Marquess of Abergavenny (pronounced Aber''genn''y) in the County of Monmouth, is a title 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 ...

created on 14 January 1876, along with the title Earl of Lewes (pronounced "Lewis"), in the

County of Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English C ...

, for the 5th Earl of Abergavenny, a member of the Nevill family. The 6th and present Marquess is Christopher George Charles Nevill (b. 23 April 1955), son of

Lord Rupert Nevill Lord Rupert Charles Montecute Nevill (29 January 1923 – 19 July 1982) was Chairman of the British Olympic Association from 1966 to 1977 and then its President until his death. As a courtier, he was treasurer and later private secretary to Prin ...

and Lady Anne Camilla Evelyn Wallop. He succeeded to the title in 2000 on the death of his uncle the 5th Marquess, who had no surviving sons. The family seat is

Eridge Park Eridge Park () is a village and historic park located north of the parish of Rotherfield, to the north-east of Crowborough in East Sussex, England. The adjoining home of the same name is the seat of the Marquess of Abergavenny. The area is a b ...

, near

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

Medieval Origins

The incumbent Marquess of Abergavenny is the current head of the

House of Neville The Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the later Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and played a ...

, a noble house of early medieval origins, notable for its central role in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. Lord Abergavenny's ancestor

Edward Neville, 3rd Baron Bergavenny Edward Neville, ''de facto'' 3rd (''de jure'' 1st) Baron Bergavenny (died 18 October 1476) was an English nobleman. Family He was the 7th son7th son as implied by the difference of a rose imposed upon his paternal arms of Nevill. However Debr ...

was a younger son of

Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Earl Marshal (c. 136421 October 1425), was an English nobleman of the House of Neville. Origins Ralph Neville was born about 1364, the son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville by his wife Maud Percy (d. ...

and Lady Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster.

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

in the Marquess's title derives from the market town in Wales in which this branch of the Nevill family inherited

Abergavenny Castle Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked ...

, much of the family's ancestral lands and title of Baron Bergavenny by virtue of the marriage between the

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

peeress

Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny Elizabeth Beauchamp, Baroness (A)Bergavenny (16 September 1415 – 18 June 1448)Cokayne, and others, ''The Complete Peerage'', volume I, page 27, 29. was a medieval English noblewoman and heiress. She was the only child of Richard de Beauchamp, ...

and

Edward Neville Sir Edward Neville (died 8 December 1538) was an English courtier. He was born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He was the son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny and his wife Margaret, daughter of Hugh Fenn. He married Eleanor Windsor, daugh ...

in 1424.

Subsidiary Titles

Subsequent Nevill Barons Bergavenny have been raised to higher ranks within the peerage. The 1st Marquess's ancestor, the ''de facto'' 17th (''de jure'' 2nd) Baron Bergavenny, was created Earl of Abergavenny, in the County of Monmouth, and Viscount Nevill, of Birling in the County of Kent, 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 ...

on 17 May 1784. The Barony of Bergavenny was held by his successors, the Earls and Marquesses of Abergavenny, until 1938, when it passed into abeyance between the two daughters of the 3rd Marquess. The 5th Earl of Abergavenny was elevated to the title of Marquess of Abergavenny along with the subsidiary title of Earl of Lewes on 14 January 1876, following his role in the foundation of the modern day

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

with

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

and

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

Coat of arms

The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the Marquesses of Abergavenny is: ''Gules, a saltire argent charged with a rose of the field (barbed and seeded proper)''. These are the ancient arms of Neville differenced by a rose, the symbol of a 7th son, in reference to Sir Edward Neville, 1st Baron Bergavenny (d.1476), 7th son of

. The blazon can be translated as "On a red background, a white saltire with a red rose, naturally coloured, upon it."

Earls of Abergavenny (1784)

:''Other titles (1st Earl onwards): Viscount Nevill (GB 1784), Baron Bergavenny (GB 1724) '' *

George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny (24 June 1727 – 9 September 1785), known as Lord Bergavenny from 1744 to 1784, was an English peer. He married into a branch of the Pelham family seated at Stanmer and briefly held office as Lord Lieutenant ...

(1727–1785) *

Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny, Order of the Thistle, KT (22 February 1755 – 27 March 1843) was a British peer, styled Hon. Henry Nevill until 1784 and Viscount Nevill from 1784 to 1785. The eldest son of George Nevill, 1st Earl of Aber ...

(1755–1843) **Henry George Nevill, Viscount Nevill, (1785–1806) **Ralph Nevill, Viscount Nevill (1786–1826) *

John Nevill, 3rd Earl of Abergavenny John Nevill, 3rd Earl of Abergavenny (25 December 1789 – 12 April 1845), styled Hon. John Nevill until 1826 and Viscount Nevill from 1826 to 1843, was an England, English peer. He was wounded while on active service in the Peninsular War, and a ...

(1789–1845) *

William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (28 June 1792 – 17 August 1868), styled Hon. William Nevill until 1845, was a British peer and clergyman. The fourth son of Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny, he was ordained in 1816 and occupied two o ...

(1792–1868) * William Nevill, 5th Earl of Abergavenny (1826–1915) (created Marquess of Abergavenny in 1876) William Nevill, Vanity Fair, 1875-06-26

Marquesses of Abergavenny (1876)

:''Other titles (1st Marquess onwards): Viscount Nevill (GB 1784), Earl of Lewes (UK 1876) :''Other titles (1st-3rd Marquesses): Baron Bergavenny (GB 1724, abeyant 1938)'' *

William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (16 September 1826 – 12 December 1915), styled Viscount Neville between 1845 and 1868 and known as The Earl of Abergavenny between 1868 and 1876, was a British peer. Background and education He was ...

(1826–1915) * Reginald William Bransby Nevill, 2nd Marquess of Abergavenny (1853–1927) * Henry Gilbert Ralph Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny (1854–1938) **Gilbert Reginald Nevill (1879–1891) * Guy Temple Montacute Larnach-Nevill, 4th Marquess of Abergavenny (1883–1954) **

(1923-1982) * John Henry Guy Nevill, 5th Marquess of Abergavenny (1914–2000) **Henry John Montague Nevill, Earl of Lewes (1948–1965) *

Christopher Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny Christopher George Charles Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny, (born 23 April 1955) is a British peer and current head of the House of Neville. He is the only surviving son of the late Lord Rupert Nevill and his wife Lady Camilla Anne Evelyn W ...

(born 1955) There are no heirs to the marquessate; the heir presumptive to the earldom is the present marquess's third cousin, David Michael Ralph Nevill (b. 1941) * ''William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (1792–1868)'' ** ''William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (1826–1915)'' ***''

Lord George Montacute Nevill William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (16 September 1826 – 12 December 1915), styled Viscount Neville between 1845 and 1868 and known as The Earl of Abergavenny between 1868 and 1876, was a British peer. Background and education He was ...

(1856–1920)'' **** ''Guy Larnach-Nevill, 4th Marquess of Abergavenny (1883–1954)'' *****''

(1923–1982)'' ****** Christopher Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny (b. 1955) **''Hon. Ralph Pelham Nevill (1832–1914) ***''Percy Llewelyn Nevill (1877–1927)'' ****''Michael George Ralph Nevill (1917–1943)'' *****(1). David Michael Ralph Nevill (b. 1941) ******(2). Guy Michael Rossmore Nevill (b. 1973) *******(3). George David Roland Nevill (b. 2010) *******(4). Frederick Guy James Nevill (b. 2012) *******(5). Ralph William James Nevill (b. 2015) *****(6). Michael George Rathmore Nevill (b. 1943)

References

Sources

Alt URL
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abergavenny Marquessates in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1876 Abergavenny, Marquess of

Marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...