Earl of Derwentwater (pronounced "Durwentwater") was a title in the
Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for
Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the County of Northumberland, and Viscount Radclyffe and Langley at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl, who married
Lady Mary Tudor
Lady Mary Tudor, Countess of Derwentwater (16 October 1673 – 5 November 1726) was an actress and natural daughter of King Charles II of England by his mistress, Mary "Moll" Davies, an actress and singer.
Biography
Early life and title
M ...
, daughter of
Charles II by his mistress
Moll Davis
Mary "Moll" Davis (c. 1648 – 1708), also spelt Davies or Davys, was a courtesan and mistress of King Charles II of England. She was an actress and entertainer before and during her role as royal mistress.
Early life
Mary Davis was born in ...
.
Their eldest son, the third Earl, was a prominent
Jacobite. In 1716, he was convicted of
high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
,
attainted and executed on
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Despite having been stripped of his titles through the attainder, his only son John, titular 4th Earl of Derwentwater, continued to use them. On John's early death in 1731, they were claimed by his uncle,
Charles Radclyffe
Charles Radclyffe (3 September 1693 – 8 December 1746), titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the few English participants in the Risings of 1715 and 1745.
The Radclyffes were Roman Catholics from Northumberland, with long-standing ...
, titular 5th Earl. He was also a Jacobite but managed to escape to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
after the 1715 rebellion, where he was secretary to
Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie"). However, he was captured by British forces in 1746, condemned to death and beheaded. Charles married Charlotte Maria, 3rd
Countess of Newburgh. Their eldest son, James, succeeded his mother as 4th Earl of Newburgh and his father as titular 6th Earl of Derwentwater. James's son Anthony succeeded in the titles on his father's death in 1787. However, the male line died out on his death in 1814, when the Radclyffe titles became technically extinct. The title has not been used since. However, he was succeeded in the earldom of Newburgh by an Italian kinsman (see
Earl of Newburgh
The title Earl of Newburgh (pronounced "''New''-bruh") was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1660 for James Livingston, 1st Viscount of Newburgh, along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Kynnaird and Lord Levingston.
The viscountcy o ...
for further history of this title). The Baronetcy, of Derwentwater in the County of Cumberland, was created in the
Baronetage of England in 1620 for Francis Radclyffe.
[ George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage Volume 1'' 1900]
/ref>
Radclyffe Baronets, of Derwentwater (1620)
*Sir Francis Radclyffe, 1st Baronet (1569–1622)
*Sir Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Baronet (1589–1663)
* Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet (1625–1697) (created Earl of Derwentwater in 1688)
Earls of Derwentwater (1688)
*Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater
Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater (1625 – April 1697), of Dilston Castle was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. His wife was Catherine Fenwick, daughter of Sir William Fenwick and widow of Henry Lawson. They had five so ...
(1625–1697)
*Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater
Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (1655 – 29 April 1705) was an English peer, styled Viscount Radclyffe from 1688 to 1695.
He inherited the earldom from his father, Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater in 1697. His mother wa ...
(1655–1705)
*James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater
James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (26 June 1689 – 24 February 1716) was an English Jacobite, executed for treason.
Life
Radclyffe was the son of Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater and Lady Mary Tudor, the natural daughter o ...
(1689–1716) (forfeit 1716)
Titular Earls of Derwentwater
*John Radclyffe, titular 4th Earl of Derwentwater (1713–1731)
* Charles Radclyffe, titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater (1693–1746)
*James Bartholomew Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Newburgh
James Bartholomew Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Newburgh and titular 6th Earl of Derwentwater (23 August 1725 – 2 January 1787) was a British nobleman, Earl of Newburgh in the Peerage of Scotland and titular Earl of Derwentwater in the Peerage of Engl ...
and titular 6th Earl of Derwentwater (1725–1787)
*Anthony James Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Newburgh and titular 7th Earl of Derwentwater (1757–1814)
There are occasional references to James, the last Earl of Derwentwater in various 18th Century publications. This is most generally taken to refer to James the 3rd Earl however each needs to be considered in context as James Bartholomew Radclyffe was the last to use the title as a matter of course, between 1746 when his father Charles Radclyffe was executed and the death of his mother, the suo jure Countess of Newburgh, when James Bartholomew commenced calling himself by the unattainted title, Earl of Newburgh.
In the mid-19th Century the so-called "Mad" Countess of Derwentwater, a woman calling herself Amelia Mary Tudor Radcliffe took possession of Dilston Castle and claimed that the titular 4th Earl John had not died at age 19, but had faked his own death and relocated to Germany to avoid Hanoverian agents. There he had married and had a family. The "Countess" claimed to be the great-granddaughter of John Radcliffe and for a time gained many followers. Whether her story was correct or otherwise it is certain that she was not a " Countess of Derwentwater" as the title could not be inherited through a female line.
Estates after the attainder
The family estates were not forfeited on the attainder of the 3rd Earl, because his son's right to them under his marriage settlement was established before the Court of Delegates on appeal from the Forfeited Estates Commission, but the forfeiture took effect on his death in 1731. The estates were granted to Greenwich Hospital in 1735. However, after the execution of Charles Ratcliffe in 1746, his son James, Lord Kinnard, claimed them. This claim was compromised by £30,000 being paid to him and his siblings. On his death in 1746, his son obtained an annuity of £2500 for himself and his widow. The estates remained in the hands of the Hospital Commissioners until 1865, when they were transferred by the Greenwich Hospital Act 1865 to the Admiralty Board
The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...
, who sold them.[ H. H. E. Craster, ''A History of Northumberland'' X, ''Corbridge'', 295-303.]
See also
*Earl of Newburgh
The title Earl of Newburgh (pronounced "''New''-bruh") was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1660 for James Livingston, 1st Viscount of Newburgh, along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Kynnaird and Lord Levingston.
The viscountcy o ...
References
*
External links
The Radcliffes
of Dilston Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derwentwater
Forfeited earldoms in the Peerage of England
Noble titles created in 1688