Earl of Wharncliffe, in the West Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

History

The earldom was created in 1876 for Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Baron Wharncliffe. He was a descendant of Edward Wortley Montagu (grandson of

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG PC FRS JP (27 July 162528 May 1672) was an English military officer, politician and diplomat, who fought for the Parliamentarian army during the First English Civil War and was an MP at various time ...

,) and his wife, the author

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, who later served a ...

. Their daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

married the future Prime Minister

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

. Their second son, James Stuart, succeeded to the Wortley estates in Yorkshire and Cornwall through his mother and assumed the additional surname of Wortley, becoming James Stuart-Wortley. In 1803, he also inherited the Scottish estates of his uncle

James Stuart-Mackenzie James Stuart-Mackenzie PC FRSE FSA (30 October 1718 – 8 April 1800) was a Scottish politician and joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783. The second son of James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, he served as Member of Parliamen ...

and assumed the additional surname of Mackenzie. His second son, James Stuart-Wortley, was a soldier and prominent

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

politician. In 1826, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Wharncliffe, of Wortley in the

County of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. The first baron was succeeded by his eldest son, John. He represented Bossiney,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. On his death, the peerage passed to his eldest son, Edward, the third Baron. He was Chairman of the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

, which under his leadership became the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

. In 1876 he was created Viscount Carlton, of Carlton in the West Riding of the County of York, and Earl of Wharncliffe, in the West Riding of the County of York, with remainder to his younger brother the Hon. Francis Dudley Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie (1829–1893). These titles are all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1880, Lord Wharncliffe assumed the additional surname of Montagu. He was succeeded in the viscountcy and earldom, by virtue of the special remainder, by his nephew Francis, the second Earl, the eldest son of the Hon. Francis Dudley Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie. This line of the family failed on the death of his grandson, the fourth Earl, in 1987. He was succeeded by a second cousin once removed, the fifth and present Earl, Richard Alan Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, of Portland, Maine, the elder son of Alan Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, only son of Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, only son of the Hon. Ralph Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, younger brother of the second Earl.

Other notable family members

Several other members of this branch of the Stuart family have also gained distinction. John Stuart-Wortley, younger brother of the first Baron, sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Bossiney. The Hon.

Charles Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie Charles James Stuart-Wortley (3 June 1802 – 22 May 1844) was a British politician, the second son of James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe. He was an observer at the French siege of Antwerp in 1832, and wrote an account of the ...

, second son of the first Baron, was also Member of Parliament for Bossiney. His daughter

Victoria, Lady Welby Victoria, Lady Welby (27 April 1837 – 29 March 1912), more correctly Lady Welby-Gregory, was a self-educated British philosopher of language, musician and watercolourist. Life Welby was born to the Hon. Charles Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie a ...

, was a philosopher of language.

Charles Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Stuart of Wortley Charles Beilby Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Stuart of Wortley (15 September 1851 – 24 April 1926), was a British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1916, shortly before he was raised to the peerage. He serve ...

, was the son of the Hon. James Stuart-Wortley, third son of the first Baron (see the Baron Stuart of Wortley for more information on this branch of the family). The Hon. Edward James Montague-Stuart-Wortley (1857–1934), second son of the Hon. Francis, second son of the second Baron, was a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The Hon. Sir (Alan) Richard Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1868–1949), younger son of the Hon. Francis, second son of the second Baron, was a Lieutenant-General in the British Army. The Hon. James Stuart-Wortley, third son of the second Baron, was a member of the first Parliament of New Zealand.

Family seat

Until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the family seat was Wortley Hall. In 1950, it was sold by the third Earl. He kept ownership of the estate and built a new family seat, Wharncliffe House, about a mile south of

Wortley, South Yorkshire Wortley is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 579, increasing to 626 at the 2011 Census. Wortley is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as '' ...

, considerably smaller than the old one, with only five bedrooms, sitting in woodland on the estate. The fourth Earl continued to live there until his death.

Barons Wharncliffe (1826)

James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe Colonel James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe, PC (6 October 1776 – 19 December 1845) was a British soldier and politician. A grandson of Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, he held office under Sir Rober ...

(1776–1845) * John Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 2nd Baron Wharncliffe (1801–1855) * Edward Montagu Stuart Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Baron Wharncliffe (1827–1899) (created Earl of Wharncliffe in 1876)

Earls of Wharncliffe (1876)

* Edward Montagu Stuart Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Wharncliffe (1827–1899) *Francis John Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Wharncliffe (1856–1926) * Archibald Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Wharncliffe (1892–1953) married on 24 March 1918 Lady Maud Lillian Elfreda Mary Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, a daughter of

William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl Fitzwilliam William "Billy" Charles de Meuron Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl Fitzwilliam, (25 July 1872 – 15 February 1943), styled Viscount Milton from 1877 to 1902, was a British Army officer, nobleman, politician, and aristocrat. Early life and co ...

* Alan James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Wharncliffe (1935–1987) married on 25 July 1957 Aline Margaret Bruce *Richard Alan Montagu Stuart Wortley, 5th Earl of Wharncliffe (born 1953)

Present peer

Richard Alan Montagu Stuart Wortley, 5th Earl of Wharncliffe (born 1953) is an American cousin of the fourth Earl, a grandson of Ralph Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1864–1927), a younger brother of the second earl, and succeeded to the peerages in 1987.''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (Debrett's Peerage Limited, 2008), p. 1,055 At the time, he was a construction foreman from

Cumberland, Maine Cumberland is a town in Cumberland County, Maine. The population was 8,473 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland metropolitan area, Maine. Cumberland is one of the wealthiest municipalities in the state. History Cumberla ...

. The fourth Earl separated the peerages from what was left of the estate, leaving it to his immediate family.History of The Stuart Montagu Wortley Mackenzie Family
wharncliffeestates.co.uk, accessed 8 January 2023 In July 1987, the new peer arrived in Yorkshire as a tourist, to visit the family seat, which he had never seen. He commented “I am just an ordinary guy.”U.S. Earl In England To See Family Seat

AP News The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

, 30 July 1987, accessed 8 January 2023 The estate was ultimately inherited by Lady Rowena Wortley-Hunt, only surviving child of the fourth earl, who took it over on her mother’s death in 2001. 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 ...

to the peerages is the present holder's eldest son, Reed Montagu Stuart Wortley, Viscount Carlton (born 1980).

Line of succession

* ''John Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 2nd Baron Wharncliffe (1801–1855)'' ** ''Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Wharncliffe (1827–1899)'' **''Hon. Francis Dudley Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1829–1893)'' ***''Ralph Granville Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1864–1927)'' ****''Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1897–1961)'' *****''Alan Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1927–1986)'' ****** Richard Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, 5th Earl of Wharncliffe (b. 1953) *******(1). Reed Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, Viscount Carlton (b. 1980) ********(2). Evan Caid Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 2002) ********(3). Quinlan James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 2008) *******(4). Hon. Christopher James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 1983) ********(5). Oliver Charles Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 2014) ********(6). Asher Reed Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 2017) *******(7). Hon. Otis Alexander Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 1991) ******(8). William Ralph Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 1959) *******(9). Brian Alan Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 1987) *******(10). Michael Riley Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (b. 1993)

References

* Kidd, Charles & Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wharncliffe Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * Noble titles created in 1876 Peerages created with special remainders