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In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, a territorial designation follows modern
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 * Be ...
titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all
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 14t ...
cies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation proclaims a relationship with a particular area of land.


English and British peerages

A territorial designation is an aspect of the creation of modern
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 * Be ...
s that links them to a specific place or places, at least one of which is almost always in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. It is given in the
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
of creation after the actual peerage title itself, of which it is not considered a part.


Life peerages

With the exception of royal peerages, which are often created without them, territorial designations are used with the creation of almost all
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 kn ...
ies and
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 judicia ...
cies. For instance, the
life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
conferred (in 1992) on the former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
was created as:
''Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire.''
The
life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
for the former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
(in 1987) was created as:
''Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, of the City of Cardiff in the County of South Glamorgan''.
The part of the peerage before the
comma The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline ...
is the actual title, and the part after the comma is the territorial designation. These peers should therefore be referred to as "''The Baroness Thatcher"'' and "''The Lord Callaghan of Cardiff"'': it is incorrect both to use part of the territorial designation as part of the title and to leave out part of the actual title; thus ''The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven'' and ''The Lord Callaghan'' are incorrect, although the latter may be used informally. The place of the comma can be particularly important when dealing with peers with the same names. For instance, ''Baron Sainsbury'' refers to Alan Sainsbury who was ''Baron Sainsbury, of Drury Lane in the Borough of Holborn'' (created in 1962). This life peerage of ''Baron Sainsbury'' had been created and anyone else wanting to use this title would need to add a territorial designation in order to create a different peerage. Hence his son, John Sainsbury, was created (in 1989) as ''Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, of Preston Candover in the County of Hampshire'', while his nephew, David Sainsbury, was created (in 1997) as ''Baron Sainsbury of Turville, of Turville in the County of Buckinghamshire.'' Hence the distinction needs to be made between different peers with similar or the same surnames so that there can be no confusion. This can be especially important if peers with similar names sit in the
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 Westminst ...
at the same time, as seen in the distinction made between Baron Hunt (1966–98), Baron Hunt of Fawley (1973–87), Baron Hunt of Tanworth (1980-2008), Baron Hunt of Wirral (created in 1997), Baron Hunt of Kings Heath (created in 1997), and Baron Hunt of Chesterton (created in 2000).


Baronies and viscountcies

Until the 19th century, it was possible to create a different peerage title merely by altering the location of the comma. Thus the title ''
Baron Stanley Baron Stanley is an abeyant title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1456 for Sir Thomas Stanley. His son was created Earl of Derby in 1485 and the titles remained united until the death of the fifth earl, without male heirs in 1594, w ...
, of Bickerstaffe in the County Palatine of Lancaster'' (created in 1832) differs in format from ''
Baron Stanley of Alderley Baron Stanley of Alderley, in the County of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1839 for the politician and landowner Sir John Stanley, 7th Baronet. Upon his death in 1850, he was succeeded as 2nd Baron ...
, in the County of Chester'' (created in 1839) only by the placement of the comma. The former title is ''Baron Stanley'' whilst the latter is ''Baron Stanley of Alderley''. However, this format is now no longer used: if a peerage title in the format "Baron Surname of Place" is wanted, the full territorial designation must be used. Thus if the Barony of Stanley of Alderley were created today, it would be created as ''Baron Stanley of Alderley, of Alderley in the County of Chester''. This dual usage of the same term in the title and in the territorial designation may appear peculiar, but is a regular occurrence, with one recent example being
Adair Turner Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell (born 5 October 1955) is a British businessman and academic and was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority until its abolition in March 2013. He is a former Chairman of the Pensions Commiss ...
, who was (in 2005) created ''Baron Turner of Ecchinswell, of Ecchinswell in the County of Hampshire.'' Though this dual usage (or repetition) in both title and territorial designation is not a requirement to create a title in the form of "Baron Surname of Place" as illustrated in the example of
Gerry Grimstone Gerald Edgar Grimstone, Baron Grimstone of Boscobel (born 27 August 1949) is a British businessman. He was previously chairman of Barclays Bank plc and of Standard Life and group deputy chairman of Barclays plc, the holding company for the Barc ...
who was created (in 2020) as ''Baron Grimstone of Boscobel, of Belgravia in the City of Westminster.''


Earldoms, marquessates and dukedoms

Creations of the higher ranks of the peerage (
earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...
,
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 ...
and
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
) often used to include territorial designations, but this has varied and such creations now rarely do. For example: 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 ...
, in the County of Somerset'' (created in 1814) and the ''
Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was c ...
, of Gordon Castle in Scotland'' (created in 1876) were created with territorial designations but the '' Duke of Fife'' (created in 1899) was not. The ''
Marquess of Cholmondeley Marquess of Cholmondeley ( ) is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for George Cholmondeley, 4th Earl of Cholmondeley. History The Cholmondeley family descends from William le Belward (or de Belward), the fe ...
, in the County Palatine of Chester'' (created in 1815) and ''
Marquess of Ailsa Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassilis. The title Earl of Cassilis (pronounced "Cassels") ...
, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr'' (created in 1831) were accorded territorial designations but the '' Marquess of Zetland'' (created in 1892) was not. Likewise, the ''
Earl of Craven Earl of Craven, in the County of York, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1664 in favour of the ...
, in the County of York'' (created in 1801) and the '' Earl Nelson, of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey'' (created in 1805) differ in this respect to the ''
Earl of Stockton Earl of Stockton is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 24 February 1984 for Harold Macmillan, the former Conservative prime minister (from 1957 to 1963), less than three years before his death in 1986. At the same ti ...
'' (created in 1984).


Multiple designations

Some territorial designations name more than one place, and the format used depends on whether such places are in the same
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
or other administrative division. For instance, the
life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
conferred on Margaret McDonagh was created (in 2004) as ''Baroness McDonagh, of Mitcham and of Morden in the London Borough of Merton.'' The
life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
conferred on John Morris was created (in 2001) as ''Baron Morris of Aberavon, of Aberavon in the County of West Glamorgan and of Ceredigion in the County of Dyfed''. This also extends to naming two places, such as in the
life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
conferred on William McCrea who was created (in 2018) as ''Baron McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown, of Magherafelt in the County of Londonderry and of Cookstown in the County of Tyrone''.


Overseas and victory designations

Occasionally, a place outside the United Kingdom can be named. For instance, the life peerage conferred on
Howard Florey Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey (24 September 189821 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role ...
was created (in 1965) as ''Baron Florey, of Adelaide in the Commonwealth of Australia and of Marston in the County of Oxford'', or the life peerage conferred on Sue Ryder was created (in 1979) as ''Baroness Ryder of Warsaw, of Warsaw in Poland and of Cavendish in the County of Suffolk''. In the case of a
victory title A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...
, at least one term usually refers to the site of the grantee's triumph, usually outside the United Kingdom. For example, the famous admiral
Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
was created (in 1801) as ''Viscount Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk''. The Nile being the site of his victory against the French in the
Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...
, and Burnham Thorpe being his place of birth.


English and British baronetcies

Provision of a territorial designation is also an integral part of all
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 14t ...
cies.


Scotland

Recognition of a territorial designation may also be granted in Scotland by the
Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...
to Scottish
armiger In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a cl ...
s who own (or were born in or were associated with) named land, generally outwith a town (i.e. rural). The
Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...
advises that for a territorial designation to be recognised, there must be 'ownership of a substantial area of land to which a well-attested name attaches, that is to say, ownership of an “estate”, or farm or, at the very least, a house with policies extending to five acres or thereby'. The territorial designation in this case is considered to be an indivisible part of the name, though not necessarily an indicator of ancestral or feudal nobility, though recognition of a territorial designation is usually accorded alongside the grant or matriculation of a
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
, which confers minor nobility status. A person bearing a Scottish territorial designation is either a
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 kn ...
, chief or chieftain or a
laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
, the latter denoting 'landowner', or is a descendant of one of the same. The
Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...
is the ultimate arbiter as to determining entitlement to a territorial designation, and his right of discretion in recognising these, and their status as a name, dignity or title, has been confirmed in the Scottish courts. According to Debrett's and other references, a ''John Smith of Abercrombie'' is addressed as simply ''Abercrombie''. If he is a clan chief, he may be addressed by either the place-name or the surname of his clan.


See also

*
Nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular pr ...
*
Toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.


References

* {{reflist
* Peerages in the United Kingdom