There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Wolseley family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Ireland. As of 2018, the Wolseley Baronetcy of Mount Wolseley is dormant.

History

The Wolseleys of Staffordshire (and later, Ireland) are an ancient family whose record goes back a thousand years, to Sewardus, Lord Wisele, and are descended from Edward III. Ralph Wolseley served as Baron of the Exchequer for Edward IV.[1][2]

Wolseley baronets (1628 creation)

Wolseley memorials at St Michael and All Angels Church in Colwich, Staffordshire

The Wolseley Baronetcy, of Wolseley in the County of Stafford, was created in the Baronetage of England on 24 November 1628 for Robert Wolseley, the member of an ancient Staffordshire family and a Colonel in Charles I's army. The second Baronet represented Oxfordshire, Staffordshire and Stafford in the House of Commons and was a member of Oliver Cromwell's House of Lords. The sixth Baronet was a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King George III.[2]

Many members of the Wolseleys of Wolseley Hall are buried at St Michael and All Angels Church in Colwich, a short distance from Shugborough Hall. Inside the church are many tombs, wall tablets and other memorials connected with the landed gentry in the parish. A tablet also commemorates Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC (1833–1913), a distant relative of the Wolseleys of Wolseley Hall who is buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Wolseley Hall, the family seat, was at Wolseley Park near Rugeley, Staffordshire. The old house was demolished in 1954 and the commercial ventures of the 11th Baronet created financial difficulties which led to the enforced sale of the estate in 1996.[3]

Wolseley baronets (1745 creation)

The Wolseley Baronetcy, of Mount Wolseley in the County of Carlow, was created in the Baronetage of Ireland on 19 January 1745 for Richard Wolseley, who sat as a member of the Irish House of Commons for Carlow. He was the younger brother of the fifth Baronet of the 1628 creation. Consequently, the holder of the baronetcy is also in remainder to the Wolseley Baronetcy of Wolseley.

As of 7 May 2018, there is "no clear or undisputed successor" to the baronetcy according to the Standing Council of the Baronetage,[4] with the title having sat dormant since the death of the 12th Baronet in 1991. The most senior known heir is James Douglas Wolseley (born 1937) of Texas.

The family seat was Mount Wolseley House, near Tullow, County Carlow.

Holders of the titles

Wolseley baronets (1628 creation)

Arms of Wolseley baronets, of Wolseley: Argent, a talbot passant gules

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Nicholas William Garnet Wolseley (born 2010).

Wolseley baronets (1745 creation)

Arms of Wolseley Baronets, of Mount Wolseley: Argent, a talbot passant gules, a crescent, for difference

References

  1. ^ The Royal Lineage of Our Noble and Gentle Families: Together with Their Paternal Ancestry. Hazell, Watson, and Viney. 1883. pp. 56-61. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage. 1878. pp. 503–504.
  3. ^ The Daily Telegraph, Features p27 2 April 2008
  4. ^ Current State of the Baronetage, 1 January 2018
  5. ^ "Official Roll of the Baronetage". Standing Council of the Baronetage. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ^ My Forty Years with Debrett, Cyril Hankinson, Robert Hale, Ltd, 1963, pp. 162–3
  7. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 3, p. 4231
  8. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 3, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, p. 4232
  9. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1980, ed. Patrick Montague-Smith, p. B-880
  10. ^ "Wolseley, Sir James Douglas". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U40477. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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