Viscount Valentia 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 ...

. It has been created twice. The first creation came in 1621 for Henry Power. A year later, his kinsman Sir Francis Annesley, 1st Baronet, was given a "reversionary grant" of the viscountcy, which stated that on Power's death Annesley would be created Viscount Valentia. Annesley, a member of an influential

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

family which descended from

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

in the County of Buckinghamshire, was a favourite of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, who granted him land in Ireland, notably the fort of Mountnorris in County Armagh. He was knighted in 1616, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Newport Pagnell in the County of Buckingham, in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

in 1620 and Baron Mountnorris, of

Mountnorris Mountnorris is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village also extends into the townland of Tullyherron. It lies about six miles south of Markethill. It is within the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon local gover ...

in the County of Armagh, in 1628. In 1642, on the death of Power, he became Viscount Valentia according to the reversionary grant given in 1622. Valentia's fourth son Hon. Francis Annesley was the father of William, 1st Viscount Glerawly, from whom the Earls Annesley descend. Valentia's eldest son and successor, Arthur, the second Viscount, was created Baron Annesley, of Newport Pagnel in the County of Buckingham, and Earl of Anglesey, in Wales, in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

, in 1661. Anglesey's younger son Altham Annesley was created

Baron Altham Baron Altham, of Altham in the County of Cork, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1681 for the Honourable Altham Annesley, younger son of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey and Elizabeth Altham, daughter and co-heiress of ...

in the

on 14 February 1681. On the death of the fifth Earl of Anglesey in 1737 the line of the eldest son of the first Earl failed. He was succeeded by his kinsman Richard Annesley, who became the sixth Earl and seventh Viscount Valentia. However, after his assumption of the Earldom an extraordinary legal battle developed. A Mr

James Annesley James Annesley (1715 – 5 January 1760) was an Irishman with a claim to the title Earl of Anglesey, one of the wealthiest estates in Ireland. The dispute between Annesley and his uncle Richard Annesley was infamous in its time, but his story i ...

claimed the earldom and its subsidiary titles as the son of Arthur Annesley, fourth Baron Altham. He alleged that in 1728 he had been removed to an obscure school and that his death had subsequently been announced by his uncle, Richard, the sixth Earl of Anglesey. James was later to have been sold to an American planter as a slave by his uncle. He subsequently escaped to Jamaica and in September 1740 he made his way back to England. On 11 November 1743 he took action against his uncle, to eject him as Baron Altham and to retain his property. Richard's defence was that James was not the legitimate son of Mary, second wife of the fourth Baron Altham, but actually the illegitimate son of a Joan Landy. The verdict was in James' favour, with his uncle being convicted of claiming he was dead and selling him into slavery so that he could take up the title and estates. James' estates were returned to him but he never took up his titles before his death in 1760 and his uncle continued to be recognised as Earl until he died in 1761. In 1761, on the death of the sixth Earl, the story took a new twist. His son and heir, Arthur, assumed the titles as the "seventh Earl of Anglesey". However, Arthur's legitimacy was disputed and on 22 April 1771 the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

decided that his claim to the English titles of Baron Annesley and Earl of Anglesey were invalid and that they had become extinct upon his father's death. However, his claims to the Baronetcy of Newport-Pagnell, the Baronies of Mountnorris and Altham and the Viscountcy of Valentia were twice confirmed by the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

. In 1793 he was compensated when he was created Earl of Mountnorris in the

. On the death of his son, the 2nd Earl, the earldom and barony of Altham became extinct, while he was succeeded in the baronetcy, barony of Mountnorris and viscountcy of Valentia by his distant relatives, Arthur Annesley, who became the 10th Viscount Valentia. He was fifth in descent from the Honourable Francis Annesley, fourth son of the 1st Viscount. The 11th Viscount, was created Baron Annesley of Bletchington, in the County of Oxford, 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 ...

on 7 May 1917. However, this title became extinct on the death of his son, the 12th Viscount, in 1949. The Irish titles were inherited by his distant relative Reverend William Monckton Annesley, who became the 13th Viscount Valentia. He was also a descendant of Hon. Francis Annesley, fourth son of the first Viscount. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis Dighton Annesley, who established his claim to the titles in 1959 and became the 14th Viscount Valentia. He was the son of George Dighton Annesley, uncle of the 13th Viscount. On the 14th Viscount's death in 1983 the titles passed to his son, Richard John Dighton Annesley. He was a Captain in the British Army, then farmed in Zimbabwe and returned to Britain in the early 1980s. As 2014 the title are held by his son, the 16th Viscount, who succeeded in 2005. Lord Valentia is also the Premier Baronet of Ireland. The present Viscount has not successfully proven his succession to the baronetcy and is therefore not on the Official Roll of the Baronetage, with the baronetcy considered dormant since 2005, as of 31 December 2013.Viscounts Valentina profile
accessed 5 April 2014.

Viscounts Valentia; First creation (1621)

*Henry Power, 1st Viscount Valentia (died 1642)

Viscounts Valentia; Second creation (1622) (took effect 1642)

Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia, (1 February – 22 November 1660) was an English statesman during the colonisation of Ireland in the seventeenth century. He was a Member of Parliament for both the English and Irish houses, was elevate ...

(1583–1660) * Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, 2nd Viscount Valentia (1614–1686) (created Earl of Anglesey in 1661)

Earls of Anglesey (1661)

* Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, 2nd Viscount Valentia (1614–1686) * James Annesley, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, 3rd Viscount Valentia (1645–1690) * James Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey, 4th Viscount Valentia (1674–1702) * John Annesley, 4th Earl of Anglesey, 5th Viscount Valentia (1676–1710) * Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey, 6th Viscount Valentia (d. 1737) * Richard Annesley, 6th Earl of Anglesey, 7th Viscount Valentia (1690–1761)

Viscounts Valentia; reverted (1761)

* Arthur Annesley, 8th Viscount Valentia (1744–1816) (created Earl of Mountnorris in 1793)

Earls of Mountnorris (1793)

Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris FRS (7 August 1744 – 4 July 1816) was an Irish peer. He was the son of Richard Annesley, 6th Earl of Anglesey, and Juliana Donovan, Countess of Anglesey, who belonged to the junior sept of the O'Donov ...

, 8th Viscount Valentia (1744–1816) * George Annesley, 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, 9th Viscount Valentia (1770–1844)

Viscounts Valentia; Reverted (1844)

Arthur Annesley, 10th Viscount Valentia Arthur Annesley, 10th Viscount Valentia (30 November 1785 – 30 December 1863) was an English-born land-owner, an Irish peer and the Premier Baronet of Ireland. Family Arthur Annesley was born on 30 November 1785, the eldest son of Arthur Ann ...

(1785–1863) * Arthur Annesley, 11th Viscount Valentia (1843–1927) *

Caryl Arthur Annesley, 12th Viscount Valentia Caryl is both a unisex given name and surname. As a given name, it is an alternate form of Carol that is common for women and Carroll that is uncommon for men. It is also an uncommon surname. Given name * Caryl Bagot, 6th Baron Bagot (1877–1 ...

(1883–1949) *

William Monckton Annesley, 13th Viscount Valentia William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

(1875–1951) *

Francis Dighton Annesley, 14th Viscount Valentia Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

(1888–1983) *

Richard John Dighton Annesley, 15th Viscount Valentia 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 ...

(1929–2005) * Francis William Dighton Annesley, 16th Viscount Valentia (born 1959) 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 brother Hon. Peter John Annesley (born 1967)
The heir presumptive's

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 his son William Lester Dighton Annesley (born 1999).

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (eds). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentia Viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland Extinct viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1621 Noble titles created in 1622

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 ...