  Arms of Acheson, Earl of Gosford: Argent, a Double-Headed Eagle displayed Sable, beaked and membered Or, on a Chief Vert, two Mullets Or.Crest: A Cock Gules, standing upon a Trumpet Or.Supporters: Dexter: A Leopard proper, collared and chained Or; Sinister: A Leopard reguardant proper, collared and chained Or. | |
| Creation date | 1 February 1806 |
|---|---|
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
| First holder | Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford |
| Present holder | Charles Acheson, 7th Earl of Gosford |
| Heir presumptive | Nicholas Acheson |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Gosford Baron Gosford Baron Worlingham (United Kingdom) Baron Acheson (United Kingdom) Baronet ‘of Market Hill’ (Nova Scotia) |
| Status | Extant |
| Former seat(s) | Gosford Castle |
| Motto | VIGILANTIBUS (To be watchful) |
Earl of Gosford is a title in thePeerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 forArthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford.
The Acheson family descends from theScottish statesmanSir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet ofEdinburgh, who later settled inMarkethill,County Armagh[citation needed].[1] He served asSolicitor General for Scotland[citation needed], as aSenator of Justice (with the title Lord Glencairn), as anExtraordinary Lord of Session as 'Lord Glencairn', and asSecretary of State for Scotland. In 1628 he was created abaronet in theBaronetage of Nova Scotia, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, the 2nd Baronet. He married but died without male issue at a relatively early age and was succeeded by his half-brother, George, the 3rd Baronet, who settled in Ireland and was High Sheriff for cos. Armagh and Tyrone.
His son, the 4th Baronet, representedCounty Armagh in theIrish House of Commons. On his death the title passed to his son, the fifth Baronet. He sat as Member of the Irish Parliament forMullingar. His son, the sixth Baronet, representedDublin University andEnniskillen in the Irish House of Commons. In 1776 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland asBaron Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh,[2] and in 1785 he was further honoured when he was madeViscount Gosford, of Market Hill in the County of Armagh,[3] also in the Peerage of Ireland.
He was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. He sat in theIrish Parliament as the representative forOld Leighlin from 1783 to 1790. In 1806 he was createdEarl of Gosford in the Peerage of Ireland.[4] Since then, heirs apparent to the earldom have traditionally used the invented courtesy title ofViscount Acheson. His son, the second Earl, sat on theWhig benches in theHouse of Lords as anIrish representative peer from 1811 to 1849 and served underLord Melbourne asCaptain of the Yeomen of the Guard in 1834 and 1835. Between 1835 and 1838 he wasGovernor General of British North America. Lord Gosford married Mary, daughter of Robert Sparrow ofWorlingham Hall in Suffolk. In 1835 he was createdBaron Worlingham, ofBeccles in theCounty of Suffolk,[5] in thePeerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
He was succeeded by his son, the third Earl. He representedCounty Armagh in theHouse of Commons from 1831 to 1847. The latter year, two years before he succeeded his father in the earldom, he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right asBaron Acheson, of Clancairny in the County of Armagh.[6][7] His son, the fourth Earl, served asLord-Lieutenant of County Armagh and was also aLord of the Bedchamber to thePrince of Wales and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household to Her MajestyQueen Alexandra.[8] He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifth Earl. He was acolonel in theColdstream Guards and fought in theSecond Boer War and in theFirst World War. His eldest son, the sixth Earl, sat on theConservative benches in the House of Lords and served underHarold Macmillan as aLord-in-waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1958 to 1959. As of 2014[update] the titles are held by his only son, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1966.
The family seat wasGosford Castle, nearMarkethill,County Armagh.
Theheir presumptive is the present holder's first cousin Nicholas Hope Carter Acheson (born 1947).
His father Patrick Acheson was the son of the 5th Earl and brother of the 6th Earl.The heir presumptive'sheir apparent is his son Eric James Patrick Acheson (born 1988).
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