Baron de Robeck is a title of the head of the Irish Fock family which has its origins in Sweden. Jakob Constantin Fock, a Swedish landowner, had bought the Räbäck estate in the parish of Medelplana,

Skaraborg County Skaraborg County ( sv, Skaraborgs län ) was a county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg to form Västra Götaland County. The count ...

in the province of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

, and after serving as the

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

there three times, he was created a ''

friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

'' in 1778 by

King Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was Monarchy of Sweden, King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a voca ...

. His son Johan Henrik, after fighting in the American War of Independence, moved to England and was naturalised as a British subject under the name ''"John Henry Fock, called Baron de Robeck"'', by an Act of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

in 1789. His son (John Michael) Henry, the 3rd Baron, lived in Ireland and was appointed

High Sheriff of Kildare The High Sheriff of Kildare was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kildare, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kildare County Sheriff. T ...

for 1834,

High Sheriff of County Dublin The Sheriff of County Dublin (or (High) Sheriff of the County of Dublin) was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Dublin. Initially, an office for a lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the Sheriff became an annual appointment foll ...

for 1838 and

High Sheriff of Wicklow The High Sheriff of Wicklow was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wicklow, Ireland from Wicklow's formation in 1606 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Wicklow County S ...

for 1839. His marriage in 1820 to the Hon. Mary Lawless, daughter of Valentine Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry and Elizabeth Morgan, became a subject of much gossip when she

divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

him to marry

Lord Sussex Lennox Lord Sussex Lennox (11 June 1802 – 12 April 1874) was an English cricketer. He was associated with Marylebone Cricket Club and was recorded in one first-class match in 1826, totalling 5 runs with a highest score of 3 and holding no catches. ...

(her parents had also divorced). The 4th Baron, John Henry, Master of the Kildare Hunt, served as High Sheriff for 1859, Deputy Lieutenant and justice of the peace for County Kildare and also as

for 1884. He built Gowran Grange in Swordlestown in 1857 as a family seat. The 5th Baron, Henry Edward, was Master of the Kildare Hunt, a justice of the peace and Deputy Lieutenant. His younger brother was Admiral of the Fleet Sir John de Robeck, 1st Baronet, commander of the Allied naval force in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The 6th Baron, Brigadier John Henry Edward, was a British Army artillery officer in both World Wars. The 7th baron, Martin, was chairman of

Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

along with many others. The current Baron is Charles John Martin.

Barons de Robeck

Fock family members who have used the title Baron de Robeck * Baron Jakob Constantin Fock (1724–1803) * Johan Henrik Fock, 2nd Baron de Robeck (1753–1817) * John Michael Henry Fock, 3rd Baron de Robeck (c. 1790 – 1856) * John Henry Edward Fock, 4th Baron de Robeck (1823–1904) * Henry Edward William Fock, 5th Baron Robeck (1859–1929) * John Henry Edward Fock, 6th Baron Robeck (1895–1965) * Martin John Michael Fock, 7th Baron de Robeck (1941–1996) * Charles John Martin Fock, 8th Baron de Robeck (born 1973)

References

* {{cite web , url = http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_derobeck.htm, title= The de Robecks of Gowran Grange, Co. Kildare, access-date = 27 October 2013 Irish families