Viscountcy of Surrey
| Viscountcy of Surrey | |
| Creation Date | 1356 |
|---|---|
| Created by | Edward III |
| Peerage | England |
| First Holder | Edgar Fitzgerald |
| Current Holder | Richard Fitzgerald |
| Heir Apparent | Henry Fitzgerald |
| Subsidiary Titles | N/A |
| Country Seat | Surrey Lodge |
| Associated County | Cheshire, Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire |
The Viscountcy of Surrey is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first holder of the title was Sir Edgar Fitzgerald. Since 1579 it has been subsumed into the Earldom of Rotherham.
History
The Fitzgerald family is an ancient one whose precise origins are lost to the mists of time, probably purposefully done to conceal their likely Irish beginnings. A Sir Godfrey Fitzgerald is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, however, linked to the ownership of large estates in the south east of England.
The Viscountcy of Surrey was awarded to Sir Edgar Fitzgerald in 1356 by Edward III for services rendered in the Battle of Poitiers. The family remained in the south east and grew in power and wealth. The Fitzgerald name remained an almost constant feature, though briefly receded in the 15th century with the 4th Viscount who had only one daughter. Alys Fitzgerald was married to a local knight Sir Lucian de Mart who succeeded to the title on the condition that he took the Fitzgerald name. In the subsequent generation, his nephew Louis would drop the de Mart name altogether.
The family's fortunes fluctuated depending on the fortunes of the ruling monarch, but their defining moment came when Charles, the 10th Viscount, aligned himself with Henry VIIIth's protestant movement. This would bring about great fortune and favour under Queen Elizabeth who created the Earldom of Rotherham specifically for Charles' son, James, but also involved the loss of considerable ancestral estates in the south of the country under the reign of Catholic Mary. These two factors combined caused the shift of the family's base of power towards the north of England. Moreover, the extravagances of the 3rd Earl's younger brother saw the sale of much of what remained the southern property in the 17th century. While some land remains in the family in the south and there are many mentions of ancient Fitzgerald branches in Surrey and Hampshire, they now own very little land there.
The Surrey seat is now at Surrey Lodge in Cheshire, at the edge of land owned by the family that stretches from south Yorkshire across parts of the Peak District and into Cheshire. The title of Lord Surrey is now used as a courtesy title. The 19th and current Viscount Surrey is Richard Fitzgerald.
List of Viscounts of Surrey (1356)
- Edgar Fitzgerald, 1st Viscount Surrey (1325-1382)
- Edward Fitzgerald, 2cd Viscount Surrey (1358-1399)
- Edward Fitzgerald, 3rd Viscount Surrey (1381-1403)
- John Fitzgerald, 4th Viscount Surrey (1379-1425)
- Lucian de Mart Fitzgerald, 5th Viscount Surrey (1406-1429)
- Frederic de Mart Fitzgerald, 6th Viscount Surrey (1410-1430)
- Louis Fitzgerald, 7th Viscount Surrey (1429-1433)
- Frederick Fitzgerald, 8th Viscount Surrey (1431-1455)
- Henry Fitzgerald, 9th Viscount Surrey (1454-1490)
- Charles Fitzgerald, 10th Viscount Surrey (1468-1542)
- James Fitzgerald, 11th Viscount Surrey, 1st Earl of Rotherham (1509-1590)
- Peter Fitzgerald, 12th Viscount Surrey, 2nd Earl of Rotherham (1587-1640)
- John Fitzgerald, 13th Viscount Surrey, 3rd Earl of Rotherham (1619-1673)
- James Fitzgerald, 14th Viscount Surrey, 4th Earl of Rotherham (1653-1702)
- Lawrence Fitzgerald, 15th Viscount Surrey, 5th Earl of Rotherham (1678-1719)
- Robert Fitzgerald, 16th Viscount Surrey, 6th Earl of Rotherham (1698-1763)
- Andrew Fitzgerald, 17th Viscount Surrey, 7th Earl of Rotherham (1724-1789)
- Richard Fitzgerald, 18th Viscount Surrey, 8th Earl of Rotherham (born 1752)
- Richard Fitzgerald, 19th Viscount Surrey (born 1778)
The heir apparent is the current Viscount's son, The Honourable Henry Fitzgerald.
