Earl of Rosse is a title that has been created twice 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 ...

, both times for the Parsons family. "Rosse" refers to New Ross in County Wexford.

History

The Parsons were originally an English family from Dishworth (

Diseworth Diseworth is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Long Whatton and Diseworth, in theNorth West Leicestershire district, in the English county of Leicestershire. It is south of East Midlands Airport and off Junction 23A of t ...

) Grange in Leicestershire; there having been five brothers who settled in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during the late 16th century. One of the brothers, William Parsons, was created a Baronet in the Baronetage of Ireland of Bellamont in the County of Dublin in 1620 by

James VI & I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

. The third Baronet was created Viscount Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland in 1681, and the second Viscount was created Earl of Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland in 1718; these titles of the first creation became extinct on the death of the second Earl in 1764. Sir Lawrence Parsons, the younger brother of Sir William Parsons, 1st Baronet, settled in Birr, King's County, later known as Parsonstown, and was the ancestor of the younger (Birr) branch of the family. His grandson Laurence Parsons was created a Baronet, of Birr Castle in King's County, in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1677, but was attainted by King James II's Parliament in 1689 and sentenced to death. The sentence was never carried out, however. His great-grandson, the third Baronet, and great-great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, both represented King's County in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. The latter's half-brother Laurence Harman Parsons was in 1792 raised to the

as Baron Oxmantown, with remainder to his nephew Sir Lawrence Parsons, 5th Baronet, who had succeeded his father the fourth Baronet in 1791. In 1795 he was made Viscount Oxmantown in the Peerage of Ireland, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body, and in 1806 he was even further honoured when he was created Earl of Rosse in the Peerage of Ireland, with similar remainder as for the barony. Lord Rosse sat from 1800 to 1807 as one of the original

Irish Representative Peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

in the British House of Lords. On his death in 1807 the viscountcy became extinct while he was succeeded in the barony and earldom according to the special remainders by his aforementioned nephew, the 5th Baronet. The latter represented King's County in the British House of Commons and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer between 1809 and 1841. The 2nd Earl's son, the 3rd Earl, was a well-known astronomer and famous for his construction of the giant

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

the

Leviathan of Parsonstown Leviathan of Parsonstown, or Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope of aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-f ...

at his seat Birr Castle. Lord Rosse also sat as Member of Parliament for King's County, was an Irish Representative Peer from 1845 to 1867 – years during which millions of the Irish population died from starvation or emigrated. He was one of the very few who foresaw the consequences of the potato blight and tried to alert the British authorities. He was

Lord Lieutenant of King's County This is a list of those who have served as Lord Lieutenant of King's County. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1 ...

from 1831 to 1867 and 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 ...

from 1849 to 1854. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was an Irish Representative Peer between 1868 and 1908 and Lord Lieutenant of King's County between 1892 and 1908. His son, the fifth Earl, was an Irish Representative Peer from 1911 to 1918 and Lord-Lieutenant of King's County from 1908 to 1918. Lord Rosse fought 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 ...

and died from wounds received in action in 1918. the titles are held by his grandson, the seventh Earl, who succeeded his father in 1979. When the present Earl worked for the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, he did not use his title, preferring to be known by his family surname of Parsons. The family seat is Birr Castle, near Birr, County Offaly.

Parsons Baronets, of Bellamont (1620)

* Sir William Parsons, 1st Baronet of Bellamont (1570–1650) * Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet of Bellamont (died 1658) grandson of the first baronet * Sir Richard Parsons, 3rd Baronet (–1703) (created Viscount Rosse in 1681)

Viscounts Rosse (1681)

Richard Parsons, 1st Viscount Rosse Earl of Rosse is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for the Parsons family. "Rosse" refers to New Ross in County Wexford. History The Parsons were originally an English family from Dishworth (Disewort ...

(–1703) * Richard Parsons, 2nd Viscount Rosse (died 1741) (created Earl of Rosse in 1718)

Earls of Rosse, First Creation (1718)

Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse (1702 – 21 June 1741), Freemason and a founder-member of the Hell-Fire Club, 2nd Viscount Rosse of Bellamont co. Dublin, Baron Oxmantown, 3rd baronet. Early life An Irish peer, he was born at Twickenham, Mid ...

(died 1741) *

Richard Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(–1764)

Parsons Baronets, of Birr Castle (1677)

* Sir Laurence Parsons, 1st Baronet (–1698) *

Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet (8 June 1661 – 17 March 1741) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Parsons was the son of Sir Laurence Parsons, 1st Baronet and Frances Savage, and succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1698. He was the Member of Par ...

(died 1741) *

Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet (1708 – 24 October 1756) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Parsons was the son of William Parsons and Martha Pigott, and the grandson of Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet. His father predeceased his grandfather, and ...

(1707–1756) * Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet (1731–1791) * Sir Laurence Parsons, 5th Baronet (1758–1841) (succeeded as Earl of Rosse in 1807)

Earls of Rosse, Second Creation (1806)

Laurence Harman Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse (26 July 1749 – 20 April 1807), known as The Lord Oxmantown between 1792 and 1795 and as The Viscount Oxmantown between 1795 and 1806, was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Bac ...

(1749–1807) *

Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded his father i ...

(1758–1841) *

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (17 June 1800 – 31 October 1867), was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth ...

(1800–1867) *

Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, KP, FRS (17 November 1840 – 29 August 1908) was a member of the Irish peerage and an amateur astronomer. His name is often given as Laurence Parsons. Biography He was born at Birr Castle, Parsonstown, Kin ...

(1840–1908) *

William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse (14 June 1873 – 10 June 1918) was an Irish peer and British Army officer. He was known as Lord Oxmantown until 1908. Early life He was the son of Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse and Frances Cas ...

(1873–1918) * Lawrence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse (1906–1979) * William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (born 1936) 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 ...

is the present holder's son, Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown (born 1969).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, the Hon. William Charles Yufan Parsons (born 2008).

Line of Succession

* ''James Parsons'' ** Ulster

'' Sir William Parsons of Bellamont, 1st Baronet (d. c. 1649/50)'' *** ''Richard Parsons (d. a. 1642)'' **** Ulster

''Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet (d. 1658)'' ***** Coronet of a British Viscount

''Richard Parsons, 1st Viscount Rosse (c. 1656—1702/3)'' (remainder to great-grandfather) ****** Coronet of a British Earl

(d. 1741)'' ******* Coronet of a British Earl

''Richard Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (b. 1718—1764)'' ** ''Sir Laurence Parsons (d. 1628)'' *** ''William Parsons (d. 1653)'' **** Ulster

''Sir Laurence Parsons, of Birr Castle, 1st Baronet (c. 1637—1698)'' ***** Ulster

''Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet (d. 1740/1)'' ****** ''William Parsons (d. bef. 1740)'' ******* Ulster

''Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet (1707—1756)'' ******** Ulster

'' Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet (1731—1791)'' ********* Coronet of a British Earl

Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded his father i ...

(1758—1841)'' Rep. peer from 1809, taking the

Earl of Normanton Earl of Normanton is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Charles Agar, 1st Viscount Somerton, Archbishop of Dublin. He had already been created Baron Somerton, of Somerton in the County of Kilkenny, in 1795 and Visco ...

's room; the

Earl of Caledon Earl of Caledon, of Caledon, County Tyrone, Caledon in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon, James Alexander, 1st Viscount Caledon. He was a merchant who had ...

followed. ********** Coronet of a British Earl

(1800—1867)'' Rep. peer from 1845, taking the

Earl of Limerick Earl of Limerick is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, associated first with the Dongan family, then with the Pery family. First creation The earldom was created for the first time in 1686 for Sir William Dongan, 4 ...

's room; Lord Dunboyne followed. *********** Coronet of a British Earl

(1840—1908)'' Rep. peer from 1868, taking Lord Farnham's room; Lord Ashtown followed. ************ Coronet of a British Earl

(1873—1918)'' Rep. peer from 1911, taking the 3rd

Lord Bellew Baron Bellew, of Barmeath in the County of Louth, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 17 July 1848 for Patrick Bellew, 1st Baron Bellew, Sir Patrick Bellew, 7th Baronet, who had previously represented County Louth (UK Parliament ...

's room; Lord Charlemont followed. ************* Coronet of a British Earl

'' Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse (1906—1979)'' ************** Coronet of a British Earl

William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (b. 1936) *************** (1) Lawrence Patrick Parsons, ''Lord Oxmantown'' (b. 1969) **************** (2) ''Hon.'' William Charles Parsons (b. 2008) *************** (3) ''Hon.'' Michael John Finn Parsons (b. 1981) ************** ''Hon. Desmond Oliver Martin Parsons (1938—2010)'' *************** (4) Rupert Alexander Michael Parsons (b. 1966) *************** (5) Desmond Edward Richard Parsons (b. 1968) *********** '' Hon. Richard Clere Parsons (1851—1923)'' ************ ''Arthur David Clere Parsons (1881—1955)'' ************* ''Arthur Christopher Parsons (1919—1999)'' ************** (6) Sir John Christopher Parsons (b. 1946) *************** (7) Michael Reginald Parsons (b. 1983) *************** (8) David Guy Parsons (b. 1985) **************** (9) Reginald John Vernon Parsons (b. 2014) ************* (10) Norman Charles Parsons (b. 1925) ************ '' Rev. Canon Richard Edward Parsons (1888—1971)'' ************* ''Reverend Desmond John Parsons (1925—2014)'' ************** (11) Benedict Desmond Drummond Parsons (b. 1969) ********** ''Hon. Laurence Parsons (1805—1894)'' *********** ''Reverend Randolph Cecil Parsons (1852—1941)'' ************ ''John Cecil Lawrence Parsons (1905—1978)'' ************* (12) Michael Charles Parsons (b. 1950) ******** Coronet of a British Earl

(1749—1807)'' Rep. peer from 1801, the

Earl of Kingston Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1768 for Edward King, 1st Viscount Kingston. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon (created in 1764), Viscount ...

followed.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *Malcomson, A.P.W. (editor), ''Calendar of the Rosse Papers'' (2008). Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission . *
History of the Parsons family

External links

Birr Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse Noble titles created in 1806 Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1718 Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland People from Birr, County Offaly Peerages created with special remainders 1718 establishments in Ireland