Precedence

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.

Oxford (1397, of England) Currently held by John Howard

• Earldom of ____ (unknown, of England)

Claitonborough (November 4, 1479 ) Currently held by Anthony Dunford

• Marquessate of Pangbourne (1479)
• Earldom of Pangbourne (1383)
• Viscountcy of Whitchurch (1383)
• Barony Dunford of Pangbourne (1312)

Welby (August 24, 1503) Currently held by Hugh Rossington

• Marquessate of Easton (1465)
• Earldom of Easton (unknown)
• Barony of Easton (unknown)

Wycombe (1543) Currently held by John Quinn

• Marquessate of Ramsden (unknown)

Pennington (1664) Currently held by 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) (This is the title used by the grandson of the Duke, if there is one)

Aylesbury (unknown, English) Currently held by Ingram Grange

• Earldom of Valebridge (unknown)

Beaumont (of England; unknown creation date) Currently held by Phillip Werlington

• ?

Henley (unknown, English) Currently held by Ashleigh Heathcote

• Earldom of Annfield
• Barony of Kelburgh

Leicester (unknown, English) Currently held by Lawrence Harpole

• Marquessate of Spalding (unknown)

Leighton (unknown, possibly Scottish) Currently held by Nicholas Gosling

• Marquessate of Inverloch

Rothbury (unknown, English) Currently held by Gregory Colborne

• Earldom of Falstone

Marquessates

Crantock (1489) Currently held by Archibald Treville-Layton

• Baron Treville of Crantock

Eastborough (1497, of England) Currently held by Rawdon Montgomery III

• Earldom of Alderhan (1497)
• Barony of Eastborough (1086)
  • Grandsons of a living Marquess of Eastborough are known by the courtesy title 'Lord Montgomery'.

Hollomere (unknown, English) Currently held by Charles Delafield

• Earldom of Arkney

Emerson (1590) Currently held by Blake Pritchard

• Earldom of Emerson (1408)
• Viscountcy of Morton (1354)

Coniston (5th November 1664) Currently held by Kenward Asquith

• Viscountcy of Milbury (1689)

Beningborough (September 24, 1704) Currently held by Edmond Landon

• Earldom of Seyton (September 1, 1485 )

Foxford (1681, of Ireland) Currently held by Marcus Fairmont

• Earldom of Galbraith (unknown)

Raulings (March 2, 1746 - 'of Great Britain') Currently held by Thomas Grafton

• Earldom of Bridgeton (1622)
• Viscountcy of Grafton (1622)

Avening (unknown, presumed English) Currently held by Oscar Moncrieff

• ?

Spalding (unknown, English) (subsidiary of the Dukedom of Leicester) Currently held by James Harpole

Wadham (unknown, English) Currently held by Joseph Blakeney

• ?

Earldoms

Seyton (1485) (subsidiary to the Marquessate of Beningborough) Currently held by Richard Landon

Alderhan (1497) (subsidiary of the Marquessate of Eastborough) Currently held by Rawdon Montgomery IV

Rotherham (1579) Currently held by Richard Fitzgerald

• Viscountcy of Surrey (1356 )

Thernope (1601) Currently held by John Seymour

• Viscountcy of Redmoor

Essex (1616) Currently held by Richard Sterne

• Barony of Sterne

Bridgeton (1622) (subsidiary of the Marquessate of Raulings) Currently held by William Grafton

• Viscountcy of Grafton (1622)

Morven (1660) Currently held by George Hackett I

• Viscountcy of Selwyn (1712 ) (Peerage of Great Britain)

Prestwood (May 13th, 1692) Currently held by Arthur Beacham

• ?

Shrewsbury (1720? During the reign of George I) Currently held by Marcus Stowe

• Viscountcy of Hurst

Carrington (1743) Currently held by Gideon Steele

• ?

Kirkfries (1745) (Peerage of Great Britain) No current Earl; title is lapsed

• ?

Parry (1791) (Peerage of Great Britain) Currently held by Henry Layton

• Barony of Loseley (unknown but ancient)

Arkney (unknown) (subsidiary of the Marquessate of Hollomere) currently held by Christian Delafield

Bathampton (unknown, English) Currently held by Jonathan Worthing

Beaconsfield (unknown, 'of England') Currently held by Phineas Keats

Griffith (unknown) Currently held by Bernard Relmsey

• Viscountcy of Torrington (unknown)

Narbett (unknown) Currently held by Peter Lawrence

• Viscountcy of Thorton

Oughterridge (unknown) Currently held by George Devereux I

Valebridge (unknown) (subsidiary of the Dukedom of Aylesbury) Currently held by Julian Grange

Winchcombe (date unknown, presumed 'of England') Currently held by ___ Abberley

• ?

Wyck (unknown, presumed 'of England') Currently held by Walter Roydon

• ?

Hopetoun (unknown, presumed 'of Scotland') Currently held by an unknown distant cousin of Camilla Fairmont and Anthea Winter

• ?

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.

Surrey (1356) (Subsidiary of the Earldom of Rotherham) Currently held by Richard Fitzgerald II

Wembury (9th November 1640) Currently held by Edmund Mayoh

Flemming (1689) Currently held by Xavier Darling

Saltash (17th October 1706) Currently held by James Vickery

Selwyn (1712) (Peerage of Great Britain) (subsidiary of the Earldom of Morven) Currently held by George Hackett II

Ruxburgh (1759) (Peerage of Great Britain) Title lapsed but being contested; hopeful successor is Ira Wilson

Banbury (unknown) Currently held by Quentin Leith

Hawksley (unknown) Currently held by Victor Kincaide

Hurst (unknown) (subsidiary of the Earldom of Shrewsbury) Currently held by Giles Stowe

Redmoor (unknown) (subsidiary of the Earldom of Thernope) Currently held by Gabriel Seymour

Tessington (unknown) Currently held by Darcy Tessington

Torrington (unknown) (subsidiary of the Earldom of Griffith) currently held by Damien Relmsey

Baronies

• Middleton (March 3, 1149) Currently held by Thomas Tolson
• Ackland (March 29, 1299 ) Currently held by Samuel Gardiner
• [[Barony of Silchester|Silchester) (1305) Currently hled by Lucian Fitzroy
• de Grave (unknown, probably 14th or 15th century) Currently held by Robin Grenfell
• Hunstanton (1681) Currently held by Aubrey Sayre
• Locksley (1689) Currently held by Philip Ellery
• Thornley (1690) Currently held by James Reynell
• Wolvercote (1708, Peerage of Great Britain) Currently held by Cyril Asquith
• Braylock (1788, Peerage of the United Kingdom) currently held by Richard Westfall I

• Bartram of Everston (unknown, possibly after the Restoration) Currently held by Peregrine Bartram
• Bathurst (unknown) Currently held by Uriah Scarborough
• Kirkham (unknown) Currently held by Richard Lazenby
• Louth (unknown) Currently held by Clarence Haworth
• Oddsley (unknown) Currently held by Isaiah Prince
• Wrotham (unknown, since 1707) currently held by James Sandeford-Wrey