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| Earldom of Mansfield | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Creation date | 1776 and 1792 |
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Great Britain |
| First holder | William Murray, 1st Baron Mansfield |
| Present holder | Alexander Murray, 9th Earl of Mansfield |
| Heir apparent | William Murray, Viscount Stormont |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount of Stormont Lord Balvaird Lord Scone |
| Seat | Scone Palace |
| Former seats | Balvaird Castle Kenwood House |
| Motto | Uni aequus virtuti ("Friendly in virtue alone") Spero meliora ("I aspire to greater things")[1] |
Earl of Mansfield, in theCounty of Nottingham, andEarl of Mansfield, in theCounty of Middlesex, are two titles in thePeerage of Great Britain that have been united under a single holder since 1843.
The titles Earl ofMansfield (in the County of Nottingham) and Earl of Mansfield (in the County of Middlesex) were created in 1776 and 1792, respectively, for theScottish lawyer and judgeWilliam Murray, 1st Baron Mansfield, fourth son ofDavid Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont (seeViscount of Stormont for the earlier history of the family). He wasLord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1756 to 1788. Murray had already been createdBaron Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1756, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body. The two earldoms were created with different remainders. The 1776 earldom was created with remainder to Louisa Murray (née Cathcart), Lady Stormont (daughter ofCharles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart), second wife of his nephewDavid Murray, 7th Viscount of Stormont, while the 1792 earldom (referring to a fictitious Mansfield in Middlesex to differentiate it from the first earldom)[2] was created with remainder to his nephew Lord Stormont.
Lord Mansfield was childless and on his death in 1793, the barony became extinct. He was succeeded in the 1776 earldom according to the special remainder by his nephew's wife Louisa, the second Countess, and in the 1792 earldom according to the special remainder by his nephew Lord Stormont, who became the second Earl. The latter was a noted politician in his own right and served asLord Justice General,Secretary of State for the Northern Department andLord President of the Council. He was succeeded by his and Louisa's eldest son, the third Earl (of the 1792 creation). He wasLord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire. On his death, the title passed to his son, the fourth Earl (of the 1792 creation). He was aTory politician and served as aLord of the Treasury from 1834 to 1835 in thefirst administration ofSir Robert Peel. In 1843, he succeeded his grandmother the second Countess of Mansfield (who had outlived her husband by forty-seven years) and became in addition the third Earl of Mansfield of the 1776 creation.
He was succeeded by his grandson, the fifth and fourth Earl. He was the eldest son of William David Murray, Viscount of Stormont. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth and fifth Earl. His son, the seventh and sixth Earl, representedPerth in theHouse of Commons and served asLord Lieutenant of Perthshire. The eighth and seventh Earl of Mansfield held office in theConservative government ofMargaret Thatcher as aMinister of State at theScottish Office from 1979 to 1983, and at theNorthern Ireland Office from 1983 to 1984.
The titles are presently held by his elder son, the ninth Earl of Mansfield of the 1792 creation and the eighth Earl of Mansfield of the 1776 creation. He is also the fifteenthViscount of Stormont, the fifteenth Lord Scone and the thirteenthLord Balvaird.
The family seat isScone Palace, nearScone,Perthshire. The Earl of Mansfield is the Hereditary Keeper of Bruce's Castle of Lochmaben.[3] The family also ownedKenwood House in London from 1754 to 1925.
Alexander David Mungo Murray, 9th Earl of Mansfield (born 17 October 1956) is the elder son of the 8th Earl and his wife Pamela Joan Foster and was educated atEton College. From 1971 he was formally styled as Viscount Stormont. On 21 October 2015 he succeeded as Earl of Mansfield (created 1776 and 1792), Lord Scone (1604), Lord Balvaird, and Viscount of Stormont (1621).[4][better source needed]
In 1985, he married Sophia Mary Veronica Ashbrooke, and they had four children:[4]
William David Murray and his heirs (as Earls of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham) are identical to the Earls of Mansfield, in the County of Middlesex.
