Viscount St Davids, of Lydstep Haven in the County of Pembroke, 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 in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

. It was created in 1918 for John Philipps, 1st Baron St Davids. The Philipps family descends from Sir John Philipps (died 27 March 1629), who represented

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. In 1621 he was created a Baronet, of

Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the ha ...

in the County of Pembroke, in the

Baronetage of England 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) King James ...

. His grandson, the third Baronet, also sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Pembrokeshire. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Baronet. He represented Pembroke and

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

in Parliament. His son, the fifth Baronet, sat for Haverfordwest. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Baronet. He represented

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

and Pembrokeshire in the House of Commons.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage Volume 1'' 1900
/ref> His son, the seventh Baronet, was Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire and Haverfordwest and also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Haverfordwest and of

. In 1776 he was raised to 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 ...

as Baron Milford. However, this title became extinct on his death in 1823. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his distant relative, the eighth Baronet. He was a descendant of Hugh Philipps, third son of the first Baronet. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the ninth Baronet. This line of the family failed on the death of the latter's son, the tenth Baronet, in 1857. The late Baronet was succeeded by his kinsman, the eleventh Baronet. His son, the twelfth Baronet, was a clergyman and served as Vicar of Warminster from 1859 to 1897 and as Canon of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the thirteenth Baronet. He sat as Liberal Member of Parliament for Mid Lanarkshire and Pembrokeshire. In 1908, four years before he succeeded his father in the baronetcy, he was created Baron St Davids, of Roch Castle in the County of Pembroke, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1918 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount St Davids, of Lydstep Haven in the County of Pembroke, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord St Davids married as his second wife Elizabeth Frances Philipps, 14th Baroness Strange, 15th Baroness Hungerford and 14th Baroness de Moleyns (1884–1974) (see the

Baron Strange Baron Strange is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1326, had only one holder each, upon whose deaths they became extinct. Two of the creations, that of 1299 and that ...

Baron Hungerford Baron Hungerford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Gart ...

and

Baron de Moleyns Baron Hungerford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Gart ...

for earlier history of these titles). The Viscount's two sons from his first marriage were both killed in action in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He was succeeded therefore by his son from his second marriage, Iestyn, who became the second Viscount. In 1974, he also succeeded his mother as Baron Strange, Baron Hungerford and Baron De Moleyns. His son,

Colwyn Philipps, 3rd Viscount St Davids Colwyn Iestyn John Philipps, 3rd Viscount St Davids (30 January 1939 – 26 April 2009) was a British businessman, Conservative politician and writer on music. Besides his viscountcy, he also held the older titles of Baron Strange of Knockin (1 ...

, who succeeded in 1991, held office from 1992 to 1994 in the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

administration of

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 from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

and was a Deputy Speaker of 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 ...

from 1995 to 1999. However, Lord St Davids lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. the titles are held by his eldest son

Rhodri Philipps Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 4th Viscount St Davids (born 16 September 1966) is a British hereditary peer. A businessman and company director, , Philipps had been declared bankrupt three times, had a criminal conviction for financial mismanagement an ...

, the fourth Viscount, who succeeded in 2009. Two of the first Viscount's younger brothers,

Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant Owen Cosby Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant (25 March 1863 – 5 June 1937) was a British businessman and politician, jailed in 1931 for producing a document with intent to deceive. Background Philipps was the third of five sons of the Reverend Sir J ...

, and

Laurence Philipps, 1st Baron Milford Laurence Richard Philipps, 1st Baron Milford (24 January 1874 – 7 December 1962), was a British peer. He was a founder and chairman of the shipping company Court Line. Philipps was the sixth son of Reverend Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th ...

, were also raised to the peerage. The first bearer of the surname was Sir Thomas Philipps (died 1520), of Clisant, Llanwinio, Carmarthenshire, Wales. He was the son of Philip ap Maredudd. He was a patrilineal descendant of Sir Aron ap Rhys, a Welsh knight who accompanied

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

on the Crusades in 1190.BP2003 volume 3, page 3470. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as

Philipps Baronets, of Picton Castle (1621)

Sir John Philipps, 1st Baronet Sir John Philipps, 1st Baronet (died 27 March 1629) was a Welsh landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601. Philipps was the son of Morgan Philipps of Picton and his wife Elizabeth Fletcher, daughter of Richard Fletcher o ...

(died 1629) * Sir Richard Philipps, 2nd Baronet (died c. 1648) *

Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet (c 1623 – 18 January 1697) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1654 and 1659. Philipps was the eldest son of Sir Richard Philipps, 2nd Baronet of Picton Castle. He succeeded to the b ...

(c. 1623–1697) *

Sir John Philipps, 4th Baronet Sir John Philipps (c.1666 – 5 January 1737) of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire was a Welsh landowner and politician, who sat in the English House of Commons from 1696 to 1703 and in the British House of Commons from 1718 to 1722. He was a philanth ...

(c. 1666–1737) *

Sir Erasmus Philipps, 5th Baronet Sir Erasmus Philipps, 5th Baronet (8 November 1699 – 5 October 1743), of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1726 to 1743. Philipps was the eldest surviving son of Sir John Philipps, 4th ...

(1699–1743) *

Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet PC (c. 1701 – 22 June 1764) was a Welsh Jacobite politician. Sir John was the son of Sir John Philipps, 4th Baronet. He studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, and went on to Lincoln's Inn. In 1736 he was electe ...

(c. 1701–1764) * Sir Richard Philipps, 7th Baronet (1744–1823) (created Baron Milford in 1776)

Barons Milford (1776)

* Richard Philipps, 1st Baron Milford (1744–1823)

Philipps Baronets, of Picton Castle (1621; Reverted)

* Sir Rowland Perry Philipps-Laugharne-Philipps, 8th Baronet (1788–1832) * Sir William Philipps-Laugharne-Philipps, 9th Baronet (1794–1850) * Sir Godwin Philipps-Laugharne-Philipps, 10th Baronet (1840–1857) * Sir James Evans Philipps, 11th Baronet (1793–1873) * Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet (1824–1912) * Sir John Wynford Philipps, 13th Baronet (1860–1938) (created Baron St Davids in 1908 and Viscount St Davids in 1918)

Viscounts St Davids (1918)

* John Wynford Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids (1860–1938) * Jestyn Reginald Austen Plantagenet Philipps, 2nd Viscount St Davids (1917–1991) * Colwyn Jestyn John Philipps, 3rd Viscount St Davids (1939–2009) * Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 4th Viscount St Davids (born 1966) 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. Roland Augusto Jestyn Estanislao Philipps (born 1970). There are no further heirs to the Viscount St Davids or Baron St Davids titles, but there are to the other titles: The co-heirs presumptive to the Baronies of Strange, Hungerford and De Moleyns are Amber Philipps (born 1998) and Charlotte Philipps (born 2000), daughters of the Hon Roland Philipps above. The heir presumptive to the Philipps Baronets of Picton Castle is Guy Philipps, 4th

Baron Milford Baron Milford is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. All three creations have been for members of the same family. The first creation came in the Peerage of ...

(born 1961).

Arms

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

External links

3rd Viscount St Davids
– Daily Telegraph obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Davids Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1918 Noble titles created for UK MPs