Viscount Ullswater, of

Campsea Ashe Campsea Ashe (sometimes spelt Campsey Ash) is a village in Suffolk, England located approximately north east of Woodbridge, Suffolk, Woodbridge and south west of Saxmundham. The village is served by Wickham Market railway station on the Ipswic ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. It was created in 1921 for James Lowther upon his retirement as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. He was the eldest son of the Hon. William Lowther, third son of the Hon. Henry Lowther, second son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (see

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

and Lowther Baronets for earlier history of the family). The first Viscount lived to the age of 93, and was pre-deceased by both his eldest son the Hon. Christopher Lowther, a Conservative politician, and his eldest son's eldest son John Arthur Lowther (1910–1942) (who was Private Secretary to Prince George, Duke of Kent and was killed in the same air crash as him), the title being inherited by his seven-year-old great-grandson, the second and current Viscount, in an extremely rare instance of a great-grandson succeeding his great-grandfather in a peerage. The second Viscount held office in the Conservative administrations of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

and

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

and since 2003 he has been one of the ninety elected

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

s that remain 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 ...

after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. Two of the first Viscount's younger brothers also gained distinction.

Sir Gerard Lowther, 1st Baronet Sir Gerard Augustus Lowther, 1st Baronet, (16 February 1858 – 5 April 1916) was a British diplomat. Diplomatic career Lowther was educated at Harrow School, Harrow and entered the diplomatic service in 1879. He served in Tokyo, Budapest, and W ...

, was a diplomat and Sir Cecil Lowther a soldier and politician.

Viscounts Ullswater (1921)

James William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater James William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, (1 April 1855 – 27 March 1949), was a British Conservative politician. He was Speaker of the House of Commons between 1905 and 1921. He was the longest-serving Speaker of the 20th century. Back ...

(1855–1949) ** Hon. Christopher William Lowther (1887–1935) ***John Arthur Lowther (1910–1942) * Nicholas James Christopher Lowther, 2nd Viscount Ullswater (b. 1942) 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 eldest son, Hon. Benjamin James Lowther (b. 1975).

Arms

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ullswater Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Peerages created for the Speaker of the House of Commons Noble titles created in 1921 Noble titles created for UK MPs

Viscounts Ullswater (1921)

Arms

See also

Notes

References