| Earldom of Clarendon | |
|---|---|
 Argent, on a cross Gules five escallops Or. | |
| Creation date | 14 June 1776 (1776-6-14) |
| Peerage | Peerage of Great Britain |
| First holder | Thomas Villiers |
| Present holder | George Villiers |
| Heir apparent | Edward Villiers |
| Seat(s) | Holywell House |
Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice inBritish history, in 1661 and 1776.
The family seat is Holywell House, nearSwanmore,Hampshire.
The title was created for the first time in thePeerage of England in 1661 for the statesmanEdward Hyde, 1st Baron Hyde. He wasChancellor of the Exchequer from 1643 to 1646 andLord Chancellor from 1658 to 1667 and a close political adviser toCharles II, although he later fell out of favour and was forced into exile. Hyde had already been createdBaron Hyde, of Hindon in the County of Wiltshire, in 1660, and was madeViscount Cornbury, in the County of Oxford, at the same time he was given the earldom. These titles were also in the Peerage of England. His second sonLaurence Hyde was also a politician and was createdEarl of Rochester in 1682. Lord Clarendon's daughterAnne Hyde married the futureKing James II and was the mother ofQueen Mary II andQueen Anne.
Lord Clarendon was succeeded by his eldest son Henry, the second Earl. He was also a politician and served asLord Privy Seal andLord Lieutenant of Ireland. His son, the third Earl, representedWiltshire andChristchurch in theHouse of Commons and served asGovernor of New York, before succeeding to the earldom; he had married Katherine, 8th Baroness Clifton, but she died in New York before becoming Countess of Clarendon. Their only son Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, succeeded his mother as ninth Baron Clifton in 1706; he died ten years before his father, unmarried. The only daughter Lady Theodosia succeeded her elder brother as tenth Baroness Clifton (see theBaron Clifton for later history of this title).
Lord Clarendon was succeeded by his first cousinHenry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Rochester, who became the fourth Earl of Clarendon; he was the only son of the first Earl of Rochester. He had earlier representedLaunceston in the House of Commons and served asLord Lieutenant of Cornwall. His only surviving son and heir apparent Henry Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, was summoned to theHouse of Lords through awrit of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Hyde in 1751. However, he died childless in April 1753, eight months before the death of his father. Consequently, on Lord Clarendon's death in December 1753 all the titles became extinct.
Lady Jane Hyde, eldest daughter of the fourth Earl of Clarendon, marriedWilliam Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex. Their daughterLady Charlotte Capell married the prominent diplomat and politicianThomas Villiers, second son ofWilliam Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey. Villiers was Envoy toVienna andBerlin and served as JointPostmaster General and asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1748 he was made a Baron of theKingdom of Prussia, an honour which he received Royal licence to use inGreat Britain, and in 1756 the barony of Hyde held by his wife's ancestors was revived when he was raised to thePeerage of Great Britain asBaron Hyde, of Hindon in the County of Wiltshire. In 1776 the earldom of Clarendon was also revived when he was madeEarl of Clarendon in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Lord Clarendon was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He sat asMember of Parliament for Christchurch andHelston. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, thethird Earl. He represented several constituencies in the House of Commons and served asComptroller of the Household between 1789 and 1790. He had one daughter but no sons and was succeeded by his nephew, thefourth Earl. He was the eldest son of George Villiers (1759–1827), third son of the first Earl. Known as the "Great Lord Clarendon", he was a prominent diplomat andLiberal politician. He was three timesForeign Secretary of the United Kingdom and also served as Lord Privy Seal, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,President of the Board of Trade andLord Lieutenant of Ireland.
Lord Clarendon was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the fifth Earl. In early life he briefly representedBrecon in the House of Commons as a Liberal but later joined theConservative Party and held minor office from 1895 to 1905 underLord Salisbury andArthur Balfour. On his death the titles passed to his only son, the sixth Earl. He was a Conservative politician and served underBonar Law andStanley Baldwin asCaptain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms andUnder-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. He was laterGovernor-General of South Africa from 1931 to 1937. His grandson, George, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1955 died in July 2009. He was the only son of George Herbert Arthur Edward Hyde Villiers, Lord Hyde, who died in 1935. The title has passed to his son, George, eighth earl.[1]
As descendants of the secondEarl of Jersey, the Earls of Clarendon are also in remainder to that peerage and its subsidiary titles.
Several other members of this branch of the Villiers family have also gained distinction.Thomas Hyde Villiers, second son of George Villiers (third son of the first Earl), represented three constituencies in the House of Commons before his early death in 1832. His son Reverend Charles Villiers was the father of 1) Edward Cecil Villiers, aRear-Admiral in theRoyal Navy, whose sonSir Michael Villiers was avice-admiral in the Royal Navy andFourth Sea Lord from 1960 to 1963, and 2)Ernest Amherst Villiers, Liberal Member of Parliament forBrighton from 1906 to 1910. The successful businessman and racehorse owner Charles Villiers (born 1963) who co-founded the local newspaper company Score Press Limited, which was sold for £155 million in 2005, is the great-great-great grandson of the aforementioned Thomas Villiers MP.Charles Pelham Villiers, third son of George Villiers, was a prominent Liberal politician and served asPresident of the Poor Law Board (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1859 to 1866. Between 1890 and 1898 he wasFather of the House of Commons.
The Conservative politicianTheresa Villiers is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Edward Ernest Villiers, fourth son of George Villiers.Henry Montagu Villiers, fifth son of George Villiers, wasBishop of Durham from 1860 until his death the following year.Sir Francis Hyde Villiers, fourth and youngest son of the fourth Earl, was a diplomat and served asBritish Ambassador to Belgium from 1919 to 1920. His grandson was the actorJames Villiers.
The family main home is Holywell House,Swanmore, Hampshire. The family's main home 1753-1923 was the largest of the three main manors ofWatford,the Grove which is today a hotel inSarratt (civil parish).[2]
The Earls of Clarendon had the property ofKenilworth Castle in 1670-1937.
George Edward Laurence Villiers, 8th Earl of Clarendon (born 12 February 1976) is the only son of the 7th Earl and his wife Jane Diana Dawson. He married Bryonie V. L. Leask, daughter of Major-General Anthony de Camborne Lowther Leask, while still styled as Lord Hyde. He wasPage of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. On 4 July 2009 he succeeded as Earl of Clarendon and Baron Hyde of Hindon. Theheir apparent is the present holder's eldest son Edward George James Villiers, Lord Hyde (born 2008).
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