William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (often known simply as Brendan Rosse; born 21 October 1936), is an Anglo-Irish peer. He is also 10th Baronet Parsons, of Birr Castle.

Biography

Lord Rosse was the eldest son of Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, and

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(née Messel, mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon by an earlier marriage). Lord Rosse was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

Aiglon College Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford. He was an officer in the

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from 1955–57 and worked for the

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from 1963–80. He succeeded his father in 1979. He lives at Birr Castle, County Offaly. From his birth until he succeeded to the earldom in 1979, he was known as Lord Oxmantown. From 1979 to 2007, Lord and Lady Rosse facilitated many decades of research by A. P. W. Malcomson, former director of the

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC). The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is disti ...

, and latterly sponsored by the

Irish Manuscripts Commission The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many h ...

, to enable the production, for the first time, of a comprehensive Calendar of the Rosse Papers in 2008. The archive is held in the Muniment Room of Birr Castle. The Calendar is of great value to researchers delving into the history of the Parsons family, the English settlement of the Irish midlands in the 17th century, the Williamite wars, early Irish nationalism, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the eighteenth century, nineteenth-century science and astronomy, and the fate of the Irish landed gentry in the early twentieth century. Lord Rosse appeared in ''

Great British Railway Journeys ''Great British Railway Journeys'' is a 2010-2021 BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The docum ...

'' and in an episode of ''Lords & Ladies'' that focused on Birr Castle. His wife, Alison Parsons, Countess of Rosse, and his children Lady Alicia Clements and Michael Parsons, also appeared in this programme.

Marriage and children

He married Alison Margaret Cooke-Hurle, daughter of Major John Davey Cooke-Hurle and Margaret Louisa Watson, on 15 October 1966.Profile
thepeerage.com; accessed 21 December 2015. They have three children: * Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown (b. 31 March 1969); married Anna Lin Xiaojing in 2004 and has two children. * Lady Alicia Parsons (b. 1971), a goddaughter of Princess Margaret; married Nathaniel Clements in 2007. * The Hon. Michael Parsons (b. 9 November 1981)

References

Sources

*Malcomson, A.P.W. (editor), ''Calendar of the Rosse Papers'' (2008). Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission;
Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown profile
The Peerage.com; accessed 21 December 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of 1936 births Living people Irish people of German-Jewish descent People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Irish Guards officers Earls of Rosse (1806 creation)