Earl of Dorchester, 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 , Do ...

, 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 1792 for Joseph Damer, 1st Baron Milton. He was a politician but is best remembered for the reshaping of

Milton Abbey Milton Abbey school is an independent school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonw ...

and the creation of the village of

Milton Abbas Milton Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, lying around southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 755. This planned community was built after the old Town was demolished in the 17 ...

in Dorset. Damer had already been created Baron Milton, of Shronehill in the County of Tipperary, in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

, in 1753 and Baron Milton, of Milton Abbey in the County of Dorset, in the Peerage of Great Britain, in 1762. In 1792 he was made Viscount Milton, of

in the County of Dorset, at the same time he was given the earldom. He was succeeded by his elder son. The second earl was a politician and notably served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

between 1794 and 1795. He was unmarried and the titles became extinct on his death in 1808. The title Countess of Dorchester had previously been created 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 1686, together with the title Baroness Darlington, as

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

ages, for

Catherine Sedley Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, Countess of Portmore (21 December 1657 – 26 October 1717), daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, was the mistress of King James II of England both before and after he came to the throne. Catheri ...

, a mistress of

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. Both titles became extinct on her death in 1717, but her heirs were

Earls of Portmore Earl of Portmore was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the Scottish military commander David Colyear, 1st Lord Portmore. He had already been created Lord Portmore in 1699 and was made Lord Colyear and Viscount of Mil ...

in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...

Countess of Dorchester (1686)

Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, Countess of Portmore (21 December 1657 – 26 October 1717), daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, was the mistress of King James II of England both before and after he came to the throne. Catheri ...

(1657–1717)

Earls of Dorchester (1792)

Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester (12 March 1718 – 12 January 1798) was a country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1741 to 1762 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Milton. He was particularly associated wi ...

(1718–1798) *

George Damer, 2nd Earl of Dorchester George Damer, 2nd Earl of Dorchester, PC, PC (Ire) (28 March 1746 – 7 March 1808), styled Viscount Milton between 1792 and 1798, was a British politician. He served as Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1794 and 1795. Background Dorchest ...

(1746–1808)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorchester Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1686 Noble titles created in 1792 Dawson-Damer family

Countess of Dorchester (1686)

Earls of Dorchester (1792)

See also

References