Marquess Conyngham
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. It was created in 1816 for Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham
Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham
Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham KP, GCH, PC, FSA , known as The Lord Conyngham between 1787 and 1789, as The Viscount Conyngham between 1789 and 1797 and as The Earl Conyngham between 1797 and 1815, was an Anglo-Irish courtier and politician of the Regency period...
. He was the great-nephew of another Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham
Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham
Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham PC was a British nobleman and politician.An absentee landlord, he owned extensive properties in counties Meath and Donegal, while spending most of his time abroad...
, the member of a family of Scottish descent which had settled in County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in the early 17th century. The earlier Henry was a member of both the Irish and British House of Commons and served as Vice-Admiral of Ulster and as Governor of the counties of Donegall and Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
. In 1753 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Conyngham, of Mount Charles in the County of Donegal, and in 1756 he was created Viscount Conyngham, in Ireland, also in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1781 he was made Baron Conyngham, of Mount Charles in the County of Donegal, with remainder to his nephew Francis Burton, and Earl Conyngham, of Mount Charles in the County of Donegal, which like the creations of 1753 and 1756 was created with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body. The latter titles were also in the Peerage of Ireland. Lord Conyngham was childless and on his death in 1781 the barony of 1753, the viscountcy and earldom became extinct while he was succeeded in the barony of 1781 according to the special remainder by his aforementioned nephew Francis. He was the eldest son of Mary, sister of the first Earl Conyngham, by her husband Francis Burton
Francis Burton
Francis Burton , from Buncraggy, County Clare, was an Irish politician.He was a Member of Parliament for Coleraine from 1721 until 1727 and sat subsequently in the Irish House of Commons for Clare from 1727 until his death in 17434.-Family:He married the sister of Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham...
. Lord Conyngham, who had earlier represented Killybegs and County Clare in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
, assumed by Royal license the surname and arms of Conyngham on succeeding to the titles.
He was succeeded by his eldest twin son, Henry, the third Baron. He was a General in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, one of the original 28 Irish Representative Peers
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
, Governor of both County Donegal and County Clare and Lord Steward of the Household. He was created Viscount Conyngham, of Mount Charles in the County of Donegal, in 1789, Viscount Mount Charles and Earl Conyngham in 1797, and Viscount Slane, in the County of Meath, Earl of Mount Charles and Marquess Conyngham, of the County of Donegal, in 1816. All these titles were in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1821 he was also made Baron Minster, of Minster Abbey in the County of Kent, 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...
, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, Francis, the second Marquess. Like his father he was a General in the Army and also held government office as Postmaster General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
and as Lord Steward of the Household. His eldest son, George, the third Marquess, was a Lieutenant-General in the British Army. When he died the titles passed to his eldest son Henry, the fourth Marquess. He was Vice-Admiral of Ulster. Two of his sons, Victor, the fifth Marquess, and Frederick, the sixth Marquess, both succeeded in the titles. Frederick's son, Frederick, succeeded him as seventh Marquess, followed by his son Henry, the eighth Marquess, in 2009.
Several other members of the Conyngham and Burton families may also be mentioned. Henry Conyngham (d. 1706), father of the first Earl Conyngham (of the 1718 creation), was a Major-General in the British Army and was killed in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. Francis Burton
Francis Burton
Francis Burton , from Buncraggy, County Clare, was an Irish politician.He was a Member of Parliament for Coleraine from 1721 until 1727 and sat subsequently in the Irish House of Commons for Clare from 1727 until his death in 17434.-Family:He married the sister of Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham...
(d. 1743), father of the second Baron Conyngham, was a Member of the Irish Parliament for Coleraine and County Clare. William Conyngham (c. 1733–1796) (who assumed the surname of Conyngham in lieu of Burton in 1781), younger son of Francis Burton and younger brother of the second Baron Conyngham, was a Member of the Irish Parliament and served as a Teller of the Exchequer. The Hon. Sir Frances Conyngham
Lord Francis Conyngham
Lord Francis Nathaniel Conyngham was a British politician.-Background:Conyngham was a younger son of Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, and Lady Jane, daughter of Field Marshal Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey...
, second son of the second Baron, was a colonial administrator and Member of Parliament for County Clare
Clare (UK Parliament constituency)
Clare was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
. Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
Elizabeth Conyngham , Marchioness Conyngham , was an English courtier and noblewoman, and the last mistress of George IV of the United Kingdom.- Early life :...
, wife of the first Marquess, was a mistress of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles
Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles
Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles , was an Irish Tory politician.Conyngham was born to Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham, and his wife Elizabeth Denison. He was educated in 1813 at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was a Tory Member of Parliament for Donegal from 1818 until his...
, eldest son of the first Marquess, represented County Donegal
Donegal (UK Parliament constituency)
Donegal was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament .-Boundaries:This constituency comprised the whole of County Donegal...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
but predeceased his father, unmarried. Lord Albert Denison Conyngham
Albert Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough
Albert Denison Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough, KCH, FRS, FSA was a British Liberal Party politician and diplomat, known as Lord Albert Conyngham from 1816-49.-Early life and career:...
, third son of the first Marquess, assumed the surname of Denison in lieu of Conyngham in 1849 on succeeding to the vast fortune of his maternal uncle William Joseph Denison, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Londesborough
Baron Londesborough
Baron Londesborough, of Londesborough in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1850 for the diplomat and Whig politician Lord Albert Denison. He was the third son of Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham, and his wife Elizabeth...
the following year (see this title for more information on this branch of the family). Lady Jane Conyngham
Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, VA , born Lady Jane Conyngham, daughter of the Earl of Mount Charles , married, on 19 May 1849, the Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill, at Bifrons House, Kent.From 1854 to her death, Lady Churchill was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria...
, second daughter of the first Marquess, was a Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the British Royal Household...
to Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. Lord Francis Conyngham
Lord Francis Conyngham
Lord Francis Nathaniel Conyngham was a British politician.-Background:Conyngham was a younger son of Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, and Lady Jane, daughter of Field Marshal Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey...
, second son of the second Marquess, was Member of Parliament for County Clare.
The family seat is Slane Castle
Slane Castle
Slane Castle is located in the town of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family home of the Conyngham Marquessate since the 18th century....
, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The family surname is pronounced "Cunningum".
Earls Conyngham (1781)
- Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham, 1st Baron ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Earl ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham PC was a British nobleman and politician.An absentee landlord, he owned extensive properties in counties Meath and Donegal, while spending most of his time abroad...
(1705–1781)
Barons Conyngham (1781; Reverted)
- Francis Pierpoint Conyngham, 2nd Baron ConynghamFrancis Conyngham, 2nd Baron ConynghamFrancis Pierpoint Burton, later Francis Conyngham, 2nd Baron Conyngham was an Irish peer and politician.He was a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons for Killybegs from 1753 until 1761...
(d. 1787) - Henry Conyngham, 3rd Baron ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Marquess ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham KP, GCH, PC, FSA , known as The Lord Conyngham between 1787 and 1789, as The Viscount Conyngham between 1789 and 1797 and as The Earl Conyngham between 1797 and 1815, was an Anglo-Irish courtier and politician of the Regency period...
(1766–1832) (created Marquess Conyngham in 1816)
Marquesses Conyngham (1816)
- Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Marquess ConynghamHenry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham KP, GCH, PC, FSA , known as The Lord Conyngham between 1787 and 1789, as The Viscount Conyngham between 1789 and 1797 and as The Earl Conyngham between 1797 and 1815, was an Anglo-Irish courtier and politician of the Regency period...
(1766–1832)- Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount CharlesHenry Conyngham, Earl of Mount CharlesHenry Vivien Pierpont Conyngham, 8th Marquess Conyngham holds a title in the Peerage of Ireland, and is a former politician....
(1795–1824)
- Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles
- Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess ConynghamFrancis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess ConynghamGeneral Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham KP, GCH, PC , styled Lord Francis Conyngham between 1816 and 1824 and Earl of Mount Charles between 1824 and 1832, was a British soldier, courtier and politician.-Background and education:Born in Dublin, Conyngham was the second son of...
(1797–1876) - George Henry Conyngham, 3rd Marquess Conyngham (1825–1882)
- Henry Francis Conyngham, 4th Marquess Conyngham (1857–1897)
- Victor George Henry Francis Conyngham, 5th Marquess Conyngham (1883–1918)
- Frederick William Burton Conyngham, 6th Marquess Conyngham (1890–1974)
- Frederick William Henry Francis Conyngham, 7th Marquess ConynghamFrederick Conyngham, 7th Marquess ConynghamFrederick William Henry Francis Conyngham, 7th Marquess Conyngham , known to intimates as "Mount", was an Irish nobleman and soldier, styled Earl of Mount Charles until 1974....
(1924–2009) - Henry Vivien Pierpont Conyngham, 8th Marquess Conyngham (b. 1951)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's eldest son Alexander Burton Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles (b. 1975)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
of the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's eldest son Rory Conyngham, Viscount Slane (b. 2010)