Baron Westbury, of Westbury 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 on 27 June 1861 for the lawyer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician Sir Richard Bethell on his appointment as

Lord Chancellor 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 ...

, a post he held until 1865. The title descended in the direct line until the death of his great-great-grandson, the fourth baron (who succeeded his grandfather), in 1961. The fourth baron was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth baron. He was equerry to

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...

from 1947 to 1949 and also served as Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire in 1973. the title is held by his son, the sixth baron, who succeeded in 2001.

Barons Westbury (1861)

Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury, (30 June 1800 – 20 July 1873) was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1861 and 1865. He was knighted in 1852 and raised to the peerag ...

(30 June 1800 – 24 July 1873) *

Richard Augustus Bethell, 2nd Baron Westbury Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(11 March 1830 – 28 March 1875) *

Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell, 3rd Baron Westbury Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(25 April 1852 – 20 February 1930). He jumped out of the bedroom window of his seventh floor St James's apartment after a long period of illness. He left a note that read: "I really cannot stand any more horrors and hardly see what good I am going to do here, so I am making my exit." His death was ruled "suicide while of unsound mind." His son Captain The Hon. Richard Bethell was found smothered to death at a Mayfair club. * Richard Morland Tollemache Bethell, 4th Baron Westbury (9 October 1914 – 26 June 1961) He co-authored a cookery book on Italian cooking, ''With Gusto and Relish'', published in 1957. Lord Westbury spent the latter part of his life mainly in Rome, Italy. He never married and his younger brother, David Allan Bethell, succeeded to the Westbury title in 1961. *

David Allan Bethell, 5th Baron Westbury David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(1922–2001) * Richard Nicholas Bethell, 6th Baron Westbury (b. 1950) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's son Hon. Alexander Bethell (b. 1986).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westbury Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1861 Noble titles created for UK MPs Peerages created for the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...