Viscount De L'Isle, of

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

in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

, 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 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created in 1956 for William Sidney, 6th Baron de L'Isle and Dudley, VC, KG,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(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 (see

Shelley Baronets There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Shelley family, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The three recipients of the titles represented two different branches of the family wi ...

for earlier history of the family) by Elizabeth Jane, daughter of William Perry and Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the Hon. Thomas Sidney, fourth son of

Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester (17 December 1649 – 11 November 1702) was the son of Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester, and the former Lady Catherine Cecil. Life As a child, Robert Sidney and his sister Dorothy had their portrait pa ...

(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. Early creations ...

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 Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The origi ...

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 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 ...

. His son and heir apparent,

Philip Sidney Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

, represented Eye 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. ...

. 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 h ...

. 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), second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was a statesman of Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and James I of England, Jacobean England. He was also a patron of the arts and a poet ...

( 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 ov ...

( 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 Ja ...

, 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 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 kno ...

. His son, the sixth Baron, was a prominent

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 i ...

politician and served as

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

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 The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The origi ...

, near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) 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 Malling, it had an estimated population ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Close to it is the parish church of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

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 Sidney, 2nd Baronet (1800–1851) (created Baron De L'Isle and Dudley in 1835)

Barons De L'Isle and Dudley (1835)

* Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1800–1851) *

Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley Philip Sidney, 2nd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley DL (28 January 1828 – 17 February 1898) was an English Peer. Early life Sidney was born in London, England on 28 January 1828. He was the youngest child and only son born to Philip Sidney, 1st Ba ...

(1828–1898) * Philip Sidney, 3rd Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1853–1922) *

Algernon Sidney, 4th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley Algernon may refer to: * Algernon (name), a given name (includes a list of people and characters with the name) * Algernon Township, Custer County, Nebraska See also * Treaty of Algeron, an agreement signed by the United Federation of Planets and ...

(1854–1945) *William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1859–1945) * William Sidney, 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1909–1991) (created Viscount De L'Isle in 1956)

Viscounts De L'Isle (1956)

William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, (23 May 1909 – 5 April 1991), known as Lord De L'Isle and Dudley between 1945 and 1956, was a British Army officer, politician and Victoria Cross recipient who served as the 15th Governor-Gene ...

(1909–1991) *

Philip Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle Philip John Algernon Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle, (born 21 April 1945) is a British peer and former soldier. Life and career Lord De L'Isle is the only son of William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle and his wife Jacqueline (née Vereker), a d ...

(b. 1945) The

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

Line of Succession

Philip John Algernon Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle (born 1945) ** (1) ''Hon.'' Philip William Edmund Sidney (b. 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 Noble titles created for UK MPs