Earl of Bessborough

Earl of Bessborough is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1739 for Brabazon Ponsonby, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, who had previously represented Newtownards and County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons. In 1749 he was given the additional title of Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby, in the County of Leicester, in the Peerage of Great Britain, which entitled him to a seat in the British House of Lords. The titles Viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon in the County of Wexford, and Baron Bessborough, of Bessborough, Piltown, in the County of Kilkenny, 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 in the Irish House of Commons.[1]

Earldom of Bessborough

Creation date6 October 1739
MonarchKing George II
PeeragePeerage of Ireland
First holderBrabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough
Present holderMyles Ponsonby, 12th Earl of Bessborough
Heir apparentFrederick Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon
Remainder tothe 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten.
Subsidiary titlesViscount Duncannon
Baron Bessborough
Baron Duncannon of Bessborough Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby
Seat(s)Stansted Park
Former seat(s)Bishopscourt House
Bessborough House
Parkstead House

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, as a Lord of the Admiralty and as Joint Postmaster General. His son, the third Earl, represented Knaresborough in the House of Commons as a Whig and like his father served as a Lord of the Admiralty. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl. He was a prominent Whig politician and served as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, as Home Secretary, as Lord Privy Seal 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 in his own right as Baron Duncannon, of Bessborough in County Kilkenny. His eldest son, the fifth Earl, was a Liberal politician and held office under Lord Russell and William Ewart Gladstone 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 politician and also served as Governor General of Canada 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. 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. As of 2017 the titles are held by his son, the twelfth Earl, who succeeded in 2002.

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, and George Ponsonby, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Major-General the Hon. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, 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, and Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede. The Hon. William Ponsonby, third son of the third Earl, was created Baron de Mauley in 1838 while Lady Caroline Ponsonby, only daughter of the third Earl, was the wife of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, but is perhaps best remembered for her affair with Lord Byron. Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane, sixth son of the fourth Earl, was for many years Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Department and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1901.

The present family seat is Stansted Park, near Stoughton, West Sussex, acquired by the 9th Earl in 1924. Previous family seats include Bishopscourt House near Bishopscourt, County Kildare, and Parkstead House in Roehampton, London. The family's former main seat in Ireland was Bessborough House, built in the 1740s for the 1st Earl. Located near the village of Piltown in the south of County Kilkenny, the house was sold by the 9th Earl in the late 1930s. Bessborough House is now part of Kildalton Agricultural College.

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.

Baron Bessborough (1721)

Viscount Duncannon (1723)

Earl of Bessborough (1739)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Frederick Arthur William Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon (born 1974).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, the Hon. William August Longfield Ponsonby (born 2008).

Male-line family tree

Male-line family tree
Male-line family tree, Barons Bessborough, Viscounts Duncannon, and Earls of Bessborough.
Baron Bessborough
Viscount Duncannon
William Ponsonby
1st Viscount Duncannon

1st Baron Bessborough

1659–1724
Earl of Bessborough
(Ireland)
Baron Ponsonby
of Sysonby
(Great Britain)
Brabazon Ponsonby
1st Earl of Bessborough

1679–1758
William Ponsonby
2nd Earl of Bessborough

1704–1793
Frederick Ponsonby
3rd Earl of Bessborough

1758–1844
John Ponsonby
4th Earl of Bessborough

1781–1847
John Ponsonby
5th Earl of Bessborough

1809–1880
William Ponsonby
1812–1831
Frederick Ponsonby
6th Earl of Bessborough

1815–1895
George Ponsonby
1820–1841
Walter Ponsonby
7th Earl of Bessborough

1821–1906
Edward Ponsonby
8th Earl of Bessborough

1851–1920
Earl of Bessborough
(United Kingdom)
Vere Ponsonby
9th Earl of Bessborough

1880–1956
Maj. Hon.
Myles Ponsonby
1881–1915
Frederick Ponsonby
10th Earl of Bessborough

1913–1993
Hon.
Desmond Ponsonby
1915–1925
Hon.
George Ponsonby
1931–1951
Arthur Ponsonby
11th Earl of Bessborough

1912–2002
UK earldom extinct
Myles Ponsonby
12th Earl of Bessborough

born 1941
Frederick Ponsonby
Viscount Duncannon

born 1974
Hon.
William Ponsonby
born 2008

Relationship with other Ponsonby families

Relationship with other Ponsonby families
Relationship with the Barons Sysonby (extinct), the Barons Ponsonby of Shulbrede, the Barons de Mauley, and the Barons Ponsonby of Imokilly (extinct).
Baron Bessborough
Viscount Duncannon
William Ponsonby
1st Viscount Duncannon

1st Baron Bessborough

1659–1724
Earl of Bessborough
(Ireland)
Baron Ponsonby
of Sysonby
(Great Britain)
Brabazon Ponsonby
1st Earl of Bessborough

1679–1758
William Ponsonby
2nd Earl of Bessborough

1704–1793
Hon.
John Ponsonby
Frederick Ponsonby
3rd Earl of Bessborough

1758–1844
William Ponsonby
1st Baron Ponsonby

of Imokilly
For descendants,
see Baron Ponsonby
of Imokilly
.
John Ponsonby
4th Earl of Bessborough

1781–1847
Maj. Gen. Hon.
Frederick Cavendish
Ponsonby
William Ponsonby
1st Baron de Mauley
For descendants,
see Baron de Mauley
John Ponsonby
5th Earl of Bessborough

1809–1880
William Ponsonby
1812–1831
Frederick Ponsonby
6th Earl of Bessborough

1815–1895
George Ponsonby
1820–1841
Walter Ponsonby
7th Earl of Bessborough

1821–1906
Maj. Gen. Rt. Hon.
Sir Henry Ponsonby
Edward Ponsonby
8th Earl of Bessborough

1851–1920
Cecil PonsonbyMaj. Gen.
Sir John Ponsonby
Frederick Ponsonby
1st Baron Sysonby
Arthur Ponsonby
1st Baron Ponsonby
of Shulbrede
For descendants, see
male-line family tree above
For descendants,
see Baron Sysonby
For descendants,
see Baron Ponsonby
of Shulbrede

The baronies Ponsonby of Shulbrede and de Mauley are in the remainder for the earldom of Bessborough. The present holders – Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, and Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley – are both fifth cousins of the 12th Earl of Bessborough. It is however unlikely that any of them would inherit the earldom, as the 12th Earl has two sons and a grandson, as well as two younger halfbrothers, both of whom with male issue. There is also an unbroken line of male descendants from the fourth son of the 7th Earl.

See also

Notes

References

  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bessborough, Earls of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages

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