Baron Ampthill, of

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also ...

in the County of Bedfordshire, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat

Lord Odo Russell Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill, (20 February 182925 August 1884), styled Lord Odo Russell between 1872 and 1881, was a British diplomat and the first British Ambassador to the German Empire. Background and education Russell w ...

. He was the third son of

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Lord George Russell Major-General Lord George William Russell (8 May 1790 – 16 July 1846) was a British soldier, politician and diplomat. He was the second son of the John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, 6th Duke of Bedford and brother to John Russell, 1st Earl R ...

, second son of

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...

. His son, the second Baron, served as

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

from 1899 to 1906 and was interim

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

in 1904. His grandson, the fourth Baron, was one of the ninety elected

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

s that remained in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, and sat as a cross-bencher. the title is held by the latter's son, the fifth Baron, who succeeded his father in 2011.

Coat of arms

The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the barony is: ''Argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief sable three escallops argent, a mullet or for difference''.

Barons Ampthill (1881)

* Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill (1829–1884) * Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill (1869–1935) * John Hugo Russell, 3rd Baron Ampthill (1896–1973) * Geoffrey Denis Erskine Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill (1921–2011) * David Whitney Erskine Russell, 5th Baron Ampthill (b. 1947) The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

is the present holder's brother, Anthony John Mark Russell (b. 1952).

Family tree

The 5th Baron is 4th cousin once removed of the 15th Duke of Bedford and is currently 16th in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

Earl Russell Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 July 1861 for the prominent Liberal politician Lord John Russell. He was Home Secretary from 1835 to 1839, Foreign ...

Earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was c ...

Russell case The Russell case, also called the Ampthill baby case, was a series of proceedings related to the conception of Geoffrey Russell. It covered two divorce cases and the claim to the British peerage title Baron Ampthill, and the possibility of a ...

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ampthill Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1881 Ampthill Russell family