Earl Poulett
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Earl_Poulett_coa.png/300px-Earl_Poulett_coa.png)
Earl Poulett (pronounced "Paulett") was a title in the
His eldest son Sir John Poulett represented Somerset and Lyme Regis in the House of Commons. In 1627 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Poulett, of Hinton St George in the County of Somerset. Lord Poulett later supported the Royalist cause in the Civil War.
The first Baron's son,
His son, the third Baron, represented Somerset in Parliament and also served as
When he died, the titles passed to his eldest son, the second Earl. He had already been summoned to the
The third Earl's son, the fourth Earl, was
On the death of the 5th Earl, whose sons had all pre-deceased him, the titles passed to his nephew, the
On the death of the 6th Earl, a dispute arose (see below), and the outcome was that the earldom and other titles were awarded to the 6th Earl's son by his third wife, who became the seventh Earl Poulett. He fought in the
Lady Bridget Poulett (1912–1975), the only sibling of the 8th and last Earl, was a 'Society Beauty' of the 1930s.[3][4]
Disputed descent of earldom
On the sixth Earl's death in 1899, a dispute arose over the succession to his titles.
A son, William Turnour Thomas Poulett, had been born to the 6th Earl's first wife, Elizabeth Lavinia, in 1849, while they were married, but although his wife insisted he was the child's father, Captain Poulett (as he then was) had reason to believe the child had been fathered by another man, Captain William Turnour Granville, after whom his mother named him. Until a son was born in 1883, he had no son he believed to be his own, yet treated W. T. T. Poulett as his son. Thus in 1875, W. T. T. Poulett was living at the family's secondary estate, Grenville Hall, Droxford, under the
Following the 6th Earl's death, the Poulett earldom and its entailed estates were claimed by W. T. T. Poulett, but this was challenged on the grounds of paternity, and on 27 July 1903, on a report from its Committee of Privileges steered by the
The facts and outcome heavily contrast with the allegedly summons-entitled Earls of Banbury (before the House of Lords Act 1999) where the paternity evidence was no mention of the title-inheriting sons in a will, so that family no longer received any summons to the House.
In 1869, while he was known as Viscount Hinton, W. T. T. Poulett married Lydia Ann Shippy (aka Anne Sheppey)[7] and had had one son, William Henry George Poulett (born 1 April 1870). In a fortunate turn of events, in 1901 Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland, the widow of a distant kinsman of the 6th Earl's, left W. H. G. Poulett a bequest of £5,000 in her Will, and he became a tea-planter in Ceylon.[8]
Barons Poulett (1627)
- John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585–1649)
- John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett (1615–1665)
- John Poulett, 3rd Baron Poulett (1641–1679)
- John Poulett, 4th Baron Poulett (1663–1743) (created Earl Poulett in 1706)
Earls Poulett (1706)
- John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett (1663–1743)
- John Poulett, 2nd Earl Poulett (1708–1764)
- Vere Poulett, 3rd Earl Poulett (1710–1788)
- John Poulett, 4th Earl Poulett (1756–1819)
- John Poulett, 5th Earl Poulett (1783–1864)
- William Henry Poulett, 6th Earl Poulett (1827–1899)
- William John Lydston Poulett, 7th Earl Poulett (1883–1918)
- George Amias Fitzwarrine Poulett, 8th Earl Poulett (1909–1973)
Arms
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Marquess_of_Winchester_COA.svg/200px-Marquess_of_Winchester_COA.svg.png)
The arms of the head of the Poulett family are blazoned Sable, three swords pilewise points in base proper pomels and hilts or.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ "No. 4292". The London Gazette. 30 December 1706. p. 1.
- ^ "Earl Pouletts The Lamb Winner of the Grand National with Mr George Ede". WikiGallery.org. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Lady Bridget Poulett – Person – National Portrait Gallery". Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ "NPG x21799; Lady Bridgett Elizabeth Felicia Henrietta Augusta Poulett". Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008. Lady Bridgett Poulett (1912–1975)]
- ^ Thom Adam Bisset, The Upper Ten Thousand, for 1876: A Biographical Handbook (1876), p. 227: "Hinton, visc. (eld. s. of earl Poulett). William Turnour Thomas Poulett, 4.11.49 : address — Grenville Hall, Droxford."
- ^ Poulett Peerage, outcome of House of Lords Debate on 27 July 1903 (vol 126, cc298-9)
- ^ "Items of Interest". The Albany Mail and King George's Sound Advertiser. Vol. 6, no. 80. Western Australia. 6 October 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 29 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ G. E. Cokayne, & al., The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, volume X, p. 624
References
- Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1968 edition)
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [better source needed]
- Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.[unreliable source]