Viscount De L'Isle, of

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

, 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 B ...

. It was created in 1956 for William Sidney, 6th Baron de L'Isle and Dudley (1909–1991).

History

This branch of the Shelley family descends from John Shelley-Sidney, the only son of the second marriage of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet, of

Castle Goring Castle Goring is a English country house, country house in Worthing, in West Sussex, England about northwest of the town centre. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ...

(see Shelley baronets for earlier history of the family), by Elizabeth Jane Perry, daughter of William Perry and Elizabeth Sidney, daughter and heir of the Hon. Thomas Sidney, fourth son of Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester (a title which had become extinct in 1743; see the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

1618 creation). In 1799 he assumed by royal licence the additional surname of Sidney on succeeding to the estates, including

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penshurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poets and courtiers, siblings Mary Sidney and Philip ...

in Kent, of his maternal grandmother. In 1818 he was created a Baronet, of Penshurst in the County of Kent, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. His son and heir apparent,

Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...

, represented

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

. In 1835, fourteen years before succeeding his father in the baronetcy, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron De L'Isle and Dudley, of Penshurst in the County of Kent. He was son-in-law of then

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. The title derived from the fact that the title of "Viscount De L'Isle" had been held by his ancestors the Earls of Leicester (in turn deriving from their ancestors), but had become extinct along with the earldom in 1743. The title of "Dudley" came from the fact that

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (19 November 1563 – 13 July 1626), was an English courtier, soldier, and landowner. He was chamberlain to Anne of Denmark. Family background Robert Sidney was the second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was ...

( of the 1618 creation), was the nephew of

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

( of the 1564 creation), the fifth son of

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

, who was as well Viscount Lisle by right of his mother. Lord De L'Isle and Dudley discontinued the use of the surname Shelley. His grandson, the fifth Baron (who only held the titles for two months in 1945 after succeeding his elder brother), notably served as Mayor of Chelsea and was a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. His son, the sixth Baron, was a prominent

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

politician and served as

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

from 1951 to 1955. In 1956, he was created Viscount De L'Isle, of Penshurst in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord De L'Isle later served as Governor-General of Australia. In 1965 he also succeeded his kinsman as the ninth Baronet of Castle Goring. the titles are held by his son, the second Viscount, who succeeded in 1991. As heir of the college's founder, Lord De L'Isle is the hereditary

visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

Family seat

The family seat is

, near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Close to it is the parish church of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, where the Sidney Chapel houses many memorials to the family.

Shelley-Sidney baronets, of Penshurst Place (1818)

* Sir John Shelley-Sidney, 1st Baronet (1771–1849) * Sir Philip Charles Sidney, 2nd Baronet (1800–1851) (created Baron De L'Isle and Dudley in 1835)

Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1835)

* Philip Charles Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1800–1851) * Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1828–1898) * Philip Sidney, 3rd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1853–1922) * Algernon Sidney, 4th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1854–1945) *William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1859–1945) * William Philip Sidney, 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1909–1991) (created Viscount De L'Isle in 1956)

Viscount De L'Isle (1956)

* William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle (1909–1991) (succeeded to the Shelley baronetcy of Castle Goring in 1965) * Philip John Algernon Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle (born 1945) The

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

is the present holder's only son, the Hon. Philip William Edmund Sidney (born 1985).

Title succession chart

Line of succession

'' Philip Charles Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1800–1851)'' ** Coronet of a British Baron

'' Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1828–1898)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

''Philip Sidney, 3rd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1853–1922)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

''Algernon Sidney, 4th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1854–1945)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

''William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1859–1945)'' **** Coronet of a British Viscount

'' William Philip Sidney, 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley, 1st Viscount De L'Isle (1909–1991)'' ***** Coronet of a British Viscount

Philip John Algernon Sidney, 7th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle (born 1945) ****** (1) ''The Hon.'' Philip William Edmund Sidney (born 1985)

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Lisle Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1956 establishments in the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1956 Peerages created for UK MPs