Title in the Peerage of England
Earldom of Winchilsea
held with
Earldom of Nottingham
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Coronet_of_a_British_Earl.svg/150px-Coronet_of_a_British_Earl.svg.png)
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Earl_of_Winchilsea_Nottingham_COA.svg/180px-Earl_of_Winchilsea_Nottingham_COA.svg.png) Quarterly, 1st & 4th:
argent, a chevron between three garbs gules;
(Hatton) 2nd & 3rd,
argent, a chevron between three griffins, passant, wings endorsed sable
(Finch)
|
Creation date
| Winchilsea 1628
Nottingham 1681
|
---|
Created by
| Charles I
(Winchilsea)
Charles II
(Nottingham)
|
---|
Peerage
| Peerage of England
|
---|
First holder
| Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea
|
---|
Present holder
| Daniel Finch-Hatton, 17th Earl of Winchilsea, 12th Earl of Nottingham
|
---|
Heir apparent
| Tobias Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone
|
---|
Remainder to
| the 1st Earl's
heirs male
whatsoever
|
---|
Subsidiary titles
| Viscount Maidstone
Baron Finch of Daventry
Baronet of Eastwell
Baronet of Raunston
|
---|
Seat(s)
| Kirby Hall
|
---|
Former seat(s)
| Eastwell Park
Haverholme Priory
Burley, Rutland
|
---|
Motto
| Finch :
Nil conscire sibi
("Conscious of no evil")
Hatton :
Virtus tutissima cassis
("Virtue is the safest helmet")
|
---|
Earl of Winchilsea
is a title in the
Peerage of England
. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of
Kent
, and united with the title of
Earl of Nottingham
under a single holder since 1729.
[1]
The Finch family is believed to be descended from Henry FitzHerbert,
Lord Chamberlain
to
Henry I
(r. 1100?1135).
The name change to Finch came in the 1350s after marriage to an heiress of the Finch family.
[2]
The Herbert family of Wales,
Earls of Aylesford
,
Earls of Pembroke
, share common ancestry
[3]
but bear
differenced
arms.
[4]
A later member of the family, Sir William Finch, was knighted in 1513.
His son Sir Thomas Finch (died 1563), was also knighted for his share in suppressing
Sir Thomas Wyatt
's
insurrection
against
Queen Mary I
, and was the son-in-law of
Sir Thomas Moyle
, some of whose lands Finch's wife inherited.
Thomas's eldest son Moyle Finch represented
Weymouth
,
Kent
and
Winchelsea
in the
House of Commons
.
In 1611 he was created a baronet, of
Eastwell
in the County of Kent.
[5]
In 1660 the 3rd Earl of Winchilsea was created
Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
, Kent, in recompense for his efficient aid in the
Restoration of the Monarchy
.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet of Eastwell
, married
Elizabeth Heneage
, only daughter of
Sir Thomas Heneage
(1532?1595),
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
to
Queen Elizabeth I
.
After Sir Moyle's death in 1614, Elizabeth and her sons made considerable efforts to have the family's status elevated.
On 8 July 1623, Elizabeth was raised to the Peerage of England as
Viscountess Maidstone
, and on 12 July 1628 she was further honoured when she was made
Countess of Winchilsea
.
Lady Winchilsea and Sir Moyle Finch's youngest son, the Hon.
Sir Heneage Finch
, served as
Speaker of the House of Commons
and was the father of
Heneage Finch
, who was created
Earl of Nottingham
in 1681.
Sir Moyle Finch was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Theophilus, the 2nd Baronet (1573?1619).
He sat as
Member of Parliament
for
Great Yarmouth
but died childless circa 1619.
He was succeeded by his younger brother Thomas, the
3rd Baronet
.
He represented Winchelsea and Kent in the House of Commons.
In 1634, he also succeeded his mother as the second Earl of Winchilsea.
The third Earl, son of the second, supported the
Restoration
in 1660 and was thanked for his efforts the same year when he was created
Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
, in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of England.
The third earl's eldest son, William Finch, Viscount Maidstone, predeceased his father, but his son
Charles
succeeded as fourth Earl.
He served as
President of the Board of Trade
and as
Lord Lieutenant of Kent
.
His wife
Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea
, was a well-known poet.
The fourth Earl had no children and the titles passed to his uncle,
Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Winchilsea
.
He had earlier represented
Hythe
in Parliament.
The fifth Earl was also childless and was succeeded by his half-brother,
John Finch, 6th Earl of Winchilsea
.
He never married, and on his death in 1729 the Barony of FitzHerbert of Eastwell became extinct.
Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea and 2nd Earl of Nottingham
The remaining titles passed to his second cousin,
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham
, who became the 7th Earl of Winchilsea as well (see below for earlier history of this branch of the family). He was the eldest son of The Lord Chancellor of England,
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham
.
He was a noted statesman and served as
First Lord of the Admiralty
,
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
,
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
and as
Lord President of the Council
.
His son the 8th Earl of Winchilsea was also a politician and held office as First Lord of the Admiralty and as Lord President of the Council.
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea
by
Nathaniel Dance-Holland
The 8th Earl was childless and was succeeded by his nephew, the
9th Earl
, son of the Hon.
William Finch
, second son of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham.
The 9th Earl was
Lord Lieutenant of Rutland
for many years and was also an influential figure in the history of
cricket
.
The 9th Earl died unmarried and was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the
10th Earl
, son of
George Finch-Hatton
(1747?1823) (who had assumed the additional surname of Hatton), son of the Hon.
Edward Finch
, fifth son of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham, and his wife the Hon. Anne Hatton, who was the daughter of
Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton
(see the
Viscount Hatton
) and a relation of the famous
Sir Christopher Hatton
.
The 10th Earl is famous for his duel with the
Duke of Wellington
, who was
Prime Minister
at the time.
The duel, which was over the issue of
Catholic emancipation
and related to insulting remarks made by the Earl, took place at
Battersea Fields
on 21 March 1829.
Both men deliberately aimed wide and Winchilsea apologised.
His son the 11th Earl had represented
Northamptonshire North
in Parliament as a
Tory
.
He died without surviving male issue and was succeeded by his half-brother, the
12th Earl
, who had sat briefly as
Conservative
Member of Parliament for
Lincolnshire South
and for
Spalding
.
He was succeeded by his younger brother, the
13th Earl
. As of 2017
[update]
, the titles are held by his great-great-grandson, the 17th Earl of Winchilsea and 12th Earl of Nottingham (the title having descended from father to son), who succeeded in 1999.
The Hon.
Sir Heneage Finch
was the third and youngest son of Sir Moyle Finch and the Countess of Winchilsea. He served as
Speaker of the House of Commons
from 1625 to 1628. His son
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham
, was a prominent lawyer and politician and served as
Lord Chancellor of England
from 1675 to 1682.
He was created a baronet, of Raunston in the County of Buckingham, in the
Baronetage of England
in 1660 and in 1673 he was raised to the Peerage of England as
Baron Finch of Daventry
in the County of Northampton.
In 1681, he was further honoured when he was made
Earl of Nottingham
, also in the Peerage of England.
He was succeeded by his son, Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, who in 1729 succeeded his second cousin as the seventh Earl of Winchilsea. See above for further history of the titles.
Several other members of the Finch family have also gained distinction.
The Hon.
Heneage Finch
, second son of the 1st Earl of Nottingham, was made
Earl of Aylesford
in 1714.
The Hon.
Edward Finch
, the fifth son of the 1st Earl of Nottingham, was a composer and sat as Member of Parliament for
Cambridge University
.
He later took holy orders and served as
Prebendary
of
York
and
Canterbury
.
The Hon.
Edward Finch
, fifth son of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham, sat as Member of Parliament for
Cambridge University
from 1727 to 1768.
The Hon.
Harold Heneage Finch-Hatton
, fourth son of the 10th Earl, represented
Newark
in the House of Commons.
The Hon.
Denys Finch Hatton
, younger brother of the 14th Earl, moved to East Africa and became a noted pilot and hunter, and a close friend of
Karen Blixen
.
In the film
Out of Africa
he was played by
Robert Redford
.
John Finch, 1st Baron Finch of Fordwich
, was the son of Sir Henry Finch, younger brother of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet of Eastwell.
George Finch
, illegitimate son of the 9th Earl of Winchilsea, was a politician.
His son,
George Finch
, was
Father of the House of Commons
.
The earldom of 1628 is sometimes written
Winchelsea
, after the modern spelling of the town (and
Cinque Port
) in
East Sussex
.
Family seat and motto
[
edit
]
Burley on the Hill House
first built
The ancestral family seat of Earls of Winchilsea was at
Eastwell Park
old manor house, until the last 6th Earl of Winchilsea died, then the title and estate was inherited by his cousin, Daniel Finch, the
2nd Earl of Nottingham
who also become 7th Earl of Winchilsea.
Burley on the Hill House
built by
Daniel Finch 7th Earl of Winchilsea
The now 7th Earl of Winchilsea and 2nd Earl of Nottingham
built the magnificent
Burley on the Hill house
, the new palatial residence was built to replace Eastwell as the new seat of Earls of Winchilsea and Nottingham. The 7th Earl chose Burley's location to be nearer to
his wife
's family (the Hattons) at
Kirby Hall
. Burley served as the family seat until the unmarried
9th Earl of Winchilsea
sought and obtained an act of Parliament to break the
entail
of the estate, and left Burley house to his illegitimate son,
George Finch
, rather than to his first cousin and his son the future 10th Earl.
Eastwell Park
, Kent
Then
Eastwell Park
became the family seat again for
George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham
. Eastwell Manor had previously been rebuilt by
Bonomi
into a substantial residence for his parents George Finch-Hatton esq and
Lady Elizabeth Murray
.
The Eastwell estate, near
Ashford, Kent
, was owned by the Earls of Winchilsea until the mid-1860s, when the
11th Earl
had to leave the property due to financial difficulties;
[7]
it was later occupied by
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
, the second son of
Queen Victoria
.
Haverholme Priory 1903. The boys are thought to be
Denys
and
Guy Finch Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea
Haverholme Priory
was an estate in Lincolnshire, inherited by the 10th Earl from his childless aunt and uncle in law,
Sir Jenison Gordon
. After the Eastwell estate was let go, Haverholme Priory became the family seat for the
12th Earl
and
13th Earl of Winchilsea
until it was eventually sold and demolished.
Kirby Hall
, Corby, Northamptonshire
The
Kirby Hall
estate, near
Corby
, in
Northamptonshire
was inherited by
Edward Finch Hatton
, through his mother
Anne Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea
, sole heiress to
Viscount Hatton
, then went to his eldest son
George Finch Hatton
. The Hatton estate is still (2009) owned by the Earl of Winchilsea, although the palatial hall ? now partially de-roofed ? is no longer lived in by the family.
The hall itself and the adjacent gardens are today administered by English Heritage.
The Finch family motto is
Nil conscire sibi
("Conscious of no evil"), and the Hatton motto is
Virtus tutissima cassis
("Virtue is the safest helmet").
Finch baronets, of Eastwell (1611)
[
edit
]
Arms of Finch:
Argent, a chevron between three griffins passant sable
Earls of Winchilsea (1628) and Nottingham (1681)
[
edit
]
Coat of arms of Finch, Earl of Winchilsea in 1764
- Other titles (1st holder onwards):
Viscount Maidstone
(Eng 1623)
- Other titles (3rd-6th Earls): Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell (Eng 1660, extinct 1729)
- Other titles (7th Earl onwards): Baron Finch of Daventry (Eng 1673)
- Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea, 1st Viscountess Maidstone
(1556?1634)
- Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea, 2nd Viscount Maidstone
(1578?1639)
- Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Viscount Maidstone, 1st Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
(c. 1635?1689)
- William Finch, Viscount Maidstone (1652?1672)
- Charles Finch, 4th Earl of Winchilsea, 4th Viscount Maidstone, 2nd Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
(1672?1712)
- Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Viscount Maidstone, 3rd Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
(1657?1726)
- John Finch, 6th Earl of Winchilsea, 6th Viscount Maidstone, 4th Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell
(1683?1729)
- Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, 2nd Earl of Nottingham
(1647?1730)
- Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Earl of Nottingham
(c. 1709?1769)
- George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea, 4th Earl of Nottingham
(1752?1826)
- George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham
(1791?1858)
- George James Finch-Hatton, 11th Earl of Winchilsea, 6th Earl of Nottingham
(1815?1887)
- George William Heneage Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone (1852?1879)
- Murray Edward Gordon Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea, 7th Earl of Nottingham
(1851?1898)
- George Edward Henry Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone (1882?1892)
- Henry Stormont Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea, 8th Earl of Nottingham
(1852?1927)
- Guy Montagu George Finch-Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea, 9th Earl of Nottingham
(1885?1939)
- Christopher Guy Heneage Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea, 10th Earl of Nottingham
(1911?1950)
- Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea, 11th Earl of Nottingham
(1936?1999)
- Daniel James Hatfield Finch-Hatton, 17th Earl of Winchilsea, 12th Earl of Nottingham
(born 1967)
The
heir apparent
is the present holder's elder son
Tobias Joshua Stormont Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone
(born 1998).
Earls of Nottingham (1681)
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Nottingham, Earls of"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 824?825.
- ^
According to Burke's Peerage, 1934 (re:Finch, Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham), quoting Sir William Dugdale, "the Finch family is probably descended from Henry FitzHerbert, Chamberlain of King Henry I and ancestor of the Herbert Earls of Pembroke. They are thought to have changed their name to Finch after marriage to an heiress daughter of an earlier Finch family." Thus the Herbert family of Wales, Earls of Pembroke, bear a differenced version of arms of FitzHerbert/Finch, as borne by FitzHerbert Baronets.
- ^
Burke's Peerage, 1934 (re:Finch, Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham)
- ^
Herbert:
Per pale azure and gules, three lions rampant argent
, FitzHerbert:
Gules, three lions rampant or
, as quartered by Finch, and as borne by the FitzHerbert Baronets of Tissington
- ^
George Edward Cokayne
Complete Baronetage
1900
- ^
Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.1161
- ^
The Duke of Richmond and Another v. Calisher. In
The Times
, Wednesday 2 February 1870, p. 11.
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors).
Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage
(1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Lord's 1787?1945
by
Sir Pelham Warner
ISBN
1-85145-112-9
- Cricinfo page on the 9th Earl of Winchilsea (includes detailed article from
The Cricketer
)
- History of Burley on the Hill, Rutland - Finch pedigree
- Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Finch, Finch-Hatton"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 352.
- Kidd, Charles, ed. (1903).
Debrett's peerage, baronetage, knightage, and companionage
. London: Dean and son. p. 898.
External links
[
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]