Earl of Macclesfield is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came 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 1679 in favour of the soldier and politician
Charles Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard. He had already been created Baron Gerard, of Brandon in the County of Suffolk, in 1645, and was made Viscount Brandon, of Brandon in the County of Suffolk, at the same time as he was given the earldom. These titles are also in the Peerage of England. Lord Macclesfield was the great-grandson of the distinguished judge
Sir Gilbert Gerard
Sir Gilbert Gerard (died 4 February 1593) was a prominent lawyer, politician, and landowner of the Tudor period. He was returned six times as a member of the English parliament for four different constituencies. He was Attorney-General for more t ...
,
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...
from 1581 to 1594. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He was involved in the
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...
of 1683, was sentenced to death but later pardoned by the King. On his death without legitimate issue in 1701 the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Earl. He had earlier represented
Yarmouth
Yarmouth may refer to:
Places Canada
*Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia
**Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
**Municipality of the District of Yarmouth
**Yarmouth (provincial electoral district)
**Yarmouth (electoral district)
* Yarmouth Township, Ontario
*New ...
,
Lancaster and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
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. ...
. When he died in 1702 the titles became extinct.
William Dorington
William Dorrington (c. 1644-1718) was an English army officer. Contemporary sources often spell his surname as "Dorington", or "Dodington".
A Roman Catholic in a period when Catholics often faced restrictions on military service in England, he i ...
or Dorrington, Colonel of the
King's Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards, was created Earl of Macclesfield in the
Jacobite Peerage in or about 1716. The title, such as it was, became extinct in 1841.
Melville de Massue de Ruvigny, The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Grants of Honour (Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C. Jack, 1904), 83-84
/ref>
The second creation came 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 ...
in 1721 when the noted lawyer Thomas Parker, 1st Baron Parker
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
, was made Viscount Parker, of Ewelm in the County of Oxford, and Earl of Macclesfield, in the County Palatine of Chester. He was Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
from 1710 to 1718 and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
from 1718 to 1725. Parker had already been created Lord Parker, Baron of Macclesfield, in the County Palatine of Chester, in 1716. This title is also in the Peerage of Great Britain. In contrast to the barony the viscountcy and earldom were created with remainder, in default of male issue, to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet
Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet (15 March 1693 – 10 May 1751), of Hursley, Hampshire, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1722 and 1741.
Heathcote was the second son of Samuel Heathcote, Esq., of Hac ...
of Hursley Park
Hursley House is an 18th-century Queen Anne style mansion in Hursley, near Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. The building is Grade II* listed.
History
The Hursley estate was bought by William Heathcote, MP from the daughters of R ...
, and her issue male. In 1725 Lord Macclesfield was convicted of corruption and forced to pay a £30,000 fine. He was succeeded by his son George, the second Earl, who was a distinguished astronomer and served as President of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
for many years.
On George's death the titles passed to his son Thomas, the third Earl. He had 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 of ...
for Newcastle under Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
and Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl. He was a prominent politician and served as President of the Board of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board ...
from 1816 to 1818. When he died the titles passed to his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was succeeded by his son, the sixth Earl. He had represented Oxfordshire in the House of Commons as a Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
. He was succeeded by his grandson, the seventh Earl. He was the son of George Augustus Parker, Viscount Parker, eldest son of the sixth Earl. Lord Macclesfield was Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Oxfordshire.
Deputy lieutenants
A deputy lieutenant of Oxfordshire is commissioned by the Lord Lieut ...
from 1954 to 1963. the titles are held by his grandson, the ninth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1992.
Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, first husband of the Queen Consort, is the son of Derek Henry Parker-Bowles (who assumed his mother's maiden surname of Bowles), grandson of Reverend the Hon. Algernon Robert Parker, third son of the sixth Earl. Consequently, he is in distant remainder to the earldom and its subsidiary titles. Another member of the family was the Right Reverend Wilfrid Parker
The Rt Rev Wilfrid Parker was a Colonial Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. He was born on 23 January 1883 son of the Hon. Cecil Thomas Parker and Rosamond Esther Harriett Longley. His grandfather on his father's side was Th ...
(1883–1966), son of the Hon. Cecil Thomas Parker, second son of the sixth Earl. He served as Bishop of Pretoria (1933-1950).
The family seat of the Parker family is Shirburn Castle
Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the fi ...
, near Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, but the castle and estate is held by the Beechwood Estates Company, the Macclesfield family estate management company. Following a long-running and acrimonious court battle, the ninth Earl was evicted from the family seat at the end of 2004.
Earls of Macclesfield, first creation (1679)
*Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, PC (c. 16187 January 1694) was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier.
Early life
The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having ...
(1618–1694)
*Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield (c. 16595 November 1701) was an English peer, soldier and MP.
Biography
He was born in France, the eldest son of Charles Gerard, Baron Brandon (later 1st Earl of Macclesfield), and Jeanne, the daughter of ...
(1659–1701)
*Fitton Gerard, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield
Fitton Gerard, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield (15 October 1663 – 26 December 1702) was a British peer, styled Hon. Fitton Gerard until 1701.
Biography
He was the younger son of Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, and represented several consti ...
(1665–1702)
Earls of Macclesfield, second creation (1721)
*Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1710. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the regents befo ...
(1667–1732)
*George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, PRS (c. 1695 or 1697 – 17 March 1764) was an English peer and astronomer.
Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his ...
(c. 1697–1764)
*Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield FRS (12 October 1723 – 9 February 1795), styled Viscount Parker between 1732 and 1764, was a British peer and politician.
Background
Macclesfield was the son of George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, ...
(1723–1795)
*George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield PC (24 February 1755 – 20 March 1842), styled Viscount Parker between 1764 and 1795, was a British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1777 and 1795.
Background
Macclesfield wa ...
(1755–1842)
*Thomas Parker, 5th Earl of Macclesfield (1763–1850)
* Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield (1811–1896)
**George Augustus Parker, Viscount Parker (1843–1895)
* George Loveden William Henry Parker, 7th Earl of Macclesfield (1888–1975)
*George Roger Alexander Thomas Parker, 8th Earl of Macclesfield (1914–1992)
* (b. 1943)
The heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
is the present holder's younger brother the Hon. (Jonathan) David Geoffrey Parker (b. 1945)
The heir presumptive's heir apparent is his son Timothy George Parker (b. 1969)
Ancestry
See also
* Heathcote baronets, of Hursley
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macclesfield
Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of England
Earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain
Parker family
1679 establishments in England
Noble titles created in 1679
Noble titles created in 1716
Noble titles created in 1721
Extinct earldoms in the Jacobite Peerage
Peerages created with special remainders
Peerages created for the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain