William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (often known simply as Brendan Rosse; born 21 October 1936), is an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer. He is also 10th Baronet Parsons, of Birr Castle.

Biography

Lord Rosse was the eldest son of Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, and

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(née Messel, mother of

Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...

by an earlier marriage). Lord Rosse was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Aiglon College Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He was an officer in the

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

from 1955–57 and worked for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1963–80. He succeeded his father in 1979. He lives at Birr Castle,

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. From his birth until he succeeded to the earldom in 1979, he was known as Lord Oxmantown. From 1979 to 2007, Lord and Lady Rosse facilitated many decades of research by A. P. W. Malcomson, former director of the

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC). The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is disti ...

, and latterly sponsored by the

Irish Manuscripts Commission The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many h ...

, to enable the production, for the first time, of a comprehensive Calendar of the Rosse Papers in 2008. The archive is held in the Muniment Room of Birr Castle. The Calendar is of great value to researchers delving into the history of the Parsons family, the English settlement of the Irish midlands in the 17th century, the Williamite wars, early Irish nationalism, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the eighteenth century, nineteenth-century science and astronomy, and the fate of the Irish

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...

in the early twentieth century. Lord Rosse appeared in ''

Great British Railway Journeys ''Great British Railway Journeys'' is a 2010-2021 BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The docum ...

'' and in an episode of ''Lords & Ladies'' that focused on Birr Castle. His wife, Alison Parsons, Countess of Rosse, and his children Lady Alicia Clements and Michael Parsons, also appeared in this programme.

Marriage and children

He married Alison Margaret Cooke-Hurle, daughter of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

John Davey Cooke-Hurle and Margaret Louisa Watson, on 15 October 1966.Profile
thepeerage.com; accessed 21 December 2015. They have three children: * Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown (b. 31 March 1969); married Anna Lin Xiaojing in 2004 and has two children. * Lady Alicia Parsons (b. 1971), a goddaughter of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

; married Nathaniel Clements in 2007. * The Hon. Michael Parsons (b. 9 November 1981)

References

Sources

*Malcomson, A.P.W. (editor), ''Calendar of the Rosse Papers'' (2008). Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission;
Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown profile
The Peerage.com; accessed 21 December 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of 1936 births Living people Irish people of German-Jewish descent People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Irish Guards officers Earls of Rosse (1806 creation)