Baron Henley is a title that has been created twice: first in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

and then in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1760 in favour of Sir Robert Henley,

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

, when he was created Lord Henley, Baron of Grainge, in the County of Southampton. In 1764 he was further honoured when he was made

Earl of Northington Baron Henley is a title that has been created twice: first in the Peerage of Great Britain and then in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1760 in favour of Sir Robert Henley, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, when he was ...

. On the death of his son, the second Earl, both titles became extinct. Lady Elizabeth Henley, youngest daughter of the first Earl and co-heiress of the second Earl, married the diplomat Morton Eden. In 1799, the Henley title was revived when Eden was created Baron Henley, of

Chardstock Chardstock is a village and civil parish located on the eastern border of Devon, England off the A358 road between Chard and Axminster. The parish population at the 2011 Census was 828. The parish also contains the hamlets of Bewley Down, Birc ...

in the

County of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, in the Peerage of Ireland. Their son, the second Baron, assumed the surname of Henley in lieu of Eden and notably published a biography of his maternal grandfather. His son, the third Baron, sat as Liberal Member of Parliament for

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. In 1885 the Northington title was also revived when he was created Baron Northington, of Watford in the County of Northampton, 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 ...

. This title gave the Barons an automatic seat in the House of Lords. The fourth baron Frederick Henley was an educated man who served as JP in Northamptonshire and married Augusta, daughter of Herbert Langham 12th baronet. His younger son, the sixth Baron, resumed the surname of Eden in 1925, the same year he succeeded his half-brother in the titles. the peerages are held by his grandson, the eighth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1977. He is a Conservative politician and served in the Conservative administrations of Margaret Thatcher,

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

and

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. Lord Henley is now one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. The Barons Henley are members of the prominent Eden family. The first Baron was the fifth son of Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet, of West Auckland, and the younger brother of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland. Their elder brother Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland (second son of the third Baronet of West Auckland), was the great-great-grandfather of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, and the great-great-great-grandfather of the Conservative politician John Benedict Eden, Baron Eden of Winton. The family seat is

Scaleby Castle Scaleby Castle is in the village of Scaleby, Cumbria, England. The castle was originally built in the early 14th century, and extended in the 15th century to form a substantial fortification. Parliamentary troops attacked the castle twice durin ...

, near Carlisle, Cumbria.

Barons Henley, first creation (1760)

* Robert Henley, 1st Baron Henley (1708–1772) (created Earl of Northington in 1764)

Earls of Northington (1764)

* Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington (1708–1772) *

Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington (3 January 1747 – 5 July 1786), was a British politician. He was born the eldest son of Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington, and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He succee ...

(1747–1786)

Barons Henley, second creation (1799)

* Morton Eden, 1st Baron Henley (1752–1830) * Robert Henley Henley, 2nd Baron Henley (1789–1841) * Anthony Henley Henley, 3rd Baron Henley (1825–1898) (created Baron Northington in 1885) * Frederick Henley Henley, 4th Baron Henley, 2nd Baron Northington (1849–1923) * Anthony Ernest Henley Henley, 5th Baron Henley, 3rd Baron Northington (1858–1925) * Francis Robert Eden, 6th Baron Henley, 4th Baron Northington (1877–1962) * Michael Francis Eden, 7th Baron Henley, 5th Baron Northington (1914–1977) * Oliver Michael Robert Eden, 8th Baron Henley, 6th Baron Northington (born 1953) The heir apparent is the present holder's son, the Hon. John Michael Oliver Eden (born 1988).

Male-line family tree

Notes

References