Baron Botetourt

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The title Baron Botetourt was created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons on 19 June 1305. It became abeyant in 1406, was recalled from abeyance in 1764 for Norborne Berkeley. However, it became abeyant again on his death in 1770. It was recalled a second time in 1803 for the 5th Duke of Beaufort, and became a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Beaufort until the death of the 10th Duke in 1984, when it became, and remains, abeyant.

Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (1718 – October 15, 1770) was governor of the Virginia Colony from 1768 to 1770. He was a member of Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Before coming to Virginia he was (as Norborne Berkeley) Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire 1741 – 1763. He then obtained his peerage, when it was called out of abeyance in 1764, the third holder of the title having died in 1406. Lord Botetourt resided in the Governor's Palace on Duke of Gloucester Street, now a major attraction of Colonial Williamsburg in the Historic Triangle. Although a popular governor, Lord Botetourt served only two years. He died suddenly while still in office in 1770 and was buried in the Wren Building Chapel at William and Mary. Botetourt County, Virginia, was named in his honour. A lifelong bachelor, he endowed an award at the College of William and Mary that is still known as the Botetourt Medal; it is the College's most prestigious award. The Medal has been awarded to an exceptional student every year since the late eighteenth century.

[edit] Barons Botetourt (1305)

John de Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt (d. 1324)
John de Botetourt, 2nd Baron Botetourt (d. 1385)
Joan Burnell, 3rd Baroness Botetourt (d. January 1, 1406)
abeyant until 13 April 1764
Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (d. October 15, 1770)
abeyant until 4 June 1803
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, 5th Baron Botetourt (1744 – October 11, 1803)
Henry Charles Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, 6th Baron Botetourt (1766–1835)
Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort, 7th Baron Botetourt (1792–1853)
Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, 8th Baron Botetourt (1824–1899)
Henry Adelbert Wellington FitzRoy Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort, 9th Baron Botetourt (1847–1924)
Henry Hugh Arthur Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort, 10th Baron Botetourt (1900–1984)
abeyant

[edit] Co-heirs

The current co-heirs to the barony are the descendants of the elder sister of the tenth baron (tenth Duke of Beaufort):

Descendants of Lady Rosemary Alexandra Eliot (26 Feb 1919-20 Apr 1963) by her first and third marriages:

(1/4th) [daughter of a deceased elder daughter] Mrs Frederica Samantha Mary Thomas, nee Cope (b.23 Sep 1963)^[1]; she has a daughter Davina Mary Mauritius Thomas (b. 1999)
(1/4th) [younger daughter] Mrs. Alexandra Peyronel (b. 1951); she has a son Jesse Peyronel

Elder son of Lady Cathleen Blanche Lily Eliot (29 Jul 1921-1994) by her first marriage: