Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for

Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford PC (14 January 1807), known as The Viscount Gosford between 1790 and 1806, was an Irish peer of Scottish descent and politician. Early life Arthur Acheson was born . He was the eldest son of Archibald Aches ...

. The Acheson family descends from the Scottish statesman Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, who later settled in Markethill,

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

. He served as

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

, as a Senator of Justice (with the title Lord Glencairn), as an

Extraordinary Lord of Session Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland. When the Court of Session was founded in 1532, it consisted of the Lord President, 14 ...

as 'Lord Glencairn', and as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

. In 1628 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia 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 ...

, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, the 2nd Baronet. He married but died without male issue at a relatively early age and was succeeded by his half-brother, George, the 3rd Baronet, who settled in Ireland and was High Sheriff for cos. Armagh and Tyrone. His son, the 4th Baronet, represented

in the Irish House of Commons. On his death the title passed to his son, the fifth Baronet. He sat as Member of the Irish Parliament for Mullingar. His son, the sixth Baronet, represented

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

and

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

in the Irish House of Commons. In 1776 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh, and in 1785 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. He sat in the Irish Parliament as the representative for

Old Leighlin Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...

from 1783 to 1790. In 1806 he was created Earl of Gosford in the Peerage of Ireland. Since then, heirs apparent to the earldom have traditionally used the invented courtesy title of Viscount Acheson. His son, the second Earl, sat on the Whig benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as an Irish Representative Peer from 1811 to 1849 and served under

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in 1834 and 1835. Between 1835 and 1838 he was Governor General of British North America. Lord Gosford married Mary, daughter of Robert Sparrow of

Worlingham Hall Worlingham Hall is a Grade I listed Georgian country house in Worlingham, to the east of Beccles in the English county of Suffolk. The hall was built in the 18th century, possibly based on an earlier 17th century house, and as of 2014 is a countr ...

in Suffolk. In 1835 he was created Baron Worlingham, of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

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 Lowestof ...

, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords. Bookplate-Earl of Gosford

He was succeeded by his son, the third Earl. He represented

in the House of Commons from 1831 to 1847. The latter year, two years before he succeeded his father in the earldom, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Acheson, of Clancairny in the County of Armagh. His son, the fourth Earl, served as Lord-Lieutenant of County Armagh and was also a Lord of the Bedchamber to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household to Her Majesty

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifth Earl. He was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Coldstream Guards and fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His eldest son, the sixth Earl, sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and served under

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1958 to 1959. the titles are held by his only son, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1966. The family seat was

Gosford Castle Gosford Castle is a 19th-century country house situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was built for Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, and designed in the Norman revival style by London architect ...

, near Markethill,

Acheson baronets, of Glencairny (1628)

* Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet (died 1634) * Sir Patrick Acheson, 2nd Baronet (–1638) * Sir George Acheson, 3rd Baronet (1629–1685) * Sir Nicholas Acheson, 4th Baronet (–1701) * Sir Arthur Acheson, 5th Baronet (1688–1749) * Sir Archibald Acheson, 6th Baronet (1718–1790) (created Viscount Gosford in 1785)

Viscounts Gosford (1785)

* Archibald Acheson, 1st Viscount Gosford (1718–1790) *

(–1807) (created Earl of Gosford in 1806)

Earls of Gosford (1806)

Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford PC (14 January 1807), known as The Viscount Gosford between 1790 and 1806, was an Irish peer of Scottish descent and politician. Early life Arthur Acheson was born . He was the eldest son of Archibald Aches ...

(c. 1745–1807) * Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (1776–1849) * Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford (1806–1864) *

Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford Archibald Brabazon Sparrow Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, (19 August 1841 – 11 April 1922) was a British peer. The son of Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford, he was born at Worlingham Hall, Suffolk, in 1841, and educated at Harrow School; ...

(1841–1922) * Archibald Charles Montagu Brabazon Acheson, 5th Earl of Gosford (1877–1954) *

Archibald Alexander John Stanley Acheson, 6th Earl of Gosford Archibald Alexander John Stanley Acheson, 6th Earl of Gosford, (14 January 1911 – 17 February 1966), styled Viscount Acheson until 1954, was a British peer, politician, and a Royal Air Force officer. Early life Archibald Acheson was the elder ...

(1911–1966) *Charles David Alexander John Sparrow Acheson, 7th Earl of Gosford (born 1942). 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 first cousin Nicholas Hope Carter Acheson (born 1947).
His father Patrick Acheson was the son of the 5th Earl and brother of the 6th Earl. The heir presumptive's

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 ...

is his son Eric James Patrick Acheson (born 1988).

Notes

References

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External links