 Jan 1994 93
PORTAL
26 Jan 1935
1 Feb 1945
to    
6 May 1949
B
V
1
1
Wyndham Raymond Portal
Created Baron Portal 26 Jan 1935 and Viscount Portal 1 Feb 1945
Minister of Works & Buildings 1942‑1944; Lord Lieutenant Hampshire 1947‑1949; PC 1942
Peerages extinct on his death
9 Apr 1885 6 May 1949 64
PORTAL OF HUNGERFORD
17 Sep 1945
28 Jan 1946
to    
22 Apr 1971
B
V
1
1
Sir Charles Frederick Algernon Portal
Created Baron Portal of Hungerford 17 Sep 1945 and Viscount Portal of Hungerford 28 Jan 1946
For details of the special remainder included in the creation of the Barony of 1945, see the note at the foot of this page
Marshal of the Royal Air Force 1944; KG 1946; OM 1946
On his death the Viscountcy became extinct whilst the Barony passed to -
21 May 1893 22 Apr 1971 77
22 Apr 1971
to    
29 Sep 1990
2 Rosemary Ann Portal
Peerage extinct on her death
12 May 1923 29 Sep 1990 67
PORTARLINGTON
25 Nov 1692
to    
3 Sep 1720
B[I] 1 Henry Massue de Ruvigny
Created Baron Portarlington and Viscount Galway 25 Nov 1692, and Earl of Galway 12 May 1697
PC 1715
Peerages extinct on his death
9 Apr 1648 3 Sep 1720 72

21 Jun 1785 E[I] 1 John Dawson, 2nd Viscount Carlow
Created Earl of Portarlington 21 Jun 1785
MP [I] for Portarlington 1766‑1769 and Queen's County 1768‑1779; PC [I] 1795
23 Aug 1744 25 Nov 1798 54
25 Nov 1798 2 John Dawson 26 Feb 1781 28 Dec 1845 64
28 Dec 1845 3 Henry John Reuben Dawson‑Damer
KP 1879
5 Sep 1822 1 Mar 1889 66
1 Mar 1889 4 Lionel Seymour William Dawson‑Damer
MP for Portarlington 1857‑1865 and 1868‑1880
For an amusing anecdote relating to this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
7 Apr 1832 17 Dec 1892 60
17 Dec 1892 5 George Lionel Henry Seymour Dawson‑Damer 19 Aug 1858 31 Aug 1900 42
31 Aug 1900 6 Lionel Arthur Henry Seymour Dawson‑Damer 26 Aug 1883 4 Jul 1959 75
4 Jul 1959 7 George Lionel Yuill Seymour Dawson‑Damer 10 Aug 1938
PORTER
28 Mar 1938
to    
13 Feb 1956
B[L] Sir Samuel Lowry Porter
Created Baron Porter for life 28 Mar 1938
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1938‑1954; PC 1938
Peerage extinct on his death
7 Feb 1877 13 Feb 1956 79
PORTER OF FULWOOD
13 Feb 2024 B[L] Ruth Oates Porter
Created Baroness Porter of Fulwood for life 13 Feb 2024
1982
PORTER OF LUDDENHAM
16 Jul 1990
to    
31 Aug 2002
B[L] Sir George Hornidge Porter
Created Baron Porter of Luddenham for life 16 Jul 1990
Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1967; OM 1989
Peerage extinct on his death
6 Dec 1920 31 Aug 2002 81
PORTER OF SPALDING
15 Oct 2015 B[L] Gary Andrew Porter
Created Baron Porter of Spalding for life 15 Oct 2015
8 Sep 1960
PORTLAND
17 Feb 1633 E 1 Richard Weston
Created Baron Weston 13 Apr 1628 and Earl of Portland 17 Feb 1633
Chancellor of the Exchequer 1621; Lord High Treasurer 1628‑1635; Lord Lieutenant Essex 1629 and Hampshire 1631; KG 1630
1 Mar 1577 13 Mar 1635 58
13 Mar 1635 2 Jerome Weston 16 Dec 1605 17 Mar 1663 57
17 Mar 1663 3 Charles Weston 19 May 1639 3 Jun 1665 26
3 Jun 1665
to    
May 1688
4 Thomas Weston
Peerages extinct on his death
9 Oct 1609 May 1688 78

9 Apr 1689 E 1 William Bentinck
Created Baron Cirencester, Viscount Woodstock and Earl of Portland 9 Apr 1689
PC 1689; KG 1697
20 Jul 1649 23 Nov 1709 60
23 Nov 1709
6 Jul 1716
 
D
2
1
William Henry Bentinck
Created Marquess of Titchfield and Duke of Portland 6 Jul 1716
MP for Southampton 1705‑1708 and Hampshire 1708‑1709; Governor of Jamaica 1721‑1726
17 Mar 1682 4 Jul 1726 44
4 Jul 1726 3
2
William Bentinck
KG 1741
For information on this peer's possible involvement in the "Great Bottle Hoax" of 1749, see the note under "Montagu"
1 Mar 1709 1 May 1762 53
1 May 1762 4
3
William Henry Cavendish‑Bentinck
MP for Weobly 1761‑1762; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1782; Prime Minister 1783 and 1807‑1809; Home Secretary 1794‑1801; Lord President of the Council 1801‑1805; Lord Lieutenant Nottingham 1795‑1809; PC 1765; KG 1794
14 Apr 1738 30 Oct 1809 71
30 Oct 1809 5
4
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish‑Scott‑Bentinck
MP for Petersfield 1790‑1791 and Buckinghamshire 1791‑1809; Lord Privy Seal 1827; Lord President of the Council 1827‑1828; Lord Lieutenant Middlesex 1794‑1841; PC 1827
24 Jun 1768 27 Mar 1854 85
27 Mar 1854 6
5
William John Cavendish Cavendish‑Scott‑Bentinck
MP for Kings Lynn 1824‑1826
For further information on this peer,
see the note at the foot of this page
17 Sep 1800 6 Dec 1879 79
6 Dec 1879 7
6
William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish‑Bentinck
Lord Lieutenant Caithness 1889‑1919; Lord Lieutenant Nottingham 1898‑1939; PC 1886; KG 1900
28 Dec 1857 26 Apr 1943 85
26 Apr 1943 8
7
William Arthur Henry Cavendish‑Bentinck
MP for Newark 1922‑1943; Lord Lieutenant Nottingham 1939‑1962; KG 1948
16 Mar 1893 21 Mar 1977 84
21 Mar 1977 9
8
Ferdinand William Cavendish‑Bentinck 4 Jul 1888 13 Dec 1980 92
13 Dec 1980
to    
30 Jul 1990
10
9
Victor Frederick William Cavendish‑Bentinck
On his death the Dukedom became extinct whilst the Earldom passed to -
18 Jun 1897 30 Jul 1990 93
30 Jul 1990 11 Henry Noel Bentinck 2 Oct 1919 30 Jan 1997 77
30 Jan 1997 12 Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck 1 Jun 1953
PORTLESTER
5 Mar 1462
to    
19 Dec 1496
B[I] 1 Rowland Fitzeustace
Created Baron Portlester 5 Mar 1462
Lord Treasurer [I] 1454‑1492
Peerage extinct on his death
19 Dec 1496
PORTMAN
27 Jan 1837
28 Mar 1873
B
V
1
1
Edward Berkeley Portman
Created Baron Portman 27 Jan  1837 and Viscount Portman 28 Mar 1873
MP for Dorset 1823‑1832 and Marylebone 1832‑1833; Lord Lieutenant Somerset 1839‑1864
9 Jul 1799 19 Nov 1888 89
19 Nov 1888 2 Henry Berkeley Portman
MP for Shaftesbury 1852‑1857 and Dorset 1857‑1885
12 Jul 1829 16 Oct 1919 90
16 Oct 1919 3 Henry Berkeley Portman 16 Feb 1860 18 Jan 1923 62
18 Jan 1923 4 Claud Berkeley Portman 1 Nov 1864 6 Jun 1929 64
6 Jun 1929 5 Edward Claud Berkeley Portman 8 Jul 1898 14 Jul 1942 44
14 Jul 1942 6 Seymour Berkeley Portman 19 Feb 1868 2 Nov 1946 78
2 Nov 1946 7 Gerald Berkeley Portman 23 Jan 1875 3 Sep 1948 73
3 Sep 1948 8 Gerald William Berkeley Portman 20 Aug 1903 3 Nov 1967 64
3 Nov 1967 9 Edward Henry Berkeley Portman 22 Apr 1934 2 May 1999 65
2 May 1999 10 Christopher Edward Berkeley Portman 30 Jul 1958
PORTMORE
1 Jun 1699
13 Apr 1703
B[S]
E[S]
1
1
Sir David Colyear, 2nd baronet
Created Lord Portmore 1 Jun 1699 and Lord Colyear, Viscount Milsington and Earl of Portmore 13 Apr 1703
PC 1712; KT 1713
c 1656 2 Jan 1730
2 Jan 1730 2 Charles Colyear
MP for Wycombe 1726 and Andover 1727‑1730; KT 1732
27 Aug 1700 5 Jul 1785 84
5 Jul 1785 3 William Charles Colyear 1745 15 Nov 1823 78
15 Nov 1823
to    
18 Jan 1835
4 Thomas Charles Colyear
MP for Boston 1796-1802
Peerages extinct on his death
27 Mar 1772 18 Jan 1835 62
PORTSEA
12 Jan 1934
to    
1 Nov 1948
B 1 Sir Bertram Godfrey Falle, 1st baronet
Created Baron Portsea 12 Jan 1934
MP for Portsmouth 1910‑1918 and Portsmouth North 1918‑1934
Peerage extinct on his death
21 Nov 1859 1 Nov 1948 88
PORTSMOUTH
19 Aug 1673
to    
14 Nov 1734
D[L] Louise Renee de Penancort de Keroualle
Created Baroness Petersfield, Countess of Fareham and Duchess of Portsmouth for life 19 Aug 1673
Mistress of Charles II
Peerages extinct on her death
For further information on this peeress, see the note at the foot of this page
Sep 1649 14 Nov 1734 85

11 Apr 1743 E 1 John Wallop
Created Baron Wallop and Viscount Lymington 11 Jun 1720, and Earl of Portsmouth 11 Apr 1743
MP for Hampshire 1715‑1720. Lord Lieutenant Hampshire 1733‑1742
15 Apr 1690 22 Nov 1762 72
22 Nov 1762 2 John Wallop 29 Jun 1742 16 May 1797 54
16 May 1797 3 John Charles Wallop 18 Dec 1767 14 Jul 1853 85
14 Jul 1853 4 Newton Wallop (Fellowes from 1794)
MP for Andover 1802‑1820 and Devonshire North 1832‑1838
26 Jun 1772 9 Jan 1854 81
9 Jan 1854 5 Isaac Newton Wallop 11 Jan 1825 4 Oct 1891 66
4 Oct 1891 6 Newton Wallop
MP for Barnstaple 1880‑1885 and South Molton 1885‑1891
19 Jan 1856 4 Dec 1917 61
4 Dec 1917 7 John Fellowes Wallop 27 Dec 1859 7 Sep 1925 65
7 Sep 1925 8 Oliver Henry Wallop 13 Jan 1861 10 Feb 1943 82
10 Feb 1943 9 Gerard Vernon Wallop
MP for Basingstoke 1929‑1934
16 May 1898 28 Sep 1984 86
28 Sep 1984 10 Quentin Gerard Carew Wallop 25 Jul 1954
POULETT
23 Jun 1627 B 1 John Poulett
Created Baron Poulett 23 Jun 1627
MP for Somerset 1610‑1611 and 1614, and Lyme Regis 1621‑1622
c 1585 20 Mar 1649
20 Mar 1649 2 John Poulett
MP for Somerset 1640‑1642
c 1615 15 Sep 1665
15 Sep 1665 3 John Poulett
MP for Somerset 1662‑1665; Lord Lieutenant Dorset 1674‑1679
c 1641 Jun 1679
Jun 1679
24 Dec 1706
 
E
4
1
John Poulett
Created Viscount Hinton of Hinton St. George and Earl Poulett 24 Dec 1706
Prime Minister 1710‑1711; Lord Lieutenant Devon 1702‑1714; PC 1702; KG 1712
c 1663 25 May 1743
25 May 1743 2 John Poulett
Lord Lieutenant Somerset 1744‑1764
10 Dec 1708 5 Nov 1764 55
5 Nov 1764 3 Vere Poulett
MP for Bridgwater 1741‑1747; Lord Lieutenant Devon 1771‑1788
18 May 1710 14 Apr 1788 77
14 Apr 1788 4 John Poulett
Lord Lieutenant Somerset 1792‑1819; KT 1794
3 Apr 1756 14 Jan 1819 62
14 Jan 1819 5 John Poulett 5 Jul 1783 20 Jun 1864 80
20 Jun 1864 6 William Henry Poulett
For an interesting anecdote of a prophetic dream, see the note at the foot of this page
22 Sep 1827 22 Jan 1899 71
22 Jan 1899 7 William John Lydston Poulett
For further information on the Poulett peerage claim decided in 1903, see the note at the foot of this page
11 Sep 1883 11 Jul 1918 34
11 Jul 1918
to    
1 Mar 1973
8 George Amias Fitzwarrine Poulett
Peerages extinct on his death
23 Jun 1909 1 Mar 1973 63
POWELL OF BAYSWATER
15 Feb 2000 B[L] Sir Charles David Powell
Created Baron Powell of Bayswater for life 15 Feb 2000
6 Jul 1941
POWER
13 Sep 1535 B[I] 1 Richard Power
Created Baron Power 13 Sep 1535
10 Nov 1539
10 Nov 1539 2 Piers Power 16 Oct 1545
16 Oct 1545 3 John Power 1516 8 Nov 1592 76
8 Nov 1592 4 Richard Power 8 Aug 1607
8 Aug 1607 5 John Power c 1599 1661
1661 6 Richard Power
Created Viscount Decies and Earl of Tyrone 9 Oct 1673
1630 14 Oct 1690 60
14 Oct 1690 7 John Power, 2nd Earl of Tyrone 14 Oct 1693
14 Oct 1693
to    
19 Aug 1704
8 James Power, 3rd Earl of Tyrone
On his death the heir to the peerage was under attainder and thus the peerage became extinct
For information on a claim to this peerage made in 1922, see the note at the foot of this page
19 Aug 1704
POWERSCOURT
19 Feb 1618
to    
9 Sep 1634
V[I] 1 Richard Wingfield
Created Viscount Powerscourt 19 Feb 1618
Chief Governor of Ireland 1613‑1614 and 1622‑1625
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Sep 1634

22 Feb 1665
to    
17 Feb 1717
V[I] 1 Folliott Wingfield
Created Viscount Powerscourt 22 Feb 1665
Peerage extinct on his death
2 Nov 1642 17 Feb 1717 74

4 Feb 1744 V[I] 1 Richard Wingfield
Created Baron Wingfield and Viscount Powerscourt 4 Feb 1744
MP [I] for Boyle 1727‑1743; PC [I] 1746
19 Aug 1697 21 Oct 1751 54
21 Oct 1751 2 Edward Wingfield
MP for Stockbridge 1756‑1761
23 Oct 1729 6 May 1764 34
6 May 1764 3 Richard Wingfield
MP [I] for Wicklow County 1761‑1764
24 Dec 1730 8 Aug 1788 57
8 Aug 1788 4 Richard Wingfield 29 Aug 1762 19 Jul 1809 46
19 Jul 1809 5 Richard Wingfield 11 Sep 1790 9 Aug 1823 32
9 Aug 1823 6 Richard Wingfield
MP for Bath 1837‑1841
18 Jan 1815 11 Aug 1844 29
11 Aug 1844
27 Jun 1885
 
B
7
1
Mervyn Wingfield
Created Baron Powerscourt 27 Jun 1885
KP 1871; PC [I] 1897
13 Oct 1836 5 Jun 1904 67
5 Jun 1904 8 Mervyn Richard Wingfield
Lord Lieutenant Wicklow 1910‑1922; KP 1916
16 Jul 1880 21 Mar 1947 66
21 Mar 1947 9 Mervyn Patrick Wingfield 22 Aug 1905 3 Apr 1973 67
3 Apr 1973 10 Mervyn Niall Wingfield 3 Sep 1935 25 Jul 2015 79
25 Jul 2015 11 Mervyn Anthony Wingfield 21 Aug 1963
POWIS
2 Apr 1629 B 1 William Herbert
Created Baron Powis 2 Apr 1629
c 1573 7 Mar 1656
7 Mar 1656 2 Sir Percy Herbert, 1st baronet
MP for Shaftesbury 1621‑1622
c 1600 19 Jan 1667
19 Jan 1667
4 Apr 1674
24 Mar 1687
 
E
M
3
1
1
William Herbert
Created Earl of Powis 4 Apr 1674 and Viscount Montgomery and Marquess of Powis 24 Mar 1687
Lord Lieutenant Cheshire 1688; PC 1686
c 1629 2 Jun 1696
2 Jun 1696 2 William Herbert c 1665 23 Oct 1745
23 Oct 1745
to    
8 Mar 1748
3 William Herbert
Peerages extinct on his death
c 1698 8 Mar 1748

27 May 1748 E 1 Henry Arthur Herbert
Created Baron Herbert of Chirbury 21 Dec 1743, Baron Powis, Viscount Ludlow and Earl of Powis 27 May 1748 and Baron Herbert of Chirbury 16 Oct 1749
MP for Bletchingley 1724‑1727 and Ludlow 1727‑1743; Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1761‑1772 and Shropshire 1735‑1761 and 1764‑1772; PC 1761
c 1703 10 Sep 1772
10 Sep 1772
to    
16 Jan 1801
2 George Edward Henry Arthur Herbert
Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1776‑1801 and Shropshire 1798‑1801
Peerage extinct on his death
7 Jul 1755 16 Jan 1801 45

14 May 1804 E 1 Edward Clive, 2nd Baron Clive of Plassey
Created Baron Clive of Walcot 13 Aug 1794 and Baron Powis, Baron Herbert of Chirbury, Viscount Clive of Ludlow and Earl of Powis 14 May 1804
MP for Ludlow 1774‑1794; Lord Lieutenant Shropshire 1775‑1798 and 1804‑1839, and Montgomery 1804‑1830; PC 1805
7 Mar 1754 16 May 1839 85
16 May 1839 2 Edward Herbert
MP for Ludlow 1806‑1839; Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1830‑1848; KG 1844
22 Mar 1785 17 Jan 1848 62
17 Jan 1848 3 Edward James Herbert
MP for Shropshire North 1843‑1848; Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1877‑1891
5 Nov 1818 7 May 1891 72
7 May 1891 4 George Herbert
Lord Lieutenant Shropshire 1896‑1951
24 Jun 1862 9 Nov 1952 90
9 Nov 1952 5 Edward Robert Henry Herbert 19 May 1889 15 Jan 1974 84
15 Jan 1974 6 Christian Victor Charles Herbert 28 May 1904 7 Oct 1988 84
7 Oct 1988 7 George William Herbert 4 Jun 1925 13 Aug 1993 68
13 Aug 1993 8 John George Herbert 19 May 1952
POYNINGS
23 Apr 1337 B 1 Thomas Poynings
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Poynings 23 Apr 1337
Oct 1339
Oct 1339 2 Michael Poynings 1317 15 Mar 1369 51
15 Mar 1369 3 Thomas Poynings 19 Apr 1349 Jun 1375 26
Jun 1375 4 Richard Poynings 1359 25 May 1387 27
25 May 1387 5 Robert Poynings 30 Nov 1380 2 Oct 1446 65
2 Oct 1446 6 Eleanor Percy
She married Sir Henry Percy who was summoned to Parliament in her behalf. He died 29 Mar 1461
c 1421 10 Feb 1482
10 Feb 1482 7 Henry Percy
He had been previously summoned to Parliament as Lord Percy in 1473 with which title this peerage then merged

20 Jan 1545
to    
18 Aug 1545
B 1 Thomas Poynings
Created Baron Poynings 20 Jan 1545
Peerage extinct on his death
18 Aug 1545
POYNTZ
24 Jun 1295 B 1 Hugh Poyntz
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Poyntz 24 Jun 1295
25 Aug 1252 Jan 1308 55
Jan 1308 2 Nicholas Poyntz c 1278 Jul 1312
Jul 1312 3 Hugh Poyntz c 1294 13 Oct 1333
13 Oct 1333
to    
1360
4 Nicholas Poyntz
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
1360
PRASHAR
15 Jul 1999 B[L] Usha Kumari Prashar
Created Baroness Prashar for life 15 Jul 1999
PC 2009
29 Jun 1948
PRENTICE
30 Jan 1992
to    
18 Jan 2001
B[L] Sir Reginald Ernest Prentice
Created Baron Prentice for life 30 Jan 1992
MP for East Ham North 1957‑1974, Newham North East 1974‑1979 and Daventry 1979‑1987; Minister of State, Education & Science 1964‑1967. Minister for Public Buildings & Works 1966‑1967; Minister for Overseas Development 1967‑1969 and 1975‑1976; Secretary of State for Education & Science 1974‑1975; Minister of State for Social Security 1979‑1981; PC 1966
Peerage extinct on his death
16 Jul 1923 18 Jan 2001 77
PRENTIS OF LEEDS
18 Nov 2022 B[L] David Prentis
Created Baron Prentis of Leeds for life 18 Nov 2022
29 May 1948
PRESCOTT
7 Jul 2010 B[L] John Leslie Prescott
Created Baron Prescott for life 7 Jul 2010
MP for Hull East 1970‑2010; MEP 1975‑1979; Secretary of State for Environment, Transport & the Regions 1997‑2001; Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State 1997‑2007; PC 1994‑2013
31 May 1938
PRESTON
21 May 1681 V[S] 1 Sir Richard Graham, 3rd baronet
Created Lord Graham of Esk and Viscount Preston 21 May 1681
MP for Cockermouth 1675‑1681 and Cumberland 1685‑1687; Lord Lieutenant Cumberland and Westmorland 1687‑1688; PC 1685
24 Sep 1648 22 Dec 1695 47
22 Dec 1695 2 Edward Graham 1679 1710 31
1710
to    
23 Feb 1739
3 Charles Graham
Peerage extinct on his death
25 Mar 1706 23 Feb 1739 32

3 Oct 1760 V[I] 1 Peter Ludlow
Created Baron Ludlow 19 Dec 1755 and Viscount Preston and Earl Ludlow 3 Oct 1760
See "Ludlow" - extinct 1842
21 Apr 1730 26 Oct 1803 73
PRESTWOOD
16 Dec 1955 E 1 Clement Richard Attlee
Created Viscount Prestwood and Earl Attlee 16 Dec 1955
See "Attlee"
3 Jan 1883 8 Oct 1967 84
PRICE
29 Feb 2016 B[L] Mark Ian Price
Created Baron Price for life 29 Feb 2016
2 Mar 1961
PRIMAROLO
26 Oct 2015 B[L] Dame Dawn Primarolo
Created Baroness Primarolo for life 26 Oct 2015
MP for Bristol South 1987‑2015; Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1997‑1999; Paymaster General 1999‑2007; PC 2002
2 May 1954
PRIMROSE
30 Nov 1703 V[S] 1 Sir James Primrose, 3rd baronet
Created Lord Primrose & Castlefield and Viscount of Primrose 30 Nov 1703
For further information on this peer's wife, see the note at the foot of the page containing details of the Earldom of Stair
c 1680 13 Jun 1706
13 Jun 1706 2 Archibald Primrose 19 Jun 1716
19 Jun 1716
to    
8 May 1741
3 Hugh Primrose
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1703 8 May 1741
PRIOR
14 Oct 1987
to    
12 Dec 2016
B[L] James Michael Leathes Prior
Created Baron Prior for life 14 Oct 1987
MP for Lowestoft 1959‑1983 and Waveney 1983‑1987; Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food 1970‑1972; Lord President of the Council 1972‑1974; Secretary of State for Employment 1979‑1981; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1981‑1984; PC 1970
Peerage extinct on his death
11 Oct 1927 12 Dec 2016 89
PRIOR OF BRAMPTON
29 May 2015 B[L] David Gifford Leathes Prior
Created Baron Prior of Brampton for life 29 May 2015
MP for Norfolk North 1997‑2001
3 Dec 1954
PRITCHARD
30 Jan 1975
to    
18 Oct 1995
B[L] Sir Derek Wilbraham Pritchard
Created Baron Pritchard for life 30 Jan 1975
Peerage extinct on his death
8 Jun 1910 18 Oct 1995 85
PROSSER
11 Jun 2004 B[L] Margaret Theresa Prosser
Created Baroness Prosser for life 11 Jun 2004
22 Aug 1937
PRUDHOE
27 Nov 1816
to    
12 Feb 1865
B 1 Algernon Percy
Created Baron Prudhoe 27 Nov 1816
He succeeded to the Dukedom of Northumberland in 1847 - peerage extinct on his death
19 Dec 1792 12 Feb 1865 72
PRYS-DAVIES
9 Feb 1983
to    
28 Mar 2017
B[L] Gwilym Prys Prys-Davies
Created Baron Prys-Davies for life 9 Feb 1983
Peerage extinct on his death
8 Dec 1923 28 Mar 2017 93
PULTENEY
14 Jul 1742
to    
8 Jul 1764
V 1 William Pulteney
Created Baron Hedon, Viscount Pulteney and Earl of Bath 14 Jul 1742
See "Bath"
Apr 1684 8 Jul 1764 80
PURBECK
19 Jul 1619
to    
18 Feb 1657
V 1 John Villiers
Created Baron Stoke and Viscount Purbeck 19 Jul 1619
Peerages extinct on his death
c 1590 18 Feb 1657
PURVIS OF TWEED
13 Sep 2013 B[L] Jeremy Purvis
Created Baron Purvis of Tweed for life 13 Sep 2013
15 Jan 1974
PUTTNAM
27 Oct 1997 B[L] Sir David Terence Puttnam
Created Baron Puttnam for life 27 Oct 1997
25 Feb 1941
PYM
9 Oct 1987
to    
7 Mar 2008
B[L] Francis Leslie Pym
Created Baron Pym for life 9 Oct 1987
MP for Cambridgeshire 1961‑1983 and Cambridgeshire South East 1983‑1987; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1970‑1973; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1973‑1974; Secretary of State for Defence 1979‑1981; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1981; Paymaster General 1981; Lord President of the Council 1981‑1982; Foreign Secretary 1982‑1983; PC 1970
Peerage extinct on his death
13 Feb 1922 7 Mar 2008 86
 

The special remainder to the Barony of Portal of Hungerford created in 1945
From the London Gazette of 12 October 1945 (issue 37305, page 5026):-
The King has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm, bearing date the 17th ultimo, to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom upon Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, G.C.B., D.S.O., M.C., by the name, style and title of Baron Portal of Hungerford, of Hungerford in the County of Berks and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten; and in default of such issue with remainder to his eldest daughter Rosemary Ann Portal by the name, style and title of Baroness Portal of Hungerford, of Hungerford in the County of Berks and the heirs male of her body lawfully begotten; and in default of such issue to every other daughter lawfully begotten of the said Sir Charles Frederick Algernon Portal successively in order of seniority of age and priority of birth and to the heirs male of their bodies lawfully begotten.
Lionel Seymour William Dawson-Damer, 4th Earl of Portarlington
The 4th Earl was apparently popularly known as "Hippy" Damer - the "Hippy" being an abbreviation of 'hippopotamus'.
One reference I found to this Earl states that he was "terribly absent-minded, and suffered from extraordinary lapses of memory. On one occasion, at a garden party given by the present King and Queen [i.e. Edward VII and Alexandra] at Marlborough House, the late Queen Victoria, who was aware that the earl had been ill, remarked to him that she was glad to hear of his recovery, and to see that he was about again. In spite of her unique appearance, he failed to recognize her, and, baring his head with old-time courtesy, expressed his thanks, but added: "You have the advantage of me, Madame. Your face seems strangely familiar to me, and yet for the life of me I cannot recall your name." And with that he took his leave before the Queen had time to tell him who she was.
William John Cavendish Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland
The following is extracted from The Emperor of the United States of America and Other Magnificent British Eccentrics by Catherine Caufield (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1981)
The 5th Duke of Portland was a gentle recluse with a mania for building. In his younger days as MP for King's Lynn from 1824‑1826 he had known something of public life, but he withdrew more and more from society until, at the end of his life, he went out only at night, his way lit by a lamp carried by an old woman who kept forty yards in front of him.
The Duke's chief interest was the improvement of Welbeck Abbey, his estate in Nottinghamshire. After his accession to the dukedom in 1854, he was absorbed with planning and supervising his building schemes, most of which were carried out underground. At his death there were 15,000 men employed on 36 different projects at Welbeck. In addition to good wages, each employee was given a donkey and an umbrella, but there was one important condition of employment - the workers were not to speak to or acknowledge the Duke. In the words of one local contemporary, "the man who touched his hat was discharged". This injunction also applied to his tenants, his doctor and the local parson.
One of his additions to Welbeck was the largest private apartment in England, an underground ballroom 174 feet long, large enough for 2000 people. It was served by a huge lift that could carry twenty people at a time. Thousands of gas jets supplemented the natural illumination offered by rows of mushroom shaped skylights. Like the rest of the subterranean apartments, the ballroom was centrally heated. Other underground chambers included a series of libraries, one of which had space for twelve full-sized billiard tables; and the Rose Corridor, a long glass-roofed conservatory onto which all the rooms opened. The Duke had these and all the apartments at Welbeck painted pink.
There was also an underground railway to carry the Duke's food the 150 yards from the kitchen to his dining room; a tunnel wide enough to allow two carriages to travel abreast for the one and a quarter mile journey to the nearest village, Worksop; and miles of ancillary underground passages linking various buildings on the estate. Above ground stood the largest riding-school in Europe - its walls covered in mirrors and its ceiling hung with crystal chandeliers. The Duke also built more than forty neo-Tudor lodges on the estate.
But no balls were ever given in the ballroom, nor billiards played in the library, and the 94 horses kept in the stables grew fat from lack of exercise because the Duke invited no-one to visit him at Welbeck.
However, one of his improvements, the skating-rink, did get a great deal of use. The Duke's half-sister, Ottoline Morrell, stated that "the Duke wished his housemaids to skate, and if he found one of them sweeping the corridor or stairs, the frightened girl was sent out to skate whether she wanted to or not".
The Duke used only four or five of the many rooms at Welbeck. The rest were completely devoid of furniture or decoration, apart from the inevitable coat of pink paint. One of his rooms was lined from floor to ceiling with cupboards filled with green band-boxes, each of which contained one brown wig. Moreover, it was said that the Duke was not a stranger to false moustaches, beards, whiskers and eyebrows.
His dress was likewise dictated by a desire for privacy. He wore three frock coats, made to fit one over the other, with colour-coded button tabs. His trousers were always tied at the bottom with a piece of string and his hat was almost two feet high. He was never without a large umbrella and a bulky overcoat, the better to hide himself from strangers.
The Duke travelled in a specially designed carriage with sunken seats and curtains at all the windows. He even managed to make a trip to London by train without being seen. With curtains drawn, the carriage was loaded onto a special railway car at Worksop and driven off again when the train reached London.
Portland carried his self-imposed isolation so far that he twice refused an offer of the Garter because acceptance would have required him to appear at Court. On those occasions when medical attention was necessary, the doctor had to stand outside the sickroom questioning, diagnosing and even taking the patient's temperature through the medium of his valet. Those few who did have contact with the Duke spoke of him as a kind and intelligent man. A generous subscriber to charities, large and small, he sent a shipload of food and drink to British troops during the Crimean War and when Turkey was at war with Russia he donated £4,000 to hospitals there. Local children remembered him tossing coins to them as his carriage passed by, though they never saw his face. Some people believed that his passion for building stemmed from his desire to give employment to workers during hard times and that he built underground so as not to appear ostentatious. Whatever his original inspiration, the Duke's construction projects were almost his sole occupation. Collecting art was a minor passion with him, but in this too he was unconventional. He acquired many fine paintings for Welbeck, but one day he made a bonfire out of several hundred that he deemed unfit for his collection. When the 6th Duke came to Welbeck after inheriting the title from his uncle, he found unframed paintings stacked two and three deep all around the huge riding-school and a rare Gobelins tapestry rolled up and packed with peppercorns in an old tin box.
The strangest episode concerning the 5th Duke began seventeen years after his death. In 1896, a Mrs Annie Marie Druce claimed that her father-in-law, T C Druce, owner of a dry-goods shop in Baker Street, had staged a mock funeral in 1864 and slipped back into his true identity as the 5th Duke of Portland. If the Duke had, as she claimed, been masquerading as a shop-keeper then Druce's son, her late husband, would have been the rightful 6th Duke and she herself the Dowager Duchess. For eleven years she and other members of the Druce family pursued this claim through the courts (complicated by the sudden appearance from Australia of someone claiming to be the long-lost eldest son of T C Druce).
The various claimants to the title financed their cases by selling shares in the Druce-Portland Company, investors in which were to be repaid out of the vast Portland wealth if and when the Druces succeeded to the dukedom. Finally, T C Druce's coffin was opened and his body found inside, which, since the Duke's body was also found inside his coffin, proved they were two different people. The Druce claim was denied and most of the witnesses who supported it were convicted of perjury.
For further reading on the Druce-Portland peerage claim, see The Druce-Portland Case by Theodore Besterman (Duckworth, London 1935).
Louise Renee de Penancort de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth
The Duchess of Portsmouth was one of the numerous mistresses of King Charles II. The following biography is taken from the May 1967 issue of the Australian monthly magazine Parade.
England had seen few house parties quite like that staged one evening in 1671 by the Countess of Arlington at her Euston family seat. Although the guest of honour was England's licentious monarch, Charles II, most attention was directed to the beautiful 22-year-old Frenchwoman, Louise de Keroualle. All England knew that the chief purpose of that evening's entertainment was to arrange the seduction of Louise by Charles, whose previous advances had been repulsed by the strong-willed young woman. The plan of seduction got under way when the Countess of Arlington announced that a mock wedding had been arranged to amuse the guests. The king himself, she said, had agreed to play the part of the groom. All present would be pleased if Mlle. de Keroualle would act the role of his bride. The "wedding" concluded with Charles retiring to a bed chamber and the protesting Louise being pushed in after him by her hostess. But the union that evening did more than give Louise a son by England's king and skyrocket her to a position of great affluence as chief of Charles's female entourage. It also allowed King Louis XIV of France to win England's support in a war that loomed against Holland.
Despite his scandalous dissipation and extravagance, the people of England forgave Charles most of his peccadilloes. But one fault they could not swallow - the monarch's passion for Louise de Keroualle, cunning, cold and rapacious despite the doll-like beauty that mesmerised him. Created Duchess of Portsmouth by the doting Charles, Louise, the paid agent of King Louis of France, later saw her illegitimate son raised to the peerage as Duke of Richmond.
Charles first met Louise de Keroualle, the 21-year-old daughter of an impoverished Breton noble, when she was maid-of-honour to his sister [Henrietta] the Duchess of Orleans, sister-in-law to the French king. The encounter took place when the Duchess of Orleans travelled to London with her suite hoping to arrange a treaty between her brother and her brother-in-law. At that time war was looming in Europe and the Duchess sought the help (or at least the friendly neutrality) of England should Louis be involved in a war with Holland. After listening to the case presented by his sister, Charles finally signed the Treaty of Dover [1 June 1670]. But it was not friendship towards France that won Charles's support. Rather it was the three million francs a year bribe the treaty offered for English participation in the war against Holland.
If Charles made no direct overtures to his sister's beautiful maid-of-honour, he saw to it that Louise left laden with gifts of jewellery when the party returned to Paris. Among those who noted the effect Louise had on Charles was the French Ambassador, M. [Charles] Colbert [Marquis de Croissy 1625‑1696]. He made a note that she might be useful later.
Soon after the Duchess of Orleans returned home with the Treaty of Dover, she fell ill and died [30 June 1670]. It was rumoured she had been poisoned by her husband. When this story reached Charles he flew into a rage and accused the French of being a race of murderers. Even the three million francs no longer interested him. He wanted to declare war on France. Stricken with fear, King Louis sent instructions to M. Colbert that Charles must be calmed and persuaded to stand by the treaty.
Now Colbert remembered the Duchess of Orleans's beautiful maid-of-honour. If she could demonstrate the lovable nature of the French to Charles, the English king might still stand by the treaty. Immediately Colbert put the proposition to King Louis, the French monarch issued instructions that the young Breton be brought before him. Louise promptly agreed to the king's plan, chiefly because the death of her mistress had left her penniless. Now she would receive an assured income from the French king. There was also the possibility of rich pickings at the English court.
At that time Paris was being visited by the Duke of Buckingham who harboured a burning hatred for his cousin, Lady Castlemaine, then Charles's favourite mistress. When asked if he would present Louise at the English court Buckingham readily agreed mainly because his great ambition was to see his cousin supplanted in his king's affections. Soon after Buckingham had agreed to aid the plan, he left Paris with Louise for Dieppe. There the English nobleman decided to go on a fishing trip. He installed Louise in an inn, told her he would send the royal yacht for her when he reached home, then set off on a fishing jaunt. Ten days later M. Colbert was frantic. Louise de Keroualle seemed to have disappeared. Then Buckingham remembered: "Damn it," he cried, "I knew I'd forgotten something." At once the royal yacht put to sea and the fuming Louise was picked up.
Charles had no illusions about the reason the beautiful Louise had been sent to his court. Indeed all England knew she came as King Louis's agent to mend the rift between the two countries. Now that the grief of his sister's death had passed, Charles's thoughts again turned to the annual three million francs, and he decided to mend the breach immediately he could do so without loss of prestige. Meanwhile, if the lovely Louise wanted to offer herself as a bonus he had no intentions of rejecting the attractive gift.
Then Charles received a shock. His early advances were resisted by the desirable young Frenchwoman. Yet her coyness did not dampen his ardour. It simply whetted it. But if England's king found the delay irritating, M. Colbert, harassed by demands for action from King Louis, was on the verge of a nervous collapse. In desperation Colbert approached the Countess of Arlington and persuaded her to invite Charles and Louise to a house party at her Euston family seat. Confident the atmosphere at the party would bring Louise's defences crashing down, Colbert wrote to King Louis: "I expect her to do her duty at last. I have impressed on her what is at stake."
To assist in Louise's seduction, Colbert arranged with the countess to stage a mock wedding. Charles agreed to act as groom - Louise was cajoled into taking the bride's role. At that time it was the custom to stage ribald celebrations at genuine weddings. These celebrations culminated in the retirement of the couple to the nuptial chamber. Following the mock wedding that evening the celebrations followed the usual, almost lascivious, course. But when the time came for the couple to retire to the bed chamber Louise resisted and shouted her protests. So the Countess of Arlington propelled her through the door in Charles's wake.
In March 1672, with Louise preparing to bear Charles's son, England declared war on Holland in support of France and Charles received the first instalment of his three million francs. Louise also received recognition from the grateful King Louis with the gift on an estate at Aubigny and the title of duchess. And soon Lady Castlemaine had been supplanted as the king's favourite mistress by Louise de Keroualle.
With Queen Catherine desperately ill, Louise even began dreaming that one day she might be Queen of England. Then when Catherine showed signs of recovery, Charles soothed his mistress's grief by creating her Duchess of Portsmouth with an annual allowance of £10,000. Her son was later given the title of Duke of Richmond.
But if Louise had removed Lady Castlemaine from Charles's affections she was not so successful when she tried to tear her lover away from the actress Nell Gwynn. Nell enjoyed the battles with Louise and delighted in intercepting Charles on his way to visiting Louise and taking him to her own apartment.
In January 1676 the citizens of England who held Louise in contempt rejoiced at the news that the Frenchwoman might be discarded. The reason for this hope was the arrival in England of the beautiful Italian Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin. True to form, Charles was captivated by the new arrival and set Hortense up in a Chelsea mansion. A year later he tired of the Italian and returned to Louise. The chief reason for Louise's unpopularity was her monumental avarice. Her allowance was officially £10,000 a year but this was not enough for her and she was always taking huge sums from other funds. In 1677 alone her total income was £27,300 while in 1681 it was estimated she had accumulated capital of more than £136,000.
Louise de Keroualle saw the end of her days of glory one February morning in 1685 when word was brought to her that Charles was dying. Realising her very life would be in danger without the king's protection she began packing. Immediately she heard that Charles had died, she dashed for a waiting coach and set out for the coast to board a ship for France. Louise's carriage was almost at Dover when a squad of cavalry overtook it. Wasting no time an officer rifled Louise's luggage and took from it several pieces of the Crown Jewels. Brought back to London, Louise protested that the gems had been given to her by Charles. Not wishing to incur the enmity of Louis XIV, Charles's successor, his brother James, took no action against the notorious Frenchwoman.
In August 1685, Louise returned to France with most of the capital she was accrued during her reign as chief mistress of the King of England. She retired to her estate at Aubigny and lived there quietly until her death in 1734.
William Henry Poulett, 6th Earl Poulett
Paulett was a prominent race house owner who twice won the Grand National with his horse "The Lamb" in 1868 and 1871. Shortly before the 1871 victory he dreamt that his horse would win the race. In his dream, he recognised the rider, Tommy Pickernell. Accordingly, he wrote to Pickernell:-
My dear Tom - Let me know for certain if you ride for me at Liverpool on The Lamb. I dreamt twice last night I saw the race run. In the first dream he was last, and finished among the coaches. The second dream came, I should think, an hour afterwards, I saw the Liverpool run. He won by four lengths, and you rode him. I stood above the winning post at the turn, and I saw the cerise and blue hoops and you as plainly as I write this. Now, let me know as soon as you can, and say nothing to anyone. - Yours sincerely, Poulett.
Pickernell accepted the ride and, as foretold in the dream, The Lamb won by four lengths.
The Poulett peerage claim of 1903
In July 1903, the House of Lords Committee for Privileges heard the claim made by William Turnour Thomas Poulett, styling himself Viscount Hinton, for the Poulett earldom.
The claimant's case was based on the story that, when a young man, the 6th Earl Poulett, had wagered his fellow officers in the 2nd Regiment that he would wed the first girl he met in the street after leaving the mess dinner table. He won the bet, since he met a young girl named Elizabeth Lavinia Newman and married her the next day, 23 June 1849. The claimant was born 15 December 1849, but by that time, the future Earl Poulett had abandoned Elizabeth.
The 6th Earl's story was that he agreed that he had married Miss Newman but, as soon as he had discovered that she was already pregnant at the time of their marriage, he left her. At the hearing before the Committee, evidence was given that Miss Newman had admitted to a friend that she was already pregnant to another man.
The case rested on the interpretation of the legal maxim 'pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant', meaning that it is assumed that a child born in wedlock is the son of the husband. This maxim had been discussed at length in a number of other cases during the 19th century, and in particular in the Banbury peerage case in 1813. The question put to the judges in the Banbury case was 'whether the presumption of legitimacy arising from the birth of a child during wedlock, the husband and wife not being proved to be impotent, and having opportunities of access to each other during a period in which a child could be begotten and born in the course of nature, can be rebutted by any circumstances inducing a contrary presumption.'
At the hearing, the Committee took the view, based on evidence given by witnesses present at the birth that the child was 'full grown' (i.e. not premature), that the child could not possibly be the son of the 6th Earl and, accordingly, disallowed the claim. This seems entirely reasonable, given that a full-grown child born in December would normally have been conceived in the preceding March, three months before the marriage took place.
Elizabeth Newman died in August 1871, having never assumed the title of Countess Poulett, although there is no doubt she was entitled to it after 1864, when the 6th Earl succeeded to the earldom, since they had never divorced. Equally, it was only after his mother's death that the claimant began to call himself Viscount Hinton, the courtesy title of the earldom. He appears to have lived on the verge of destitution for most of his life, being at one time a clown in a circus before becoming an organ-grinder in London and the surrounding shires. The organ was reported to bear a placard to the effect that he was Viscount Hinton and was compelled to resort to this means of earning his livelihood owing to the refusal of his father to contribute to his maintenance. He eventually died in the infirmary of the Holborn workhouse in April 1909.
The Irish barony of Power created in 1535
A claim to this peerage was heard by the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords in March 1922, as reported in The Manchester Guardian of 7 March of that year:-
[The] Committee for Privileges at the House of Lords yesterday heard the petition of Major John William Rivalion de la Poer, of Gurteen le Poer, county Waterford, claiming to be Baron le Power and Coroghmore in the peerage of Ireland.
The petition stated that Major de la Poer's ancestor, Sir Richard Power, was created Baron le Power by Henry VIII in 1535. Richard, the sixth baron, was created by Charles II, Viscount Decies and Earl of Tyrone. He took part in the Irish Rebellion, was taken prisoner and died in the Tower of London in 1690. John Power procured a reversal of his father's attainder and succeeded him, but the Earldom of Tyrone and Viscountcy of Decies became extinct on the death in 1704 of the third earl, who was eighth Baron le Power.
The barony, however, passed to the line of Piers Power of Monerlargie, a son of the fourth baron. His son, Piers Power the younger, was outlawed and died abroad, having one son, Colonel John Power, who was outlawed for high treason in 1691. Although a Roman Catholic and an outlaw, for the share in the Rebellion in 1688, John Power put in a claim for his rehabilitation on the death of the third Earl of Tyrone, and assumed the title of Lord Power. Later he obtained a pension for himself and his son Henry, the latter, at the instance of the Crown, being bred a Protestant. Henry's pension was increased from £250 to £350 a few months after the death of his father. The Curraghmore estates were then in the possession of the Beresford family.
Henry Power, it was stated, died unmarried, and but for the outlawry the succession to the barony devolved upon the line of the second son of the third baron. From this son, Piers Power of Rathcormack, the petitioner claimed to be descended, not being barred "by any corruption of blood through attainder or outlawry".
The Attorney General in a report stated that the attainder of Colonel John Power was, in his opinion, fatal to the petitioner's claim. The opinion of the judges in the case of the claim to the Earldom of Airlie in 1814 seemed to show that such an attainder would bar the claim to entailed land. It was not, however, actually decided by any resolution of the Committee for Privileges that this opinion was applicable to the case of a dignity.
Mr. Ellis (for the petitioner) pointed out that the increased pension was granted to "Henry Lord Power" showing that but for the attainder the Crown considered he was the real Lord Power. There were other instances of outlawed Irish peers who were granted pensions. The Crown apparently regarded outlawry as not subsisting in such cases.
Lord Haldane said if there had been an outlawry following upon a judgment for treason it could only be got rid of either by an Act of Parliament or by some proceeding which had got rid of the judgment which caused it. The pardon of the Crown could not get rid of the outlawry.
Lord Phillimore asked if the attainder was by statute or by trial for treason.
Mr. Ellis said a commission of inquiry was appointed and decided that there had been acts of treason. Under the Irish Act of Parliament outlawry followed.
Lord Haldane: You have got to get rid of that.
Mr. Ellis: I cannot. I am here to ask that but for the outlawry the petitioner would be entitled to the peerage.
Lord Haldane said that it was open to the Committee to report that the claimant had made out his pedigree and claim subject to this vital encumbrance.
The Solicitor General said the petitioner had presented his case with great candour and care. The petitioner prayed the Committee to advise his Majesty to give direction to the introduction of a bill into Parliament to relieve him from the effects of the outlawry. Such a bill was introduced and passed during the war.
The Chairman (Lord Donoughmore) said he did not think the responsibility of advising his Majesty was to the Committee. Lord Haldane said it was for the Government. The Solicitor General cited the case of the Earl of Airlie attainted of high treason in 1746, and said the decision in that case could only be got over by an Act of Parliament.
After further argument the Committee approved the petitioner's claim subject to the reservation of the question of outlawry, counsel being asked to submit an agreed resolution at the next sitting of the Committee on Thursday.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to discover any further hearings of this matter. In any event, the barony of Power has never been resurrected.