Earl of Onslow

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Clandon House, the former seat of the Onslow family
Clandon House, the former seat of the Onslow family

Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 for George Onslow, 4th Baron Onslow. The Onslow family descends from Arthur Onslow, who represented Bramber, Sussex and Guildford in the House of Commons. He was the husband of Mary, daughter of Thomas Foot, Lord Mayor of London in 1649, who had been created a Baronet in 1660 (a title which became extinct on his death in 1687). In 1674 Onslow was himself created a Baronet in the Baronetage of England, with the precedence of 1660.

Onslow was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He was a prominent politician and served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1708 to 1710 and as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1713 to 1714. In 1716 he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Shropshire and of Clandon in the County of Surrey, with remainder, failing male issue of his own, to his uncle Denzil Onslow, and afterwards, to the heirs male of his father. Lord Onslow was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He sat as Member of Parliament for Gatton, Chichester, Bletchingley and Surrey and served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. His son, the third Baron, represented Guildford in Parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. He was childless and on his death in 1776 the line of the first Baron failed.

Lord Onslow was succeeded according to the special remainder by his cousin and heir male of his grandfather, the fourth Baron. He was the son of Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons, elder son of Foot Onslow. He was Member of Parliament for Rye and Surrey and notably served as Treasurer of the Household and as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. In May 1776, five months before succeeding in the barony of Onslow, he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain in his own right as Baron Cranley, of Imber Court in the County of Surrey.[1] In 1801 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Cranley, of Cranley in the County of Surrey, and Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Shropshire. The latter titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

His son, the second Earl, represented Rye and Guildford in the House of Commons. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl. He died without surviving male issue and was succeeded by his great-nephew, the fourth Earl. He was the son George Augustus Cranley Onslow, son of the Hon. Thomas Cranley Onslow, second son of the second Earl. Lord Onslow was a prominent Conservative politician and served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, as Under-Secretary of State for India and as President of the Board of Agriculture and was also Governor of New Zealand. His eldest son, the fifth Earl, was also a Conservative politician. He notably held office as Under-Secretary of State for War and as Paymaster-General during the 1920s.

He was succeeded by his son, the sixth Earl. He served in the Conservative administrations of Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords) for nine years. As of 2007 the titles are held by his son, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1971. Lord Onslow is one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and sits like his ancestors on the Conservative benches. He is the only hereditary peer to have appeared as a panellist on Have I Got News For You.

Another member of the Onslow family was the Conservative politician Cranley Onslow, Baron Onslow of Woking. He was a descendant of George Onslow, eldest son of Lieutenant-General Richard Onslow, nephew of the first Baron and uncle of the first Earl. Also, Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, 1st Baronet, was the second son of Lieutenant-General Richard Onslow. See Onslow Baronets of Althain for more information on this branch of the family.

The former family seat is Clandon House in Surrey.

Contents

[edit] Onslow Baronets (1674)

[edit] Barons Onslow (1716)

[edit] Earls of Onslow (1801)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Rupert Onslow, Viscount Cranley (b. 1967)

[edit] References

  1. ^ London Gazette: no. 11665, page 2, 11 May 1776. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
  • David Beamish's Peerage Page
  • Vulliamy, C.E. - The Onslow Family 1528-1874 : with some account of their times. - London : Chapman & Hall, 1953