Baron Heytesbury, of

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neigh ...

in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, 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 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created in 1828 for the prominent politician and diplomat Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet, who later served as Ambassador to Russia and as

Viceroy of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingd ...

. His son, the second Baron, sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. On his marriage in 1837 to Elizabeth Holmes, daughter of Sir Leonard Worsley Holmes, Lord Heytesbury assumed the additional surname of Holmes. His son the 4th baron commanded a battalion in the

Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

and was for a time in command of

62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot The 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was raised in 1756 and saw service through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 99th (Lanarkshire) R ...

. , the titles are held by his great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Baron, who succeeded his father in 2004. The baronetcy, of Heytesbury House in the County of Wiltshire, was created in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

on 4 July 1795 for the first Baron's father, William à Court. He was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the army and represented

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. His father,

William Ashe-à Court General William Ashe-à Court (''c.'' 1708 – 2 August 1781) was a senior British Army officer and a Member of Parliament. Born William à Court, he was the son of Pierce à Court, MP and Elizabeth Ashe of Ivy Church, Wiltshire. His older both ...

, was a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the army and also sat as a Member of Parliament for Heytesbury. A junior line of the family has attained fortune and fame in Australia, thanks to the business empire of

Robert Holmes à Court Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court (27 July 1937 – 2 September 1990) was a South African-born Australian businessman who became Australia's first billionaire, before dying suddenly of a heart attack in 1990 at the age of 53. A great- ...

, who was of South African birth, and his Western Australian wife

Janet Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

, now one of Australia's richest women. Their vast business interests are managed through

Heytesbury Pty Ltd Heytesbury Pty. Ltd. is the privately owned company of the Holmes à Court family in Western Australia. Originally called Heytesbury Holdings, the company was formed by Robert Holmes à Court in the 1970s as the holding company of his rapidly e ...

, a company named after the family peerage.

à Court baronets of Heytesbury (1795)

* Sir William Pierce Ashe à Court, 1st Baronet (c. 1747–1817) * Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet (1779–1860) (created Baron Heytesbury in 1828)

Baron Heytesbury (1828)

William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury GCB PC (11 July 1779 – 31 May 1860), known as Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet, from 1817 to 1828, was an English diplomat and Conservative politician. Background and education Heytesbury was the elde ...

(1779–1860) * William Henry Ashe à Court-Holmes, 2nd Baron Heytesbury (1809–1891) * William Frederick Holmes à Court, 3rd Baron Heytesbury (1862–1903) * Leonard Holmes à Court, 4th Baron Heytesbury (1863–1949) * William Leonard Frank Holmes à Court, 5th Baron Heytesbury (1906–1971) * Francis William Holmes à Court, 6th Baron Heytesbury (1931–2004) * James William Holmes à Court, 7th Baron Heytesbury (born 1967)

References

Books cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heytesbury Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1795 establishments in Great Britain 1828 establishments in the United Kingdom Extinct baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1828 Noble titles created for UK MPs

à Court baronets of Heytesbury (1795)

Baron Heytesbury (1828)

See also

References

Books cited