Viscount Bangor, of Castle Ward, in County Down, is a title 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 ...

History

The title was created in January 1781 for Bernard Ward, 1st Baron Bangor, who had previously represented Down 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 fra ...

. He had already been created Baron Bangor, of Castle Ward in the County of Down, in May 1770, also in the Peerage of Ireland. His son, the second Viscount, sat as a member of the Irish Parliament for Bangor and was declared insane. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Viscount. His eldest son, the fourth Viscount, sat 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 This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

from 1855 to 1881. His younger brother, the fifth Viscount, was an Irish Representative Peer from 1886 to 1911. His son, the sixth Viscount, was an Irish Representative Peer between 1913 and 1950 and also sat in the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

from 1921 to 1950 and served as its

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

from 1930 to 1950. , the titles are held by his grandson, the eighth Viscount, who succeeded his father, journalist Edward Ward, in 1993. Nicholas Ward, great-grandfather of the first Viscount, and Michael Ward, father of the first Viscount, both represented County Down in the Irish House of Commons. Robert Ward, uncle of Nicholas Ward, was created a Baronet in 1682 (see

Ward Baronets There have been five baronetcies created for persons with the surname Ward, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. See also Warde baronets. The Ward Baronetcy, of ...

). The Hon. Edward Ward, second son of the first Viscount, was also a member of the Irish Parliament for County Down.

Edward Wolstenholme Ward Major-General Sir Edward Wolstenholme Ward (17 August 1823 – 5 February 1890) was an Indian-born British soldier and Australian politician as well as cricket player. Background Born in Calcutta, he was the oldest son of John Petty Ward and his ...

, a son of John Petty Ward, younger brother of the third Viscount, sat in the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

. The actress

Lalla Ward Sarah Jill "Lalla" Ward (born 28 June 1951) is an English actress, voice artist and author. She is best known for playing the role of Romana II in the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1979 to 1981. Career Early career Ward's stage na ...

is the daughter of the seventh Viscount and the former wife of both Professor

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

and her

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

co-star and famed Time Lord

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

The family seat is

Castle Ward A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, near

Strangford Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census. On the ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Baron Bangor (1770)

* Bernard Ward, 1st Baron Bangor (1719–1781) (created Viscount Bangor in 1781)

Viscount Bangor (1781)

Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor (18 August 1719 – 20 May 1781), was an Irish politician and peer. Background He was the only surviving son of Michael Ward of Castle Ward, County Down, one of the justices of the Court of King's Bench, and his ...

(1719–1781) *

Nicholas Ward, 2nd Viscount Bangor Nicholas Ward, 2nd Viscount Bangor (5 December 1750 – 11 September 1827), styled The Honourable from 1770 until 1781, was an Irish politician and peer. He was the eldest son of Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor and his wife Lady Ann Bligh, daug ...

(1750–1827) *Edward Ward, 3rd Viscount Bangor (1790–1837) *

Edward Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor Edward Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor DL (23 February 1827 – 14 September 1881), styled The Honourable from September 1827 until 1837, was an Irish peer and Conservative politician. Born in London, he was the son of Edward Ward, 3rd Viscount Bangor ...

(1827–1881) * Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor (1828–1911) *

Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th Viscount Bangor Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th Viscount Bangor (4 May 1868 – 17 November 1950), was an Irish peer and politician. Early life and education Ward was born to Henry Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor, and his first wife, scientific illustrator Mary ...

(1868–1950) * Edward Henry Harold Ward, 7th Viscount Bangor (1905–1993) *William Maxwell David Ward, 8th Viscount Bangor (born 1948) 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 half-brother, Hon. Edward Nicholas Ward (born 1953). The heir presumptive's heir presumptive is his cousin Maxwell Colin Bernard Ward (born 1949), a great-great-grandson of the third Viscount. His heir is his elder son Charles Bernard Maxwell Ward (born 1986).

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangor Viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland 1781 establishments in Ireland Noble titles created in 1781 Ward family (Anglo-Irish aristocracy)