The Barony of Norragh in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

was an

Irish feudal barony An Irish feudal barony was a customary title of nobility: the holder was always referred to as a Baron, but was not the holder of a peerage, and had no right to sit in the Irish House of Lords. In 1614 the Dublin Government noted that there were ...

: that is, the holder had the right to call himself

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, but did not hold a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

and had no right to sit in the Irish House of Lords. The De Wellesley family were of Anglo-Saxon origin but were rewarded with land in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

near the town of

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

(hence the name Wellesley). One of the first mentions of the family was in the year 1172 when their ancestor left

Somersetshire ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

to serve as standard-bearer to King

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

and was rewarded for his services with land in Meath and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

. After this, there were multiple generations of

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the family, including Waleran de Wellesley (died c.1276) who was

Justice itinerant A Justice Itinerant was a royal appointed official sent to the English counties and Ireland to administer justice. References * {{cite book , title= A History of English Law , volume= 1 , first= William Searle , last= Holdsworth , author-li ...

in Ireland between 1242 and 1261.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 pp.46-7 He also served as a justice of "the Bench", probably a forerunner of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

. He was also made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

c.1260.Richardson, H.G and Sayles, G.O ''The Irish Parliament in the Middle Ages'' Oxford University Press 1952 p.25 His property was mainly in Dublin. His son was Sir Waleran de Wellesley junior,

High Sheriff of Kildare The High Sheriff of Kildare was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kildare, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kildare County Sheriff. Th ...

. The younger Waleran was killed in a skirmish with a local Irish clan in 1303. In 1334 Waleran's descendant William de Wellesley was summoned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as Baron Norragh, but the dignity does not appear to have been inherited by his son Sir Richard De Wellesley. The Wellesley claim to the Barony of Norragh came through William's marriage to Elizabeth Staunton, only daughter of the heiress of Norragh,

Elizabeth Calf Elizabeth le Veel, also known as Elizabeth Calf (d. after 1417), was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman, and wife of Art mac Art MacMurrough-Kavanagh, King of Leinster. Her marriage to Art violated the Statutes of Kilkenny, and resulted in her property ...

, and her first husband, Sir John Staunton. The

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

was descended from the Wellesley family.Longford, Elizabeth ''Wellington- the Years of the Sword'' Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1969

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barony Of Norragh Norragh

See also

References