Precedence

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The House of Lords (old chamber, burned down in 1834) as drawn by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson for Ackermann's Microcosm of London (1808-11)

The oldest of the actual ranks of the peerage are Dukedoms, Earldoms and Baronies. The first RL recorded Marquessate was in 1385, the first RL Viscountcy was created in 1440. (JFYI) The older the title, the more likely it is to have lapsed and been recreated further down the line, IRL. The order of precedence works: Royalty, Dukedoms, Marquessates, Earldoms, Viscountcies, Baronies.

The date of creation gives the precedence within each rank, and they can be further reordered depending on which peerage the rank belongs to. The ranking of peerages is:

  • of England (titles created before 1707)
  • of Scotland (titles created before 1707)
  • of Ireland titles created before 1707)
  • of Great Britain (titles created between 1707 and 1801)
  • of the United Kingdom (titles created after 1801)


An earl in the Irish peerage whose title dates from, say, 1692 comes after an earl in the English peerage whose title dates from 1702. I have tried to include the main titles used in LL, and where a date of creation is unknown, they are listed in alphabetical order after the last known date of creation of that rank, with presumed English titles coming before known Sottish and Irish ones, to make it easier to fit them in once a date of creation for that title has been decided.

Subsidiary titles are given as bullet points below the highest-ranking title held by the family and are only listed again in the appropriate area if currently held as a courtesy title (e.g. the Viscountcy of Surrey is listed under Viscountcies as well as a subsidiary of the Earldom of Rotherham, as there is a son who uses that title as if it were an actual peerage). Please note that Viscounts and Barons do not have subsidiary titles; their sons are styled 'Honourable' (as are the younger sons of Earls - Robert Vickery is officially the Honourable Robert Vickery; Colonel Fitzgerald, younger son of the Earl of Rotherham, would be Colonel the Honourable Robert Fitzgerald). If a title is likely to have a subsidiary title, but the subsidiary title is not known (because the player has not given one), there is a bullet point marked with a question mark below the known title.

This is very much a work in progress

A Brief Note on Courtesy Titles

See also Titles: The Definitive and Easy Version, an article by Rose explaining this in further detail, as well as How the British Aristocracy Works by Sharpie.


Viscounts and Barons do not have courtesy titles; their sons are all titled 'The Honourable'.


For those ranks that do have a courtesy title, the title used by the eldest son will be distinct from the title held by his father. Using a fictional, non-LL example: the son of the Marquess of Sundridge, who also hold the titles Earl of Sundridge and Viscount Malling, will be known as Viscount Malling or Lord Malling, so that he is not confused with his father. (This is why, IRL, the eldest son of the Duke of Wellington is Baron Douro - Wellington's other titles are Marquess of Wellington, Earl of Wellington and Viscount Wellington of Talavera. No other title he holds will serve to differentiate father and son.)

Holding a courtesy title does not allow an older son to sit in the House of Lords; he is still a commoner not a peer - he is merely borrowing a title from his father who is the actual holder. The only way for a man holding a courtesy title to sit in the House of Lords is if he is granted a Writ of Acceleration.

The eldest son of a peer's eldest son may use the third title his grandfather holds, if there is one. Using our LL titles, if the Duke of Claitonborough had a son, that son would be known, by courtesy, as the Marquess of Pangbourne, and if he has a son, that son will be known as Viscount Whitchurch.

Dukedoms

Technically, the Dukedom is the title held and the Duchy refers to the lands and estates held by that Dukedom - the Dukedom of Leicester is held by the Harpole family, whose Duchy is in Leicestershire.

Dukedom Creation Date Current Holder Subsidiaries Notes
Oxford
of England 		1397 John Howard Earldom of ____ (unknown)
Rothbury
of England 		1460 Gregory Colborne Earldom of Falstone (unknown)
Claitonborough
of England 		November 4, 1479 Anthony Dunford Marquessate of Pangbourne (1479)
Earldom of Pangbourne (1383)
Viscountcy of Whitchurch (1383)
Barony Dunford of Pangbourne (1312)
Welby
of England 		August 24, 1503 Hugh Rossington Marquessate of Easton (1465)
Earldom of Easton (unknown)
Barony of Easton (unknown)
Pevensey
of England 		1533 Arthur Osgood Marquessate of Brookwood (????)
Earldom of Monmouth (????)
Wycombe
of England 		1543 John Quinn Marquessate of Ramsden (unknown)
Pennington
of England 		1664 Henry Hissop Marquessate of St Elvan (1721, Great Britain)
Earldom of St Elvan (1567, of England)
Earldom of Emers (1701, of England)
Viscountcy of Portan (1721, Great Britain)
Barony of Penton Mewsey (1526, of England)		 The Barony of Penton Mewsey is used by the grandson of the Duke, if there is one.
Aylesbury
unknown 		unknown Ingram Grange Earldom of Valebridge (unknown)
Beaumont
unknown 		unknown Phillip Werlington Marquessate of ____ (unknown)
Henley
unknown 		unknown Ashleigh Heathcote Earldom of Annfield
Barony of Kelburgh
Leicester
unknown 		unknown Lawrence Harpole Marquessate of Spalding (unknown)
Leighton
unknown 		unknown Nicholas Gosling Marquessate of Inverloch (unknown)

Marquessates

Marquessate Creation Date Current Holder Subsidiaries Notes
Crantock
of England 		1489 Archibald Treville-Layton Barony Treville of Crantock (unknown)
Eastborough
of England 		1497 Rawdon Montgomery III Earldom of Alderhan (1497)
Barony of Eastborough (1086)
 Grandsons of a living marquess are known by the courtesy title 'Lord Montgomery'.
Hollomere
of England 		unknown[1] Charles Delafield Earldom of Arkney (unknown)
Emerson
of England 		1590 Blake Pritchard Earldom of Emerson (1408)
Viscountcy of Morton (1354)
Coniston
of England 		5 November 1664 Kenward Asquith Viscountcy of Milbury (1689)
Beningborough
of England 		24 September 1704 Edmond Landon Earldom of Seyton (September 1, 1485)
Foxford
of Ireland 		1681 Marcus Fairmont Earldom of Galbraith (unknown)
Raulings
of Great Britain 		1746 Thomas Grafton Earldom of Bridgeton (1622)
Viscountcy of Grafton (1622)
Avening
unknown 		unknown Oscar Moncrieff unknown
Spalding
unknown 		unknown James Harpole subsidiary of the Dukedom of Leicester
Wadham
unknown 		unknown Joseph Blakeney unknown
Windermere
unknown 		unknown Matthew Hughes-Watson unknown

Earldoms

Earldom Creation Date Current Holder Subsidiaries Notes
Seyton
of England 		1485 Richard Landon subsidiary of the Marquessate of Beningborough
Alderhan
of England 		1497 Rawdon Montgomery IV subsidiary of the Marquessate of Eastborough
Rotherham
of England 		1579 Richard Fitzgerald Viscountcy of Surrey (1356)
Bathampton
of England 		1592 Jonathan Worthing Barony of Heatherlea
Thernope
of England 		1601 John Seymour Viscountcy of Redmoor (unknown)
Essex
of England 		1616 Richard Sterne Barony of Sterne (unknown)
Bridgeton
of England 		1622 William Grafton subsidiary of the Marquessate of Raulings
Morven
of England 		1660 George Hackett I Viscountcy of Selwyn (1712)
Prestwood
of England 		13 May 1692 Arthur Beacham unknown
Shrewsbury
of Great Britain 		c.1720 Marcus Stowe Viscountcy of Hurst (unknown)
Carrington
of Great Britain 		1743 Gideon Steele unknown
Kirkfries
of Great Britain 		1745 Abeyant unknown The Earldom of Kirkfries is currently lapsed.
Parry
of Great Britain 		1791 Henry Layton Barony of Loseley (unknown)
Arkney
of Great Britain 		1791 Christian Delafield subsidiary of the Marquessate of Hollomere
Beaconsfield
unknown 		unknown Phineas Keats unknown
Bramley
unknown 		unknown Alfred Cole Viscountcy of Canonbury
Branksea
unknown 		unknown unknown in abeyance since 1790; possibly extinct
Falstone
unknown 		unknown Sebastian Colborne subsidiary of the Dukedom of Rothbury
Griffith
unknown 		unknown Bernard Relmsey Viscountcy of Torrington
Hopetoun
unknown 		unknown unknown unknown The Earldom of Hopetoun is currently held by an unknown distant cousin of Camilla Fairmont and Anthea Winter
Narbett
unknown 		unknown Peter Lawrence Viscountcy of Thorton
Oughterridge
unknown 		unknown George Devereux I unknown
Valebridge
unknown 		unknown Julian Grange subsidiary of the Dukedom of Aylesbury
Winchcombe
unknown 		unknown unknown unknown
Wilcox
unknown 		unknown Kenneth Bowery unknown
Wyck
unknown 		unknown Walter Roydon unknown

Viscountcies

Note: A viscount is always 'Viscount Saltash' in the English peerage. He is only 'Viscount of Livingston' if the title is Scottish. Viscounts do not have any subsidiary titles, all sons being titled 'The Honourable' (as younger sons of Earls are, and as all Barons' sons are). All daughters are also styled 'The Honourable', as are Barons' daughters.

Viscountcy Creation Date Current Holder Subsidiaries Notes
Surrey
of England 		1356 Richard Fitzgerald II N/A subsidiary of the Earldom of Rotherham
Wembury
of England 		9th November 1640 Edmund Mayoh N/A
Flemming
of England 		1689 Xavier Darling N/A
Saltash
of England 		17th October 1706 James Vickery N/A
Selwyn
of Great Britain 		1712 George Hackett II N/A subsidiary of the Earldom of Morven
Ruxburgh
of Great Britain 		1759 N/A N/A The Viscountcy of Ruxburgh is currently lapsed. This is being contested, and the hopeful successor is Ira Wilson
St Vincent
of Great Britain 		1797 James Fairley N/A
Banbury
unknown 		unknown Quentin Leith N/A
Hawksley
unknown 		unknown Victor Kincaide N/A
Hurst
unknown 		unknown Giles Stowe N/A subsidiary of the Earldom of Shrewsbury
Redmoor
unknown 		unknown Gabriel Seymour N/A subsidiary of the Earldom of Thernope
Sweetling
unknown 		unknown John Prose N/A
Tessington
unknown 		unknown Darcy Tessington N/A
Torrington
unknown 		unknown Damien Relmsey N/A subsidiary of the Earldom of Griffith

Baronies

Barony Creation Date Current Holder Subsidiaries Notes
Middleton
of England 		3 March 1149 Thomas Tolson N/A
Ackland
of England 		29 March 1299 Samuel Gardiner N/A
Silchester
of England 		1305 Lucian Fitzroy N/A
Hunstanton
of England 		1681 Aubrey Sayre N/A
Locksley
of England 		1689 Philip Ellery N/A
Thornley
of England 		1690 James Reynell N/A
Wolvercote
of Great Britain 		1708 Cyril Asquith N/A
Braylock
of Great Britain 		1788 Richard Westfall I N/A
Bartram of Everston
unknown 		unknown Peregrine Bartram N/A
Bathurst
unknown 		unknown Uriah Scarborough N/A
de Grave
unknown 		unknown Robin Grenfell N/A
Kirkham
unknown 		unknown Richard Lazenby N/A
Louth
unknown 		unknown Clarence Haworth N/A
Oddsley
unknown 		unknown Isaiah Prince N/A
Wrotham
unknown 		unknown James Sandeford-Wrey N/A
  1. ↑ Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too gives Hollomere as being an older title than Emerson, though no date is given
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