Marquessate of Bath

Arms: Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Barry of ten Or and Sable (Botteville); 2nd and 3rd, Argent, a Lion rampant with tail nowed and erect Gules (Thynne). Crest: A Reindeer statant Or. Supporters: Dexter: A Reindeer Or, gorged with a plain Collar Sable. Sinister: A Lion with tail nowed and erect Gules.[1]
Creation date18 August 1789
Created byKing George III
PeeragePeerage of Great Britain
First holderThomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth
Present holderCeawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath
Heir apparentJohn Thynn, Viscount Weymouth
Remainder toThe 1st Marquess' heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles
  • Viscount Weymouth
  • Baron Thynne
  • Baronet 'of Caus Castle'
StatusExtant
Seat(s)Longleat
MottoJ'AY BONNE CAUSE
(I have good reason)

Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron Thynne, of Warminster in the County of Wiltshire, and Viscount Weymouth, both created in 1682 in the Peerage of England. He is also a baronet in the Baronetage of England.

Family history until 1800

Sir John Thynne (died 1580)

The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne (died 1580), who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579. In 1641 his great-grandson Henry Frederick Thynne was created a Baronet, of Caus Castle, in the Baronetage of England (some sources claim that the territorial designation is "Kempsford in the County of Gloucester"). He was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He represented Oxford University and Tamworth in the House of Commons and also served as Envoy to Sweden. In 1682 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Thynne, of Warminster in the County of Wilts, and Viscount Weymouth, in the County of Dorset, with remainder to his younger brothers James Thynne (who died unmarried) and Henry Frederick Thynne and the heirs male of their bodies.[2]

Lord Weymouth died without surviving male issue in 1714 (one of his three sons, the Honourable Henry Thynne, represented Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and Tamworth in Parliament but had died in 1708, leaving only daughters) and was succeeded in the peerages (according to the special remainders) by his great-nephew, the second Viscount. He was the grandson of the aforementioned Henry Frederick Thynne, brother of the first Viscount. He married as his second wife Lady Louisa Carteret, daughter of John, Earl Granville, a female-line grandson of John, 1st Earl of Bath of the second creation (a title which had become extinct in 1711). Lord Weymouth was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Viscount. He was a prominent statesman and served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. In 1789 the Bath title held by his ancestors was revived when he was created Marquess of Bath.[3] Unusually, the Earldom of Bath was revived during the Marquess's lifetime for Laura Pulteney, the heiress of the Earl of Bath of the fourth creation. Place names used by existing peerages are normally avoided when new ones are created. This earldom went extinct on her death in 1808.

Family history 1800–present

The 1st Marquess's son Thomas, the 2nd Marquess, sat as Tory Member of Parliament for Weobley and Bath and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset. His eldest son Thomas, represented Weobly in Parliament but predeceased his father by two months. Lord Bath was therefore succeeded by his second son Henry, the 3rd Marquess, who died three months later. He was a captain in the Royal Navy and also sat as Member of Parliament for Weobly. His son John, the 4th Marquess, succeeded at age six; he was Chairman of the Wiltshire County Council and Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, the 5th Marquess. He was a Conservative politician and served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for India in 1895. His second but eldest surviving son Henry, the 6th Marquess, represented Frome in the House of Commons as a Conservative.

The 6th Marquess's second son, Alexander, the 7th Marquess, succeeded in 1992. He was a well-known politician, author and artist. In 2015 the Times described him as "a steaming pile of ancient kaftans and one of our wuffliest and weirdest mad-hatter aristocrats. He is best known for swanning around Longleat, his enormous Elizabethan pad in Wiltshire, entertaining his 75 concubines, or as he called them, "wifelets". The wifelets have included former Bond girls and Sri Lankan teenagers, as well as housewives and, according to some, prostitutes. The deal is simple: the wifelets get to hang out with Lord Bath in a jewel of a palace and in return he gets unlimited sex."[4]

The titles are currently held by Ceawlin Thynn, the son of the 7th Marquess.

Other family members

Longleat, seat of the Thynnes

The Honourable Henry Thynne, second son of the second Viscount, succeeded to the Carteret estates through his mother and assumed the surname of Carteret in lieu of Thynne. In 1784 he was created Baron Carteret with remainder to the younger sons of his brother the first Marquess of Bath (see the Baron Carteret for more information on this title). Several other members of the Thynne family have also gained distinction. The Reverend Lord John Thynne, third son of the second Marquess, was sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey; his seventh son was Major-General Sir Reginald Thomas Thynne (1843–1926). Lord Henry Thynne, second son of the third Marquess, was a Conservative politician and notably served as Treasurer of the Household from 1875 to 1880. Lord Alexander Thynne, third son of the fourth Marquess, represented Bath in the House of Commons from 1910 to 1918.

The family seat is Longleat House.

Coat of arms

The arms borne by the Thynne family are: Quarterly: 1st and 4th, barry of ten Or and Sable (Botteville); 2nd and 3rd, Argent, a lion rampant with tail nowed and erected Gules (Thynne).[1] This can be translated as: a shield divided into quarters, the top left and bottom right made of ten horizontal bars alternating gold and black (for the Boteville family); the top right and bottom left quarters white with a red lion rampant with a knotted tail (for the Thynne family).

Early Thynnes of Longleat

Thynne Baronets, of Cause Castle (1641)

Viscounts Weymouth (1682)

Marquesses of Bath (1789)

Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath.

The heir apparent is the 8th Marquess' son, John Alexander Ladi Thynn, Viscount Weymouth (b. 2014).

Family tree

Line of succession

Line of succession (simplified)[23][24]
  • Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837)
    • Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath (1797–1837)
      • John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831–1896)
        • Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath (1862–1946)
          • Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (1905–1992)
            • Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (1932–2020)
              • Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath (b. 1974)
                • (1). John Alexander Ladi Thynn, Viscount Weymouth (b. 2014)
            • Lord Valentine Charles Thynne (1937–1979)
              • (2). Lucien Henry Valentine Thynne (b. 1965)
      • Lord Henry Thynne (1832–1904)
        • Ulric Oliver Thynne (1871–1957)
          • Oliver St. Maur Thynne (1901–1978)
            • Sheridan Ulric Thynne (1939–2011)
              • (3). Piers Mark Thynn (b. 1977)
                • (4). Archie Jack Thynn (b. 2011)
                • (5). Jasper Oliver Thynn (b. 2011)
    • Lord John Thynne (1798–1881)
      • Francis John Thynne (1830–1910)
        • George Augustus Carteret Thynne (1869–1945)
          • John Granville Thynne (1917–2001)
            • male issue in succession

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Montague-Smith, P. W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p. 119
  2. ^ "No. 1778". The London Gazette. 4 December 1682. p. 2.
  3. ^ "No. 13123". The London Gazette. 18 August 1789. p. 550.
  4. ^ London Sunday Times; 6 Sept 2015
  5. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard, (1938 ed) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Shaw, London. p. 243
  6. ^ a b c Woodfall, H. (1768). The Peerage of England; Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of that Kingdom Etc. Fourth Edition, Carefully Corrected, and Continued to the Present Time, Volume 6. p. 258.
  7. ^ a b Lee, Sidney; Edwards, A. S. G. (revised) (2004). "Thynne, William (d. 1546)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27426. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ Girouard, Mark, Thynne, Sir John (1515–1580), estate manager and builder of Longleat in Oxford Dictionary of Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
  9. ^ Booth, Muriel. "Thynne, John (?1550–1604), of Longleat, Wilt". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  10. ^ Lancaster, Henry; Thrush, Andrew. "Thynne, Charles (c.1568–1652), of Cheddar, So". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  11. ^ Pugh, R. B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1957). "Parliamentary history: 1529–1629". A History of the County of Wiltshire. Vol. 5. London: Victoria County History – via British History Online.
  12. ^ Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir James (c.1605-70), of Longbridge Deverill, Wilt". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  13. ^ Helms, M. W.; Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir Thomas (c.1610–c.69), of Richmond, Sur". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  14. ^ Marshall, Alan (2008) [2004]. "Thynne, Thomas [nicknamed Tom of Ten Thousand] (1647/8–1682)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27423. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  15. ^ Heath-Caldwell, J. J. "Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth". JJ Heath-Caldwell. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  16. ^ Hayton, D. W. "Thynne, Hon. Henry (1675-1708)". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  17. ^ Dunaway, Stewart (2013). Lord John Carteret, Earl Granville: His Life History and the Granville Grants. Lulu. p. 33. ISBN 9781300878070.
  18. ^ "Bath, Thomas Thynne". Encyclopedia Britannica 1911. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  19. ^ Thorne, Roland. "Carteret [formerly Thynne], Henry Frederick". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837)". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  21. ^ Escott, Margaret. "Thynne, Lord Henry Frederick (1797-1837), of 6 Grovesnor Square, Md". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  22. ^ "John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896), Diplomat and landowner". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  23. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). "Bath". Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Vol. 1 (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books). pp. 212–214. ISBN 2-9400-8502-1.
  24. ^ Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Bath". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's Ltd. pp. 487–491. ISBN 978-1-9997-6705-1.

References

External links

Extant marquessates in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
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