| Marquessate of Winchester | |
|---|---|
  Sable, three swords pilewise points in base proper pomels and hilts or | |
| Creation date | 12 October 1551 |
| Created by | Edward VI |
| Peerage | Peerage of England |
| First holder | William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester |
| Present holder | Christopher Paulet, 19th Marquess of Winchester |
| Heir apparent | Michael Paulet, Earl of Wiltshire |
| Remainder to | the 1st Earl'sheirs male whatsoever |
| Subsidiary titles | Earl of Wiltshire Baron St John |
| Status | Extant |
| Motto | Aimez Loyaulté (Love Loyalty) |
Marquess of Winchester is a title in thePeerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesmanWilliam Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. It is the oldest of six surviving English marquessates; therefore its holder is considered the premiermarquess of England. It is also now the only marquessate in the Peerage of England not being subsidiary to a higher title (although it was formerly subsidiary to the extinct Dukedom of Bolton; the other five are all still held bydukes). The current holder is Christopher Paulet, 19th Marquess of Winchester (born 1969), whose son uses thecourtesy titleEarl of Wiltshire.
The peerage was created in 1551 for the prominent statesmanWilliam Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. The king at the time wasEdward VI, who was not of age, and the decision was that ofJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, who in the same year promoted himself to a dukedom. Paulet had already been createdBaron St John in 1539 andEarl of Wiltshire in 1550, also in the Peerage of England. The first marquess was one of the most noted statesmen of his time, serving in high positions underKing Henry VIII and his children, and served asLord High Treasurer ofEngland from 1550 to 1572. He was succeeded by his son, the second marquess, who had been summoned to theHouse of Lords in his father's lifetime through awrit of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron St John. His son, the third marquess, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration as Lord St John in 1572. His grandson, the fifth marquess, representedSt Ives in theHouse of Commons. During theCivil War he was a strong supporter ofKing Charles I and became known as "the loyal Marquess". The family seat ofBasing House was burnt to the ground by the Parliamentarians during the conflict. During this period, thecourtesy title for the heirs apparent of the marquesses was Baron St John; that of Earl of Wiltshire does not seem to have been used, perhaps because of an unsubstantiated tradition that that title was surrendered upon the creation of the marquessate.[1] Another explanation could be possible embarrassment arising from the fact that his son Charles married Mary Scrope, whose father the 11th Lord Scrope of Bolton and 1st Earl of Sunderland, was the direct heir of the original Earl of Wiltshire, beheaded by Henry IV in 1399. The original "Earl of Wiltshire" title had been in abeyance since then.
He was succeeded by his son, the sixth marquess. The sixth marquess was a supporter ofKing William III andQueen Mary II and was rewarded for his support after theGlorious Revolution when he was createdDuke of Bolton. He was succeeded by his son, the second duke, who, as heir apparent to the marquessate in 1675, was the first to adopt the courtesy title of Earl of Wiltshire.[2] The second Duke was a politician and notably served asLord Chamberlain of the Household and asLord Lieutenant of Ireland. On his death the titles passed to his son, the third duke, who was also a politician. He was aWhigMember of Parliament and served aslord lieutenant of several counties. In 1717 he was meant to be summoned to the House of Lords through awrit of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron St John (of Basing). However, he was mistakenly summoned asLord Pawlett of Basing and thisinadvertently created a new barony.
However, the barony of Pawlett of Basing became extinct as he had no legitimate offspring while he was succeeded in the other titles by his younger brother, the fourth duke. He notably served as aLord of the Admiralty and as lord lieutenant of bothHampshire andGlamorganshire. His eldest son, the fifth duke, was a member of Parliament and Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth duke. He was anadmiral of the White. The sixth duke had no sons and on his death in 1794 the dukedom became extinct. Most of the family estates passed to his niece Jean Mary Browne-Powlett, illegitimate daughter of the fifth duke. She was the wife of Thomas Orde, who assumed the additional surname of Powlett and was createdBaron Bolton in 1797.
The sixth duke was succeeded in the Barony of St John, the Earldom of Wiltshire and the Marquessate of Winchester by his third cousin once removed George Paulet, who became the twelfth marquess. He was the great-grandson of Lord Henry Paulet, third son of the fourth marquess. He had earlier representedWinchester in Parliament. His son, the thirteenth marquess, was a member of Parliament forTruro and served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. In 1839 Lord Winchester assumed the additional surname of Burroughs. He was succeeded by his son, the fourteenth marquess. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. His son, the fifteenth marquess, was amajor in theColdstream Guards and was killed in action at theBattle of Magersfontein in 1899 during theSecond Boer War. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixteenth marquess. He was Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and Chairman of theHampshire County Council. On his death in 1962 at the age of 99 the line of the fourteenth marquess failed.
He was succeeded by his first cousin twice removed, the seventeenth marquess. He was the great-grandson of the Reverend Lord Charles Paulet, second son of the thirteenth marquess. On the seventeenth marquess's death in 1968 this line of the family also failed and the title passed to the seventeenth marquess's first cousin once removed, the eighteenth marquess, who died in 2016. Lord Winchester lived inSouth Africa.
The surname of the later dukes of Bolton is usually spelled "Powlett" rather than "Paulet". This spelling continues to be used by theOrde-Powlett family.
The Marquessate of Winchester is the oldest English marquessate still in existence, and as a result the holder of the peerage is the premier marquess of England. The marquess of Winchester is also the only one in thepeerage of England without a higher title; asall other marquesses in that peerage are also dukes.
Earl of Wiltshire is used as the courtesy title of Lord Winchester's eldest son and heir, while Lord Wiltshire's son and heir has the courtesy title Lord St John.
One of the main family seats wasBasing House, nearOld Basing,Hampshire.
Christopher John Hilton Paulet, 19th Marquess of Winchester (born 30 July 1969) is the son of the 18th Marquess and his wife Rosemary Anne Hilton. From birth until 2016 he was styled formally as Earl of Wiltshire. He was a guitarist with the pop group Wizard.[dubious –discuss] On 8 April 2016, he succeeded as Marquess of Winchester (1551), Earl of Wiltshire (1550), and Baron St. John (1539), all in thepeerage of England.[4]
In 1992, he married Christine Town, daughter of Peter Town, and they have a son, Michael John Paulet, Earl of Wiltshire (born 1999), who isheir apparent to the peerages.[4]
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