Dukedom of Leeds
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: quarterly ermine and azure, over all a cross or (for Osborne); 2nd, gules, an eagle with two heads display, between three fleur-de-lis argent (for Godolphin); 3rd, azure, semé of cross-crosslets and three cinquefoils argent (for D'Arcy)
Creation date4 May 1694
Created byWilliam III and Mary II
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
Last holderD'Arcy Osborne, 12th Duke of Leeds
Remainder tothe first Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles
  • Marquess of Carmarthen
  • Earl of Danby
  • Viscount Osborne
  • Viscount Latimer
  • Viscount Dunblane
  • Baron Godolphin
Extinction date20 March 1964
Seat(s)Hornby Castle
Former seat(s)Kiveton Hall
Kiveton Hall

Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as 2nd Baronet, of Kiveton (1647)[1] and been created Viscount Osborne, of Dunblane (1673), Baron Osborne, of Kiveton in the County of York (also 1673) and Viscount Latimer, of Danby in the County of York (also 1673), Earl of Danby, in the County of York (1674), and Marquess of Carmarthen (1689). All these titles were in the Peerage of England, except for the viscountcy of Osborne, which was in the Peerage of Scotland.[note 1] He resigned the latter title in favour of his son in 1673. The Earldom of Danby was a revival of the title held by his great-uncle, Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby (see Earl of Danby).[2]

History

The Dukedom was named for Leeds in Yorkshire, and did not (as is sometimes claimed) refer to Leeds Castle in Kent. The principal ducal seat was Kiveton Hall.[3] After Kiveton Hall was demolished in 1811, Hornby Castle became the main seat of the Dukes of Leeds.[4] The traditional burial place of the Dukes of Leeds was All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire.[2]

The 4th Duke married Mary Godolphin, daughter of Henrietta Churchill Godolphin, suo jure Duchess of Marlborough, and The 2nd Earl of Godolphin, and assumed the arms of Godolphin and Churchill.[5]

On 8 August 1849, The 7th Duke of Leeds assumed by royal licence the additional surname and arms of D'Arcy, for the separate baronies of D'Arcy (1322) and Conyers that he inherited through his grandmother.[6][7]

Upon the death of the 7th Duke in 1859, the dukedom passed to his cousin, The 2nd Baron Godolphin, whose father (the second son of The 5th Duke of Leeds) had been created Baron Godolphin, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham, in 1832.[2]

The 11th Duke was married three times; he had a daughter, Lady Camilla Osborne, but no son. Upon his death in 1963, the dukedom passed to his cousin, Sir D'Arcy Osborne, a diplomat.[8] Eight months later, the 12th Duke died in Rome, unmarried, at which point the dukedom and the Barony of Godolphin became extinct.[9]

The heir apparent to the Duke of Leeds was styled Marquess of Carmarthen; Lord Carmarthen's heir apparent was styled Earl of Danby; and Lord Danby's heir apparent was styled Viscount Latimer.

Osborne Baronets, of Kiveton (1620)

Dukes of Leeds (1694)

Other titles (6th & 7th Dukes): Baron Darcy de Knayth (1322) and Baron Conyers (1509)
Other titles (8th Duke onwards): Baron Godolphin (1832)

Family tree

  • Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
    Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
  • All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire
    All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire
  • Ancestral arms of the Osborne family: Quarterly ermine and azure, over all a cross or
    Ancestral arms of the Osborne family: Quarterly ermine and azure, over all a cross or
  • The sign for the Duke of Leeds public house, Leedstown, Cornwall
    The sign for the Duke of Leeds public house, Leedstown, Cornwall

Notes

  1. ^ Some sources indicate that Osborne held two Scottish viscountcies – "of Osborne" and "of Dunblane", although this may be a confusion of the full form "Osborne of Dunblane".

References

  1. ^ George Edward Cokayne (1900), Complete Baronetage, Volume 1
  2. ^ a b c Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage. 1914. pp. 1181–1183. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. ^ www.rotherhamweb.co.uk: Harthill Archived 24 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 December 2015
  4. ^ "Osborne family, Dukes of Leeds". The National Archives. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  5. ^ Courthope, William (1839). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: With Additions to the Present Time and a New Set of Coats of Arms from Drawings by Harvey. J. G. & F. Rivington. p. 14. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Osborne, Francis Godolphin D'Arcy D'Arcy, Marquis of Carmarthen" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  7. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. Harrison. p. 156. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  8. ^ "The Duke of Leeds". The Times. 29 July 1963. p. 19.
  9. ^ "The Duke of Leeds – Former Minister to the Holy See". The Times. 21 March 1964. p. 12.

Source

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