Baron Berkeley
Encyclopedia
The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal
title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England
by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas II de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley(1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 1295, but the title of that creation became extinct at the death of his great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron by writ, when no male heirs to the barony by writ remained, although the feudal barony continued. The next creation by writ was in 1421, for the last baron's nephew and heir James Berkeley
. His son and successor William was created Viscount Berkeley in 1481, Earl of Nottingham in 1483, and Marquess of Berkeley in 1488. He had no surviving male issue, so the Marquesate and his other non-inherited titles became extinct on his death in 1491, while the barony passed by right to his younger brother Maurice. The Marquess of Berkeley had disinherited Because Maurice had brought shame on the noble House of Berkeley by marrying beneath his status to Isabel, daughter of Philip Mead of Wraxhall, an Alderman and Mayor of Bristol
, his brother had disinherited him, settling the castle, lands and lordships composing the Barony of Berkeley on King Henry VII
and his heirs male, failing which to descend to his own rightful heirs. Thus on the death of King Edward VI
in 1553, Henry VII's unmarried grandson, the Berkeley inheritance returned to the family.
Therefore Maurice and his descendants from 1492 to 1553 were de jure barons only, until the return of the title to the senior heir Henry
(and indirectly to his mother Anne
), becoming de facto 7th Baron in 1553. Upon his death he was succeeded by his relative George Harding. His son, the ninth Baron, was created Earl of Berkeley and Viscount Dursley, which remained united to the barony until the death of the sixth Earl in 1882, when the earldom passed to a male heir and the barony passed to a female one, Louisa Milman. At Louisa's death, the barony went to Eva Mary Foley, upon whose death the barony fell into abeyance
. The abeyance was terminated a few years later in favour of Mary Lalle Foley-Berkeley. Upon her death, the barony went to her nephew Anthony Gueterbock, who is the present holder. In 2000, he was created Baron Gueterbock for life in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. The epithet
s of each baron were coined by John Smyth of Nibley
(d.1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of "Lives of the Berkeleys".
of Berkeley was created in c.1155, when King Henry II
granted the royal castle of Berkeley to Robert Fitzharding under the feudal land tenure
per baroniam. Prior to that time the castle had been held in fee-farm by Roger I "de Berkeley", a Norman noble, possibly a son of Roger I of Tosny
(d. circa 1040), who acquired the surname "de Berkeley". He held extensive lands, including Dursley
, in-chief
of the king in 1086, as recorded by Domesday Book
. He retired as a monk to St Peter's Abbey, Gloucester, in about 1091. His son Roger II(d. about 1131) and grandson Roger III(d. post 1177) also held the manor of Dursley
in-chief
of the king. In 1152 Roger III was deprived of the farm of Berkeley during the civil war between King Stephen
and the Empress Maud. He was later restored to Dursley, and founded the family of "Berkeley of Dursley", but Berkeley Castle was granted by barony to Robert FitzHarding, a native Englishman and royal financier of Bristol, whose family also took the name "de Berkeley". To restore the ill-feelings of Roger of Dursley, Henry II encouraged the two families to inter-marry their respective male heirs to the eldest daughters of the other, which was successfully accomplished.
The heir apparent is his son the Hon. Thomas FitzHardinge Gueterbock (b. 1969)
English feudal barony
In England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was a form of Feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. It must be distinguished from a barony, also feudal, but which existed within a county palatine, such as the Barony...
title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas II de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley(1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 1295, but the title of that creation became extinct at the death of his great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron by writ, when no male heirs to the barony by writ remained, although the feudal barony continued. The next creation by writ was in 1421, for the last baron's nephew and heir James Berkeley
James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley
James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley , also known as "James the Just", was an English peer.Berkeley was the son of Sir James de Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth . He was made heir to his uncle Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley. He was married four times...
. His son and successor William was created Viscount Berkeley in 1481, Earl of Nottingham in 1483, and Marquess of Berkeley in 1488. He had no surviving male issue, so the Marquesate and his other non-inherited titles became extinct on his death in 1491, while the barony passed by right to his younger brother Maurice. The Marquess of Berkeley had disinherited Because Maurice had brought shame on the noble House of Berkeley by marrying beneath his status to Isabel, daughter of Philip Mead of Wraxhall, an Alderman and Mayor of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, his brother had disinherited him, settling the castle, lands and lordships composing the Barony of Berkeley on King Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and his heirs male, failing which to descend to his own rightful heirs. Thus on the death of King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
in 1553, Henry VII's unmarried grandson, the Berkeley inheritance returned to the family.
Therefore Maurice and his descendants from 1492 to 1553 were de jure barons only, until the return of the title to the senior heir Henry
Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley
Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire and Vice-Admiral of Gloucestershire as well as Baron Berkeley....
(and indirectly to his mother Anne
Anne Berkeley, Baroness Berkeley
Anne Berkeley , Baroness Berkeley was a lady-in-waiting and companion of Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England...
), becoming de facto 7th Baron in 1553. Upon his death he was succeeded by his relative George Harding. His son, the ninth Baron, was created Earl of Berkeley and Viscount Dursley, which remained united to the barony until the death of the sixth Earl in 1882, when the earldom passed to a male heir and the barony passed to a female one, Louisa Milman. At Louisa's death, the barony went to Eva Mary Foley, upon whose death the barony fell into abeyance
Abeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...
. The abeyance was terminated a few years later in favour of Mary Lalle Foley-Berkeley. Upon her death, the barony went to her nephew Anthony Gueterbock, who is the present holder. In 2000, he was created Baron Gueterbock for life in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. The epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
s of each baron were coined by John Smyth of Nibley
Nibley
Nibley is a village in Westerleigh Parish, South Gloucestershire, England, just west of Yate.The village of North Nibley is some 10 miles away to the north, and there is also a Nibley on the west bank of the Severn, near Lydney...
(d.1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of "Lives of the Berkeleys".
Feudal Barons of Berkeley
The feudal baronyEnglish feudal barony
In England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was a form of Feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. It must be distinguished from a barony, also feudal, but which existed within a county palatine, such as the Barony...
of Berkeley was created in c.1155, when King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
granted the royal castle of Berkeley to Robert Fitzharding under the feudal land tenure
Feudal land tenure
Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpetual, or non-free where the tenancy terminated on the...
per baroniam. Prior to that time the castle had been held in fee-farm by Roger I "de Berkeley", a Norman noble, possibly a son of Roger I of Tosny
Roger I of Tosny
Roger I of Tosny or Roger of Hispania was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny who took part in the Reconquista of Iberia. He was the son of Raoul I of Tosny....
(d. circa 1040), who acquired the surname "de Berkeley". He held extensive lands, including Dursley
Dursley
Dursley is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. It is under the North East flank of Stinchcombe Hill , and about 6 km South East of the River Severn. The town is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size...
, in-chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
of the king in 1086, as recorded by Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. He retired as a monk to St Peter's Abbey, Gloucester, in about 1091. His son Roger II(d. about 1131) and grandson Roger III(d. post 1177) also held the manor of Dursley
Dursley
Dursley is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. It is under the North East flank of Stinchcombe Hill , and about 6 km South East of the River Severn. The town is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size...
in-chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
of the king. In 1152 Roger III was deprived of the farm of Berkeley during the civil war between King Stephen
Stephen, King of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
and the Empress Maud. He was later restored to Dursley, and founded the family of "Berkeley of Dursley", but Berkeley Castle was granted by barony to Robert FitzHarding, a native Englishman and royal financier of Bristol, whose family also took the name "de Berkeley". To restore the ill-feelings of Roger of Dursley, Henry II encouraged the two families to inter-marry their respective male heirs to the eldest daughters of the other, which was successfully accomplished.
- Robert Fitzharding, 1st feudal Baron BerkeleyRobert FitzhardingRobert Fitzharding was an Englishman from Bristol who rose to the feudal barony of Berkeley and founded the family which still holds Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, the castle whose construction he started...
(d.1170/1) Robert the Devout - Maurice FitzRobert FitzHarding, 2nd feudal Baron Berkeley(c.1120-1190/1) (otherwise "Maurice I de Berkeley") Maurice the Make-Peace
- Robert de Berkeley, 3rd feudal Baron Berkeley(c.1165-1220) Robert the Rebellious
- Thomas I de Berkeley, 4th feudal Baron Berkeley(c.1170-1243) Thomas the Observer or Temporiser
- Maurice II de Berkeley, 5th feudal Baron Berkeley(1218-1281) Maurice the Resolute
Barons Berkeley, by writ, First Creation (1295)
From 1295 the feudal barony continued concurrently with the barony by writ.- Thomas II de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley(1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley Thomas the Wise
- Maurice III de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley(1271–1326), 7th feudal Baron Berkeley, Maurice the Magnaminous
- Thomas III de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley(1293–1361), 8th feudal Baron Berkeley, Thomas the Rich
- Maurice IV de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley(1330–1368), 9th feudal Baron Berkeley, Maurice the Valiant
- Thomas IV de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley(1352/53–1417), 10th feudal Baron Berkeley, Thomas the Magnificent
Barons Berkeley, by writ, Second Creation (1421)
The feudal barony continued until the Tenures Abolition Act 1660Tenures Abolition Act 1660
The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England passed in 1660. The long title of the Act was An act for taking away the Court of Wards and liveries, and tenures in capite, and by knights-service, and purveyance, and for settling a revenue upon his Majesty in...
- James Berkeley, 1st Baron BerkeleyJames Berkeley, 1st Baron BerkeleyJames Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley , also known as "James the Just", was an English peer.Berkeley was the son of Sir James de Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth . He was made heir to his uncle Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley. He was married four times...
(c. 1394–1463) - William Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1426–1492)
- Maurice Berkeley, de jure 3rd Baron Berkeley (1436–1506)
- Maurice Berkeley, de jure 4th Baron Berkeley (1467–1523)
- Thomas Berkeley, de jure 5th Baron Berkeley (1472–1533)
- Thomas Berkeley, de jure 6th Baron Berkeley (1505–1534)
- Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron BerkeleyHenry Berkeley, 7th Baron BerkeleyHenry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire and Vice-Admiral of Gloucestershire as well as Baron Berkeley....
(1534–1613) - George Berkeley, 8th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Harding, 8th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation....
(1601–1658) - George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley, 9th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley, 1st Earl of BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley PC FRS was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1654 until 1658 when he succeeded to the peerage.-Life:...
(1627–1698) - Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley, 10th Baron BerkeleyCharles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of BerkeleyCharles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley PC KB FRS , was a British nobleman and diplomat, known as Sir Charles Berkeley from 1661 to 1679 and styled Viscount Dursley from 1679 to 1698....
(1649–1710) - James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley, 11th Baron BerkeleyJames Berkeley, 3rd Earl of BerkeleyVice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley KG, PC was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley and the Hon. Elizabeth Noel. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding as Earl of Berkeley in 1710...
(1680–1736) - Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley, 12th Baron BerkeleyAugustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of BerkeleyLt.-Col. Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley KT was the son of Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley and Lady Louisa Lennox....
(1716–1755) - Frederick Augustus Berkeley, 5th Earl of Berkeley, 13th Baron Berkeley (1745–1810)
- Thomas Moreton Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 6th Earl of Berkeley, 14th Baron Berkeley (1796–1882)
- Louisa Mary Milman, 15th Baroness Berkeley (by birth: Berkeley) (1840–1899)
- Eva Mary Foley, 16th Baroness Berkeley (by birth: Milman) (1875–1964) (abeyant 1964)
- Mary Lalle Foley-Berkeley, 17th Baroness BerkeleyMary Foley-Berkeley, 17th Baroness BerkeleyMary Lalle Foley-Berkeley, 17th Baroness Berkeley was a British politician and peeress.-Life:She succeeded to the title of 17th Baroness Berkeley on 5 April 1967 when the abeyance of the barony was terminated in her favour...
(1905–1992) (abeyance terminated 1967) - Anthony Fitzhardinge Gueterbock, 18th Baron BerkeleyAnthony Gueterbock, 18th Baron BerkeleyAnthony Fitzhardinge Gueterbock, 18th Baron Berkeley and Baron Gueterbock, OBE , aka Tony Berkeley, is a British Labour politician. He is both an English hereditary peer and a life peer....
(b. 1939), her nephew
The heir apparent is his son the Hon. Thomas FitzHardinge Gueterbock (b. 1969)
Earls of Berkeley (after 1882, continuing the creation of 1679)
The Earldom of Berkeley, together with the Viscountcy Dursley, was separated from the barony in 1882, but the accession was not fully established. In 1942 both titles became extinct or dormant.- George Lennox Rawdon Berkeley, 7th Earl of Berkeley (1827–1888)
- Randal Thomas Mowbray Berkeley, 8th Earl of Berkeley (1865–1942) (extinct or dormant 1942)
Sources
- GEC Peerage, Volume 2, pp.118-149, Berkeley
- Sanders, I.J. English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.13, Berkeley
- Smyth, John. The Lives of the Berkeleys, Lords of the Honour, Castle and Manor of Berkeley from 1066 to 1618, ed. Maclean, Sir John, 3 vols., Gloucester, 1885