Baron Petre

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Ingatestone Hall. The seat of the Petre family.
Ingatestone Hall. The seat of the Petre family.

Baron Petre, of Writtle, in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1603 for Sir John Petre. He represented Essex in parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Lord Petre was the son of Sir William Petre, Secretary of State to Henry VIII, Mary I, Edward VI and Elizabeth I.

The feudal Lordship of Writtle had for centuries been the possession of the de Brus family and early chroniclers give the manor there as the birthplace of Robert the Bruce.[1]

Sir William acquired Ingatestone Hall and the surrounding manor from Henry for the full market value after it had been surrendered to the King by Barking Abbey during the Suppression of the Monasteries.

The Petre family have been staunchly loyal to Roman Catholicism. It was the first Baron who publicly acknowledged his Catholicism. At least twelve members of the family have been Jesuits. The family has also produced two bishops, Francis
(1692-1775) and Benjamin (1672-1758). These two were coadjutor bishops of, respectively, Bishop Dicconson and Bishop Challoner.

John Petre, 1st Baron Petre was succeeded by his son, William Petre, 2nd Baron Petre. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Essex. His grandson, William Petre, 4th Baron Petre, was one of the accused in the Titus Oates plot and died in the Tower of London in 1684. His younger brother, Thomas Petre, 6th Baron Petre, was Lord Lieutenant of Essex. His great-grandson, Robert Edward Petre, 9th Baron Petre, who succeeded his father the year of his birth, married Anne Howard, daughter of Philip Howard, younger brother of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. On her uncle's death in 1777 Anne became co-heiress to the baronies of Howard, Furnivall, Strange of Blackmere, Talbot, Braose of Gower, Dacre of Gillesland, Greystock, Ferrers of Wemme, Giffard of Brimsfield and Verdon.

Their great-great-grandson, Bernard Henry Philip Petre, 14th Baron Petre, married Etheldreda, daughter of William Robinson Clark. In 1913 (five years after the death of Lord Petre) the abeyance of the ancient barony of Furnivall was terminated by the King in favour of their daughter Mary Frances Katherine Petre, who became the nineteenth Baroness Furnivall (see the Baron Furnivall for more information). Petre was succeeded by his younger brother, Philip Benedict Joseph Petre, 15th Baron Petre. As of 2007 the title is held by the latter's great-grandson, John Patrick Lionel Petre, 18th Baron Petre, who succeeded his father,Joseph William Lionel Petre, 17th Baron Petre in 1989. Lord Petre is Lord Lieutenant of Essex since 2002.

Another member of the Petre family was Father Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, the unpopular chaplain and advisor to James II. James made him Clerk of the Closet and asked the Pope to make him a bishop and later a Cardinal but was refused both requests.

The family seats are Ingatestone Hall, Ingatestone, Essex, and Writtle Park, Essex.

The family surname and the title of the barony is pronounced "Peter".

Contents

[edit] Barons Petre (1603)

Arms of the Barons Petre.
Arms of the Barons Petre.

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Dominic William Petre (b. 9 August 1966)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H., Bt., Scottish Kings - A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005 - 1625, Edinburgh, 1899, p.127, where he cites Fordun's Annals, p.60, as saying Writtle, Essex, was his birthplace.
  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
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