Earl Cornwallis was a title 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 ...

. It was created in 1753 for Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. The second Earl was created Marquess Cornwallis but this title became extinct in 1823, while the earldom and its subsidiary titles became extinct in 1852 (the barony was recreated in the 20th century). The Cornwallis family descended from Frederick Cornwallis, who represented

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

and Ipswich in the House of Commons. He was created a Baronet in the

Baronetage of England 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 ...

in 1627 and

Baron Cornwallis Baron Cornwallis is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holders of the first creation were later made Earl Cornwallis and Marquess Cornwallis, but these titles ar ...

, of Eye in the County of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

in 1661. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron, who also sat as Member of Parliament for Eye. On his death, the titles passed to his son, the third Baron. He notably served as First Lord of the Admiralty. His son, the fourth Baron, was Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk and Postmaster General. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Baron. In 1753 he was created Viscount Brome, in the County of Suffolk, and Earl Cornwallis in the Peerage of Great Britain. His son, the second Earl, was a noted military commander, best known as one of the leading British generals in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

; his surrender at Yorktown ended the war. He subsequently served as Commander-in-Chief of India. In 1792 he was created Marquess Cornwallis in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess. He represented Eye (which by this time was considered a

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

of the Cornwallis family)Pages 144 and 199, Lewis Namier, '' The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957) and

in Parliament. Lord Cornwallis had four daughters but no sons, and the marquessate became extinct on his death in 1823. He was succeeded in the other titles by his uncle, the fourth Earl. He was Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1781 to 1824. He married Catherine, daughter of Galfridus Mann of Boughton Malherbe in Kent. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl. He sat as Member of Parliament for Eye. In 1814 Lord Cornwallis assumed by Royal licence his maternal grandfather's surname of Mann in lieu of his patronymic. He had no surviving male issue and the earldom, viscountcy, barony and baronetcy became extinct on his death in 1852. His daughter Lady Jemima Isabella married Charles Wykeham-Martin. Their son Fiennes Wykeham-Martin assumed by Royal licence the surname of Cornwallis in lieu of his patronymic in 1859. In 1927 the Cornwallis title was revived when his son Fiennes Cornwallis was raised to the peerage as

. Several other members of the Cornwallis family also gained distinction. The Hon. Edward Cornwallis, the sixth son of the fourth Baron, was a soldier and is known as "the founder of Halifax". His younger twin brother, the Right Reverend the Hon. Frederick Cornwallis, was

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. The Hon. William Cornwallis, younger son of the first Earl and younger brother of the first Marquess, was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the Royal Navy.

Barons Cornwallis (1661)

* Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis (1610–1662) * Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis (1632–1673) * Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis (1655–1698) * Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis (1675–1722) * Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis (1700–1762) (created Earl Cornwallis in 1753)

Earls Cornwallis (1753)

* Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (1700–1762) * Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Earl Cornwallis (1738–1805) (created Marquess Cornwallis in 1792)

Marquesses Cornwallis (1792)

* Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738–1805) * Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (1774–1823)

Earls Cornwallis (1753, reverted)

James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis (25 February 1743 – 20 January 1824) was a British clergyman, and peer. Life He was the third son of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Townshen ...

(1743–1824) * James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis (1778–1852) **Hon Charles James Cornwallis later Mann, styled Viscount Brome (1813-1835), heir apparent until his death with no other heirs in remainder to the title.

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